[M3Bahn]

General Motors Co. is killing an advertisement aimed at college students after receiving complaints that it makes fun of people who use bicycles for transportation.

That ad has a headline stating, “reality sucks” and depicts a nerdy looking guy wearing a helmet and riding a bicycle being passed by a cute young woman in the passenger seat of a car. It then goes on to say, “Stop pedaling … start driving” and provides information about discount pricing for GM products such as the new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic subcompact sedan and the giant GMC Sierra 1500 truck.

The ad ran in a variety of college newspapers and was turned into a poster that was displayed campuses, according to the automaker.

The advertisement was widely panned on a variety of cycling blogs and in complaints to the company.

“The content of the ad was developed with college students and was meant to be a bit cheeky and humorous and not meant to offend anybody,” said Tom Henderson, a GM spokesman.

“We have gotten feedback and we are listening and there are changes underway. They will be taking the bicycle ad out of the rotation…. We respect bikers and many of us here are cyclists,” he said.

You can see ad at link below.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mone...cyclists-.html


https://www.facebook.com/gmcollegeprogram?sk=wall

[Crimson92]

People are way to f'in sensitive.

[._.]

wow, so many crybabies in this country.

[flyinb501]

Just another reason to hate bicyclists...

[E90SLAM]

They're making a new one showing a GMC truck running over a cyclist....

[krnboy817]

i have no problems with cyclists. but its different when they are on the road stopping traffic... and has the audacity to stay and keep peddling along.

[Robert]

That's just poor decision on GM's part.

[gferil]

Slightly bad taste on GM's side, but not really. I showed this to some cyclist friends and they all agreed that if they were trying to score chicks in college they'd much rather do it using a car as opposed to a bike.

On a side note, just as there are some drivers out there that give us enthusiasts a bad name, I witnessed one biker yesterday that probably gives a lot of cyclists a bad name. He was riding on the outside of a right turn lane (left side), next to a car...car stops to make the right turn, bike doesn't and makes his right, car goes and honks at him cause he cut super close to the car, and the cyclist flips the car off and yells out "stop at a stop sign"...

[Daniel135i]

You should all try driving in Italy, where the cyclists have every road right that autos have. If they want to jaunt out in the lane and hold up traffic, so be it. You cant do shit about it... 4, 5, 10 wide. Your up shit creek if your late.

And they LOVE their bicycling here. Most are decent about it and give to the autos. Some are just ingratiating pricks who think they are in the Tour de France and dont give two shits about heading right to the front of a lane of cars at a red light, and jumping out in front to slow everyone up when it turns green.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by gferil

On a side note, just as there are some drivers out there that give us enthusiasts a bad name, I witnessed one biker yesterday that probably gives a lot of cyclists a bad name. He was riding on the outside of a right turn lane (left side), next to a car...car stops to make the right turn, bike doesn't and makes his right, car goes and honks at him cause he cut super close to the car, and the cyclist flips the car off and yells out "stop at a stop sign"...

As an avid cyclist, this is where things go wrong. I follow traffic laws when around other cars. I'll poach lights and signs if there are no cars around, but even with walkers around I'll stop at those too. Physics is a bitch, and having cars mad at us cyclists is not something that's going to work out well for us cyclists.

I have been in a few yelling matches with drivers before, and danced around in carbon soled shoes and generally looked like a dumb ass in spandex, not my finer moments.

I really don't have a problem with the ad though, people need to get a sense of humor. I don't see that it disrespected cyclists, and it certainly doesn't threaten them or treat them like speed bumps, etc.

[HpDellNestle]

If you need a car to pick up chic, you deserve to drive a GM.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Funny part is that the bikers are acting like chicks now by crying over nothing.