In charity-oriented news, Gotham Dream Cars recently assisted Pascack Valley, New Jersey's Meals on Wheels program in delivering food to some of the area's age- and hunger-impaired citizens. Edibles were brought door-side via cars like a Viper SRT-10, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Maserati Quattroporte, among others. The best part? Well, that depends.
Most people would say it's feeding those in need. Normal, right? Unfortunately, the press seems to think the story is the cars. That's right; instead of people who require help, the exotic transportation became the story. It's insane.
Sure, the idea of high-end Italian exotics delivering food to the elderly is tons of fun (and an interesting PR boost for Gotham Dream Cars)...but how is this legitimately important? For God's sake, the New York Times (supposedly one of the last great print papers) put up an article about feeding America's hungry and the main point was still the fact that mad-expensive cars were out doing charity duty. Other than some ho-hum dribble about the cars, the rest was press quotations and gibberish. No facts whatsoever.
Pascack Valley's "Meals on Wheels" director Jeanne Martin says, "The support of our community is essential to combating senior hunger in the area...We’re pleased to have the support of Gotham Dream Cars to help spread the message about the difference local volunteers can make in helping out seniors in need." Of course they are; after all, it's attention-grabbing for Pascack Valley and its hungry citizens. But what about the rest? As in, the rest of America? Hell, why not make it the rest of the world and get everyone involved?
Sadly, odds are that even with this post the most memorable part of the story is that someone, somewhere, is delivering food to people in exotic cars. Neato, but not really the point. How about giving some important facts, other than manufacturer names and ritzy BS info? Facts like this: there are over three million people in the States with hunger-related issues right now. And now. And now. Beyond that, a world citizen dies every few seconds due to starvation.
Knowing this, it raises the question: is there a point to the New York Times running this story? The answer, hopefully, is yes...but only if people learn something. If not, and all readers remember are car names, then what's the point? Internet hits?
Admittedly, Gotham Dream Cars has done something cool for the people involved in this program and received very positive PR in the process; however, the story of Italian supercars delivering food is nothing more than that: a nice story.
If you've gotten this far, you'll hopefully see what I'm getting at: the story's pointless, so go out and throw a few cans of Campbell's soup in the direction of your local soup kitchen. Tis the season.
Here's some good news for muscle-car enthusiasts. The Chrysler Group announced today the company has decided to continue production of the Dodge Viper SRT10 after all. Following several failed attempts to sell off its Dodge Viper business unit, the Detroit automaker had originally made plans to cease production of the V10-powered sports car in December, 2009. Since the introduction of the first generation Viper in 1995, Dodge has built more than 25,000 Vipers.
"The Dodge Viper has successfully captured the hearts and imagination of performance enthusiasts around the globe," said Mike Accavitti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dodge Brand. "We're extremely proud that the ultimate American-built sports car with its world-class performance will live on as the iconic image leader for the Dodge brand."
