{"article":{"id":16275,"heading":"The SUV war continues - new tactics employed","author":"unknown","created":"2002-05-01 05:49:48","modified":"2002-05-01 06:07:41","last_modified":"Wed, 01 May 2002 13:07:41","article":"

Apparently a new tactic has started among \"taggers\" (in this case people who

put bumper stickers with phrases such as 'I'm changing the environment - ask

me how' on SUVs, see http:\/\/www.changingtheclimate.com<\/a> for examples) that is

shaking up SUV dealerships.

In the middle of the night, these taggers have taken to going into large

dealerships, tagging many SUVs at once. This provides them with a high

volume of success and a high cost to the dealership selling the SUVs. When

asked why, one tagger mentioned that he was doing it to \"make SUVs look like

fur coats did after the animal rights groups started pouring out the red

paint.\"

Tagging has become almost a counter-culture among some activists after

recent votes in the Senate failed to initiate tougher standards on fuel

efficiency. What's different now, however, is that instead of just costing

dealerships money, the taggers have included a new strategy as well.

\"You can go to adbusters.com and download these 'Charter Revocation Notices'

to fill out and put on the doors to the dealership. It really freaks the

out of these guys!\" said one tagger who wished not to be

identified.

Courts have the power to revoke corporate charters when a corporation

operating in a state is deemed to have betrayed public interest. While this

is a fairly rare practice in the United States, Adbusters has provided forms

online for people to download and use themselves. For more information on

revoking corporate charters and a downloadable form, go to

http:\/\/adbusters.org\/campaigns\/corporate\/culturejam\/charter<\/a> and

http:\/\/adbusters.org\/campaigns\/corporate\/rewritecode\/innovation.html<\/a> and

look under the \"New York Attorney General\" section.

Combined with the current write-in campaign organized by moveon.org

(http:\/\/www.moveon.org\/saveGM<\/a>) against the company, General Motors has been

receiving the brunt of this new war against SUVs.

\"Some people do it with teams of like, six people. Me, well, I do it

myself. But one person or six people, all that matters to me is that

General Motors and all the other freaks know that the war is on, and that

SUVs are going to cost people more than just gas mileage.\"

The person questioned claimed to know people from Seattle to Florida who

tag, and says that they've begun employing this new technique as well. \"We

hit every kind of SUV, but we figure since all the netfreaks wanna hit GM,

we might as well back 'em up.\"

General Motors declined to comment for this article. The names of those

interviewed were not included for anonymity. Information on ordering

bumperstickers or printing your own can be obtained at

http:\/\/www.changingtheclimate.com<\/a> and http:\/\/www.makestickers.com\/home.asp<\/a>

(you can also do a Google search for other producers). Information on the

Corporate Charter Revocation forms can be obtained through adbusters at

http:\/\/www.adbusters.org\/campaigns\/corporate<\/a> - review the \"Legal

Innovations\" section as well as others for more details on strategies and

legal concepts; review \"Charter Revocation Notice\" for downloadable forms.

Information on moveon.org's GM campaign can be found at

http:\/\/www.moveon.org\/saveGM<\/a> and the pledge you sign automatically enrolls

you in a contest to win a hybrid car. The author is not responsible for the

results of those who use this information as a tactic or campaign.

\"Hasta la victoria siempre\"<\/expletive><\/expletive><\/p>\n","contact":"indyposter@yahoo.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"New tactics in the war against SUVs that involve \"Charter Revokation Notices\" are starting to shake up GM dealerships around the country.","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2002\/05\/16275.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}