# I'd rather be dipped in acid before I buy a car from Ford West (mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956 "2005-02-08T06:56:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/1 "2005-02-08T06:56:37Z")
For those who don’t know, [Ford West](http://www.fordwest.com/) is an auto dealership down here in SoCal, within stone’s throw of Long Beach. It is, conveniently enough, located next to the 91 freeway, and is on the path of my daily commute. Like a number of car dealerships, they have a big-ass fancy electric sign next to the freeway, flashing various messages and whatnot that change eveery few seconds. Lately – perhaps emboldened by Bush’s re-election victory – the messages have been taking a decidedly “Christian fundamentalist American” slant. Which is fine by me; it’s a free country, it’s their sign, and if they want to flash a big-ol’ [Jesus fish](http://www.planeticthus.com/christian_gifts/PI-AE-103-G.asp) on their sign every ten seconds, then so be it. I think it’s a little tacky to wear your religion on your sleeve like that (didn’t Jesus say something about worshipping quietly?), but there’s no accounting for taste. (I do think it’s a bit funny that one of the messages is “Buy American”, considering how a lot of American cars are now made with foreign components and/or assembled in foreign countries outright, but that’s a different matter) Anyway, like I said, none of this was bothering me before – until I was driving home tonight and got a gander of their newest message (paraphrased from memory): “Wouldn’t you like to deal with people who have a higher moral standard?” \ Which, of course, begs the unspoken implication: _If you don’t worship Jesus, you have low morals._ Sorry, Ford West, but you can bend over and sodomized with a [Jackhammer Jesus Dildo](https://www.blowfish.com/catalog/toys/symbolic_dildos.html#t-div-1353) for all I care. I know lots of folks who don’t prostrate themselves before your invisible sky pixie, and none of them come close to being as smug, self-assured, and arrogant as your gang of self-righteous smegheads. And you can bet I’ll be telling everyone I know to avoid your dealership for the cesspool of obnoxiousness that it is, starting with this Pit rant. Can’t we deport these idiots to the deep South, where they’d be right at home? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/2 "2005-02-08T07:14:39Z")
Ten bucks says they got a frickin’ deluge of white Christians because of that sign. They certainly know their market. Just sleep soundly knowing that their customers let themselves be manipulated in yet another way. You should be APPLAUDING that Ford dealership. Which is not to say you should buy your car there. Unless you want someone with that higher moral whatchamacallit thingy, that is. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/3 "2005-02-08T07:14:46Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Can’t we deport these idiots to the deep South, where they’d be right at home? Once again, the board lefties are proudly displaying their bigotry. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/4 "2005-02-08T07:20:48Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Once again, the board lefties are proudly displaying their bigotry. Nice. The plural of idiot is not data. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/5 "2005-02-08T07:30:32Z")
Gee, and here I thought **Brutus** would be touting that whole “red states”/“moral values” glurge… ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/6 "2005-02-08T07:38:30Z")
A Jackhammer Jesus Dildo!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/7 "2005-02-08T07:53:15Z")
Wait 'til you see the Baby Jesus buttplug. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/8 "2005-02-08T11:28:20Z")
It is not that which goes into a man that defiles him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/9 "2005-02-08T13:29:33Z")
Gee, now I’ll have to stop going to that great Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood. I certainly wouldn’t want to patronize a place that so blatantly wears religion on their sleeve. The small shrine they have in a back corner is obviously beyond the pale. It’s a shame, too, because they have great hot and sour soup. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/10 "2005-02-08T13:53:34Z")
Hmm… I think I’ll stop patronizing anyone who thinks their beliefs make them better then others in some ways. I bet I’ll be able to survive for at least another week… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/11 "2005-02-08T14:02:51Z")
Not to worry… they probably don’t sell any of those tiny two-seater cars that run on compost and sunpower, and have “Nader 2008” pre-embossed on the bumper, so no harm done. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/12 "2005-02-08T14:36:32Z")
You’d think if someone wanted to complain about people arrogantly displaying their beliefs, he wouldn’t have “just say **no** to religion” bumper stickers on his website. You’d _think_ that, but you’d be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/13 "2005-02-08T14:48:26Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Gee, now I’ll have to stop going to that great Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood. I certainly wouldn’t want to patronize a place that so blatantly wears religion on their sleeve. > > The small shrine they have in a back corner is obviously beyond the pale. It’s a shame, too, because they have great hot and sour soup. Do they tell you your morals are low because you don’t worship at the shrine? Besides, I can guarantee you at least half of it is to their ancestors, anyway. (\*\*Anaamika \*\* with the Chinese boyfriend). ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/14 "2005-02-08T14:55:05Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not to worry… they probably don’t sell any of those tiny two-seater cars that run on compost and sunpower, and have “Nader 2008” pre-embossed on the bumper, so no harm done. Yeah, 'cause everybody who doesn’t agree that _only_ Christian values are moral is a tree-hugging liberal. What was that about jumping to conclusions again? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/15 "2005-02-08T15:22:09Z")
The dealer message that would resonate with me is “We’re greedy pigs like the rest, but we won’t hassle you too badly”. Hearing about higher moral values would tend to make me run in the opposite direction at high speed. So why does **rjung** advertise Ford West by linking to their website (I didn’t see any “Jesus is our General Manager” stuff on the homepage)? ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/16 "2005-02-08T15:24:08Z")
C’mon, we’re talking about a _car dealership_ here. Pimps, schoolyard meth dealers, and crack whores have higher moral standards than car dealers. “Hey Boss, how come Prep is putting [little plastic fish](http://www.planeticthus.com/christian_gifts/PI-AE-103-G.asp) on the back of the new cars? The “moral standard” stuff has been great for sales, but aren’t we taking this Jesus stuff a little far?” “Jesus stuff? Hah! Let 'em think what they want. Every one o’them little fish that rolls off the lot shows the world that we _reeled in another sucker_!” ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/17 "2005-02-08T16:23:10Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#): > > C’mon, we’re talking about a _car dealership_ here. Pimps, schoolyard meth dealers, and crack whores have higher moral standards than car dealers. Absolutely. Their next slogan is sure to be “Only 60% of our sales force is coked up!” ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/18 "2005-02-08T17:03:57Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Gee, now I’ll have to stop going to that great Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood. I certainly wouldn’t want to patronize a place that so blatantly wears religion on their sleeve. > > The small shrine they have in a back corner is obviously beyond the pale. It’s a shame, too, because they have great hot and sour soup. :dubious: Umm…I believe rjung’s exact words regarding their wearing their religion on their sleeve was “none of this was bothering me”. His objection in to them telling him he has low moral standards because he doesn’t wear the same thing on his sleeve. Whne the folks at the Chinese tell you that I wouldn’t blame you for not going there. (and I’ll even give you my recipe for homemade hot and sour soup). ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/19 "2005-02-08T17:10:22Z")
> [@Dead Badger](#): > > You’d think if someone wanted to complain about people arrogantly displaying their beliefs, he wouldn’t have “just say **no** to religion” bumper stickers on his website. You’d _think_ that, but you’d be wrong. As I just noted, donesn’t seem to me rjung was complaining about arrogently displayed beliefs. He was complaining about the particular very arrogent belief that “I am better than you are because of what I believe.” I don’t see “just say no to religon” as a comparable sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956/20 "2005-02-08T17:42:58Z")
William Burroughs put it very caustically when he said, _“If you find yourself doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing”._ I know plenty of honest religous people. But Burroughs didn’t say religious _person_, he said religious _son of a bitch_. I know a few of those too. If someone screams from the trees how honest they are, they’re probably a crook, whether they invoke religion or not. E.g., does a car dealer calling himself ‘Honest John’ get more of your trust than one who simply calls himself ‘John’? If so, you’re a sucker. Perhaps Groucho Marx (IIRC) put it better: _"There’s one way to find out if a man is honest: ask him. If he says, ‘Yes,’ you know he’s a crook. "_ Maybe Ford West would do better with the slogan, _“We only rip off heathens”_? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-rather-be-dipped-in-acid-before-i-buy-a-car-from-ford-west-mild/288956.md?page=2)