Ford "responds" to Southern dealers, cancels ads in gay publications

Gay and lesbian organizations asked Ford Motor Co. on Monday to reinstate advertising for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications and to distance itself from an anti-gay group which had boycotted the automaker's vehicles.

Ford officials met with leaders of the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and other organizations in Washington, D.C., after the automaker said last week its luxury brands would no longer advertise in gay publications.

The move came nearly a week after the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association canceled its boycott of Ford vehicles, which started in May amid criticism that the nation's No. 2 automaker was too gay-friendly....

"They said they felt a need to respond to their Southern dealers and their Southern dealers were very concerned about a boycott," Solmonese said.

Donald "Wildman" Wildmon

AFA chairman Donald Wildmon said in a Nov. 30 statement that the group was ending its boycott, noting that "while we still have a few differences with Ford, we feel that our concerns are being addressed in good faith and will continue to be addressed in the future."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051213/ap_on_bi_ge/ford_boycott&printer=1

will NEVER get my business again (says this PFLAGer).

To witness the bigotry of he and his ilk:
go to www.afa.net &

www.agapepress.org .

Google any issue you want; the opinions expressed there, along with the basic overall slant, will make you want to hurl.

"Pro-family" my rear!

Alienate a huge group with more spending power than the average citizen and their families in response to the likes of Wildmon. I am through with Ford as well.

they may not have contributed to the innaguration if it had been for Kerry. I was done at that point.

And kick for the a.m.

american family my ass. I used to listen to the news/worldview show on american family radio with his son tim as a co-host. I listened for entertainment/irritation value. But I had to stop eventually because their bile just gets too sick to stomach. :puke:

links to a few more of their projects:

http://www.onemillionmoms.com/
http://www.onemilliondads.com/
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/

I read the drivel on agapepress.org - it is written by some very hardright people. Females (female authors) talk about kids and kids watching bad things; that is what they are relegated to doing.

I quit buying their trucks a few years back when they started running all those ads with that asshole Toby Keith.

caving into a bunch of hateful wingnuts like AFA :puke:

And their "southern" dealers was a small group led by an influential Dallas-area dealer who claims to be gay-friendly but really had no understanding of the AFA - he was just trying to protect his business. Clearly, the dealers had no issue with standing up to give the AFA a place at the table - but where are the dealers who were concerned about the number of people calling them about not purchasing Fords now?

One thing that irritates me about this meeting is that the dealers responsible are not present, and the leader keeps claiming that he's very gay-friendly so this isn't "personal"..it's just protecting his "business." Translation: I have to care about the wingnut rednecks who want you dead, but I don't have to care about you not feeling comfortable about coming in to purchase a car.

He also said he feels "badly" that this all happened....except this wasn't an overnight deal; this was done over FIVE months. And the company had absolutely no business making this decision to negotiate about another market they service. This is likely to get nastier in the next few days.

What idiots. They can go suck a fat one.

With this threat of a boycott, they're accelerating the fall of Ford. Good move, AFA. (Do you really work for Toyota?)

If all Liberals, Gays and people with any decent moral sense will boycott Ford--we'll know who the bigots and jerks are by what they drive.
Here is a project...contact the rental car companies that utilize Ford products and boycott them for supporting a company of bigots.
I know that Budget has Ford products.
Not sure who else does.

I'm very, very picky. And I'm in love with the new Mustangs.

I'd like a hybrid, but they're ugly as sin.

I MIGHT buy a Mini Cooper, but that's the ONLY car outside of the Ford family that I have any interest in. Most cars today look like space craft. I may be female and I may hate certain redneck ways of the South, but I do still believe a car needs to look "just a touch redneck" to be considered beautiful. :)

I'm a little surprised you think that hybrids look "ugly as sin." Have you seen some of the more recent ones? I've seen some early Priuses and agree with you that they look a little "different" but my sister/brother-in-law bought a hybrid Civic earlier this year and it doesn't really look any different from my regular Civic, besides being a more recent model. If there is something you're noticing on them that bothers you that I'm missing (I'm really not much of a car person so I probably don't examine them as closely as many), I understand; different strokes for different folks, etc.

Of course, I'm descended from a long line of Ford-haters (I was taught at a young age that Ford stood for "Found on Road Dead"), so I'm a little biased against their vehicles to begin with! :-)

LX400H looks just like an LX400. The Highlander Hybrid looks like a Highlander. The Civic and Accord Hybrids looks like Civics and Accords. The Prius looks a tad aerodynamic, but not that different than a lot of streamlined small cars, e.g. Ford Focus. The Insight looks like a CRX that was fixed up to be the "futuristic car" in a low budget sci-fi film, probably the only one of the bunch I'd call ugly. The rest are perhaps bland compared to something like a Mustang, but I wouldn't mind to have any of them sitting in the driveway.

My fiance has lived in the South for years - he drives a Ford.

My step-Dad drives a Ford. My Dad drives a Ford: all Southerners.

And none of us would boycott Ford for advertising in gay and lesbian media. :eyes:

Ford's actions of laying off thousands then movin' on down to China to build them up a few weeks ago caused my parents of all people to say "fuck off" to Ford. (not literally, but they were fuming.)

...you are really shocking me lately! I am truly saddened by the change I have witnessed in you.

Yes, why not regulate the queers down into the LGBT dungeon so we aren't seen or heard.

It is nice to know that YOU will regulate queer posts, yet allow plenty of political posts in GD to slip by, even though we still currently have GD POLITICS.

You think the queer community isn't fuming about what happened a few weeks ago with Ford laying off thousands? Nice to know you can't feel sympathy for this cause.

Nice to know that many queers here support many issues that would relate more to heterosexuals than us "pesky" queers, but we cannot get the same support in return.

For those straight folks who do support LGBT rights, this is NOT a slam at you. This is me saying to all those who believe we should take a seat on the back of the bus (or down in LGBT dungeon) and not be heard. But who would still like our votes and money to go to the Dem's.

Seems you want to segregate every gay post to the GLBT pages. Some of these are or should be of interest to all DU.

We all need to pay attention

This organization has a nice, long, tawdry little history - and constantly being one of their targets for their nonstop boycotts has worn thin on many people. If they want to be bigots, religious pygmies, demanding zealots, then that's their right. But it is not my responsibility to just absorb this crap from them constantly. They are certainly not invulnerable in many numbers of ways.

One good idea is to conduct a review of their advertising on those radio stations - and if there is any mainstream sponsors, start giving them the old AFA routine right back, particularly national campaigns. And I'm certainly willing to donate time and contribute to funds for billboards advertising some of their more shining anti-gay, anti-semitic quotes over the years.

They are not the only ones entitled to voice a moral opinion about others.

Our rights as citizens are only fodder for the right. My partner hasn't posted or even looked at this site since the election because of the "gays lost us the election" threads. We are expendable to most, even with democrats, and self-proclaimed called liberals.

There are MANY good people here who think of gays as humans first and believe we deserve equality. Then, there are the ones here (and they are not all freepers) who think we are "asking for too much, too soon." It can be very painful for gay people to see some of the the posts here. Then, there are the lot of us "uppity queers" who will not sit in the 'back of any bus.' I happen to be a proud, out, uppity queer!

and I don't believe ANYBODY is expendable

On my part, FORD was considering the escape to replace a truck, guess what? Will look back at the prius

You have principles. I have seen enough of your posts to believe that you are true to your word!