In Southern California, Kieffe and Sons do not want non-Christians and civil libertarians to drive Hondas — or at least anything other than their Fords. The dealership has added a standard package of prejudice to its car sales with the ad below denouncing those who oppose prayer in school and intermingling of church and state — full religious intolerance is standard with each car but specific sectarian hatred is optional with some models.
Kieffe and Sons ran the following ad in Southern California:
Did you know that there are people in this country who want prayer out of schools, “Under God” out of the Pledge, and “In God We Trust” to be taken off our money?
But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians who believe in God, we at Kieffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don’t just tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess maybe I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough, this is America folks, it’s called free speech. And none of us at Kieffe & Sons Ford are afraid to speak up. Kieffe & Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond: if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.
The question remains whether Ford (which is struggling in this market) wants to join the Kieffes in tying the Ford product line to the religious right. Perhaps that is what the Ford Focus is all about?
For the audio, click here.
I, for one, am overjoyed that they have run that ad and would strongly encourage others with the same beliefs to run similar ads.
They did not say I cannot buy a car from them.
They did not say I was not welcome on their lot, albeit only as long as I kept my mouth shut.
In other words, I can’t think of any material way in which they harmed me. After all, everyone has the right to tell me “to shut up and sit down”. I’m not a thin-skinned conservative who shrieks in horror at the slightest whiff of disagreement with my views. I’m angry at the presumption in trying to silence me, of course, but not offended. I also realize that this is very different from the ‘non-intercourse’ laws that would prevent my from buying goods solely on my beliefs or lack of same.
But here’s the kicker. I’m pretty sure they’ll sell a car to me even if I wear a “Godless and Proud” tee-shirt in rainbow colors. I may not even have to wait until the end of the quota period. (I probably won’t be able to negotiate a good deal, however!) It’s a business with high-ticket items and it will be very hard for them to see money walk away(*).
But I don’t have to buy a car from them. Knowing their attitude, I won’t buy a car from them.
All the ad did, really, is give a large part of their potential market a very good reason to avoid them. It might bring in a few people, but that market will quickly forget the ad. The people it insulted will not.
(*) If I wanted to be really nasty, I would encourage my friends to join me in visiting the dealership on the weekend, go for test drives, negotiate with the salesmen… then tell them to shut up and sit down. Burn a few salesmen and they’ll get the message.
Mespo,
Please don’t forget to include car sickness bags with every purchase in case demons dressed in jihadi chic show up while driving to the donut store to get bombs for Jesus.
Jill
Can I get a gun if I am a cross-carrying Christian and shop at this dealership just like at our other entrepreneur’s showroom in Missouri? Maybe I could open a chain of Christian, gun-giving car dealerships and have church services there after every purchase. How about that: God, guns, religion, and…wheels. Move over Jimmy Swaggart, I’ve got the shtick now.
I’m all for capitalists reaping what they sow.
As a free speech advocate – I admire this company for putting its money where its mouth is … as it were.
As a consumer – I get to put my money where I choose.
This is the equivalent of “bring it on.”
In that respect, I suspect very soon we’ll be seeing a banner over the dealership that reads “Mission Accomplished”
The original Henry Ford was outspoken in his antisemitism. It took years for his descendants to change this perception. Does Ford now wish to exclude non-religious and liberal people from its customer rolls?
If so they will find their company in an even deeper hole than its current declining market share.
JR,
You’re correct to point this out. Oddly there actually have been two dealerships in my area stripped of their right to carry the parent company’s name. It was for fraud against the parent company (basically,taking too much skim). I doubt Ford will do anything, but they did back down (finally) over the homosexual boycott, and just maybe they’ll do something about this. Afterall this dealership offends christians who believe in separation of church and state (the fine dealership forgot to add in the percentage of christians who don’t agree with them about that!).
Get some red hot flames on that station wagon!
Jill, they have a dealer (who’s also a congressman, as it happens) who just got sued for firing his dealership’s finance director after the FD refused to help cover-up the fact that they were doctoring paperwork to get loans for customers who couldn’t afford them and to defraud their lender.
If they didn’t take the Blue Oval down for that, you think this will get them off their asses?
The sad part: my wife and I are getting a Ford next month. Even sadder: it’s a station wagon.
I just read Ford’s disingenous reply. Ford can strip a dealer of any right to use it’s name if it has broken Ford’s policies. They are incredibly stupid not to take this seriously. This has gone national now so they better dig up some PR people “right quick”! I’m not praying for them.
By the grace of god these ignorant people should be able to market to other, equally ignorant people. But I believe (ha,ha) Ford has a non-discrimination policy. Ford should withdrawl the rights of this dealership if it conflicts with their non-discrimination policy. If this dealership was smart, they would market with guns, not jesus!
And a big AMEN to everything people wrote on their posts above!
rcampbell:
I noticed that nonsequitur as well, but with so many other problems in the statement I thought this was a goldfish to the larger whale. Your point is well taken however.
“…But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians who believe in God….
Perhaps they’ve forgotten about those of the Hebrew and Islamic faiths that share their god.
Susan,
Toyota and Honda are shinto approved so I would go with either of those.
Jill
Well, so much for my decision to choose a Ford car the next time I needed one; it just got DUMPED when I read this. Okay, folks, which is better; Toyota, Honda, or Saturn? Ford is definitely OUT.
Another good reason to buy a Honda!
Where, where have I heard of Balkanization along religious lines before? Oh that’s right the Balkins, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and on and on. Were I Ford Motor Company, I certainly would want those situations associated with my product. There’s stupid, and then there’s religious stupid, and religious stupid is the worst.
The only thing still made in America is “that Old time Religion.”
I also noticed that the ad includes the dual hypocritical existence of the phases “Free Speech” and “Sit down and shut up”.
And it seems that one in every two Americans are just crazy…