# Were Cars Imported to the US actually trashed as a sport in the 1980's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280 "2008-12-15T20:09:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/1 "2008-12-15T20:09:54Z")
News report made a reference that foreign cars were trashed as part of some kind of sport game, back in the 1980s. Is this true? How did it go on? Were there rules or just a free for all? Was it all UAW members? And who donated the car? Even junked an import is worth a few hundred dollars. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/2 "2008-12-15T20:18:28Z")
Cite? What “news reports?” Japanese, European, or Canadian imports? I was a younger adult back in the '80s, and an upstanding member of the Northeast’s drinking culture, but I do not recall anything similar to what you are describing. I do remember fundraisers where you could pay to hit a junker car with a sledgehammer. I do not recall that being limited to imports. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/3 "2008-12-15T20:43:28Z")
I do remember some of this, vaguely, but I was a child/teenager in the 80s. I seem to remember it happening every once in a while in Michigan, back when the first big backlash against Japanese imports was ramping up. It was mid-to-late 70s to very early 80s, I think. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/4 "2008-12-15T20:57:49Z")
I remember it too - and it wasn’t a “sport” but an ugly xenophobic protest stoked by the UAW and sympathizers. Similar sentiments were seen where I lived in the Pittsburgh area. This sort of misplaced nationalism led to the murder of [Vincent Chin.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Chin) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/5 "2008-12-15T21:01:16Z")
I know that at Motorcycle Week at Loudon NH there were organized Japanese bike smashes. You paid your dollar and took a swing at a Japanese motorcycle that we purchased for the occasion. There are stories of people arriving on Japanese bikes and getting beat up and their bikes destroyed, but nothing organized that I know of. I do remember reading news reports of events held in Michigan and/or near UAW Big Three plants. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/6 "2008-12-15T21:04:01Z")
There was no nation wide sport made of smashing import cars. I’m sure there were events that did that though. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/7 "2008-12-15T21:30:58Z")
[Here is a more recent story](http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0503/15/A01-117640.htm) illustrating that the UAW sentiment regarding foreign cars hasn’t changed much: > [@](#): > > DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union waved a white flag Monday in its parking skirmish with neighboring reservists, but the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines are not accepting surrender. > > Facing intense criticism, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger reversed his decision to ban Marine Corps reservists driving foreign cars or displaying pro-President Bush bumper stickers from parking at the union’s Solidarity House headquarters in Detroit. > > “I made the wrong call on the parking issue, and I have notified the Marine Corps that all reservists are welcome to park at Solidarity House as they have for the past 10 years,” Gettelfinger said in a statement. > > Wounded by what they consider an unpatriotic ambush, the Marines rejected the union’s olive branch and secured an alternative parking lot. > > “I talked to Ron; I let him know that I understand he has rescinded his decision,” said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, a top-ranking officer at the reserve infantry rifle battalion. “However, I’ve made my decision – either you support the Marines or you don’t.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/8 "2008-12-15T21:50:45Z")
Yes, but Union posturing or hooliganism is hardly “some kind of sport game” as specified in the OP. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/9 "2008-12-15T22:01:38Z")
I said as much. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/10 "2008-12-15T22:39:49Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > I remember it too - and it wasn’t a “sport” but an ugly xenophobic protest stoked by the UAW and sympathizers. Similar sentiments were seen where I lived in the Pittsburgh area. > > This sort of misplaced nationalism led to the murder of [Vincent Chin.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Chin) I have a similar vague recollection of seeing on TV a foreign car being smashed with a sledgehammer but I do not remember the particulars. If they thought that was going to stop people from buying foreign cars it seems it did not have the desired effect. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/11 "2008-12-16T02:49:51Z")
If I remember correctly The UAW set the gas pedal so that the engine would redline and die a catastrophic death in a matter of minutes. The only problem was that the engine kept running, oops. After being embarrassed for long enough in front of live TV a few monkeys came out with sledge hammers to finish the job. Some things don’t seem to change over twenty something years. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/12 "2008-12-16T02:58:21Z")
There are hundreds of news stories about this in the 1980-84 period, and it happened in more than a few places, usually connected to UAW/Steelworkers. They would get a wrecked foreign car for $75 from a salvage yard, and charge $1-$3 a whack with a sledgehammer to raise funds for striking workers, etc. Not a National Sport. ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/13 "2008-12-16T03:53:16Z")
More like a “spectator sport”, but an “event” of this type was held at Vel’s Parnelli Jones Ford auto dealership, located in Torrance, CA., sometime around 1976. Vel decided to declare a “war on Japanese imports” and proceeded to do so by: - Clearing off the used car lot, except for about 10-12 small Japanese junker-type cars. I think the engines and transmissions were removed so that they were just shells. - Calling “Rent-a-Tank” or some company that performed a similiar service. - Notifying the newa media. - Having tank trucked in and once on the ground, proceeding to have it driven repeatedly across used car lot, flattening all imports in it’s path. - Stacking the crushed cars on the Hawthorne Blvd. side of the dealership so that all passing drivers could bear witness to his “defeat of the Japanese imports.” Upside of this stunt was lots of publicity via local newspapers and television news shows. Hey, how often do you get a chance to see a real tank run over real cars. 🙂 Downside of this stunt, besides the cost of the cars and tank rental, was the cost of re-paving the used car lot. It seems the tank treads really did a great job of tearing up the asphalt. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/14 "2008-12-16T13:29:36Z")
In the latest news, some of these bozos are trashing Mazdas, some of the best of which are made here in Michigan. In the same facility as the Mustang. By UAW people. Who collect Ford paychecks. Upon my return to Michigan after years of military service, I secured a job related to the auto industry that involved nearly 100% of my time being at a certain plant in Lansing, Michigan. At that time I still drove a Honda Civic. On no fewer than two occassions did I encounter deep, well-engraved key marks on my doors, made during the time my car was in the GM hourly parking lot (and no, there were no non-GM car restrictions on this lot). While not “trashed,” the car was only two years old at the time, and in otherwise perfect shape. Since that time I’ve worked with (and supervised) many UAW hourly people, and I’ve come to realize that they’re not _all_ asshole rednecks, but those goons in Lansing certainly were. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/15 "2008-12-16T14:07:58Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > In the latest news, some of these bozos are trashing Mazdas, some of the best of which are made here in Michigan. In the same facility as the Mustang. By UAW people. Who collect Ford paychecks. [Yep - it’s back.](http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/18272208/detail.html) > [@](#): > > WOODHAVEN, Mich. – It seems the economic conditions and the auto industry crisis is turning some Americans against Americans. > > Woodhaven police said four cars on Friday, all produced by foreign carmakers, had two tires slashed and “Buy USA” written on them. > > Police said three of the cars were parked in a strip mall in Woodhaven that sits next to a Ford stamping plant. > > …One of incidents was caught on a security tape. A red Ford Escape is seen pulling into a parking space, a middle-aged man can be seen approaching a red foreign car and slashing both tires. The man can also be seen writing a message on the car before leaving. No proof yet that UAW members are involved, but the motives behind the crime seem clear. And yet these idiots don’t seem to realize that that sort of thing is counterproductive in the extreme - if you think UAW members are vandals after your car has been vandalized (or suspect as much) would you be more or less willing to buy a Big 3 car? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/16 "2008-12-16T14:20:27Z")
FWIW, I can put the date back to about 1970, and a fundraising event in about 1970 in by elementary school in Toledo. Three swings for a buck at a Japanese car. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/17 "2008-12-16T14:20:51Z")
I never would have thought that thugs of that calibre and the fine upstanding terrorists of ELF would have anything in common. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/18 "2008-12-16T16:23:22Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > [Yep - it’s back.](http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/18272208/detail.html) I don’t remember if the Mazda I read about was at Woodhaven’s parking lot or not (the virtually-same wire story I read was longer), but if it was, and if it was UAW members, then, uh, the Mazda plant I mentioned, filled with Ford UAW workers? It’s five minutes from Woodhaven Stamping, in Flatrock. Oh, and Woodhaven supplies stampings to Flatrock. Oh, and Ford still owns part of Mazda. (On the other hand, maybe it’s just a coincidence that they’re targeting foreign cars. Maybe they have hard feelings that the area occupied by the shopping center used to be their parking lot.) ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/19 "2008-12-16T17:21:42Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Cite? What “news reports?” Japanese, European, or Canadian imports? > > I was a younger adult back in the '80s, and an upstanding member of the Northeast’s drinking culture, but I do not recall anything similar to what you are describing. Geez, how much did you drink? Canadian imports? You mean snow mobiles? Aha! The truth about what happened to the Avro Arrow! ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280/20 "2008-12-16T17:42:46Z")
Sassyfras, I read the same reports, I think they were on Yahoo or [Slate.com](http://Slate.com). I couldn’t believe it when I read it either. To think that people would buy Japanese cars with their own money and smash it as a protest. Then again, crazier things have happened [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-cars-imported-to-the-us-actually-trashed-as-a-sport-in-the-1980s/477280.md?page=2)