By the grace of God, this will continue for like, forever, Alex.

This is giving them so much free advertiesing. I wish it would just go away.

Here's hoping, if only because I have so many more pictures of this crazy car to use.

I'm waiting for Ford to revoke their franchise license.

By the grace of God.

gee, if only Ford would likewise force their dealerships to do business in an ethical manner.

Fuck Ford. They can go to hell.

I would think that the ad was much more offensive to non-Christian theists than it was to atheists with their "86% believe in God. Since we now know 86% are Christians..." nonsense.

Zzzzz.....

This is just insane. Ford should really take some action after this one, considering that this dealership basically said, "Well, Ford HQ made us apologize...but we didn't really mean it, because we're right and they're wrong."

This dealership also doesn't quite realize the power that the blogosphere can yield. Certainly, the Consumerist entity itself gets many a thing done, but when you combine them with so many other outlets picking up this story? This dealership is going to get its license revoked sooner or later for their proselytizing (and xenophobia, bigotry, etc.) under the Ford banner.

I can't help but wonder: if you were to buy a car from them, and they were to find that you're not Christian, what happens then? Do you suddenly not get the same level of service (e.g. warranty, tune-ups) that regular Christians would get?

I could imagine people who have had problems with the dealer before, hearing that they're shunning the non-believers (shun, shun!), can probably have a case now that they've made this public. They've made their bias known, and those who've had problems and weren't of the religious persuasion could have a leg to stand on.

@Victo: Truth.

I know these guys, bought a couple of trucks from them and work out in Mojave. Good guys, and are not your average sales monkeys. They have loyal customers and won't be affected by this.

Seems to me that a lot of people are just looking for things to be angry about. If you dont like it, don't buy from there. Like they said, sit down and shut up =(

This media discussion keeps revolving around atheists. There are plenty of people with other religious leanings and other Christians who found the ad massively offensive. The dealership keeps trying to claim it is those darn atheists causing all the trouble. That is what rolls around in the brains of people like Kern and Horne. It feeds into their desire for some sort of civil war against "those darn eeevil atheists. I would love to see the media ask them what they thought when other Christians or people of other faiths find their tactics and statements offensive.

Ford needs to pull their licensee. This is as bad for Ford's name as a dealership doing fraudulent repairs or selling used cars while hiding flood damage or cars patched together from two different cars.

These guys are off their rocker if they think their god even wants them to parade around with this holier than thou attitude. People like these give christians a bad rap as a bunch of bible thumpers. I use to do door to door in home demonstrations and the biggest nut job whackos I ever came across were christians. They home school (brainwash) their children despite not having an adequate education themselves, and get away with it because they do it in the name of god. But yet when people overseas do those things in the name of allah, it's war time.

@Victo: WAKE UP!

@Preyfar: I was wondering the same thing. What if a customer comes in wearing a yarmulke, turban or a hijab? What if two women or two men come in to purchase a car together? How do they get treated versus someone who has a crucifix on a chain around their neck?

Of course, religion and sexual orientation are not so apparent on everyone, but you have to wonder how they treat those individuals for which they ARE apparent and don't share the dealership's ideology.

@edicius: I wonder if Horne's screed on his blog and Kieffe's total support of Horne's actions means that Kieffe Ford is racist too? Horne made a reply to comments in his blog where he went on a really out there tantrum about Mexicans. So what if someone who is a US resident, yet Mexican decent went in there to buy a car? Will they too get crappy treatment? If Kieffe has this issue with anyone his wacky version of religion doesn't approve of what about someone who they perceive to be gay tries to shop there? Hmm

@Rippleeffect: If you don't like people being angry about stuff, don't come here. Like they said, sit down and shut up. Troll.

It's sad to say but he probably got a boost in business over all this publicity. There are a lot of ignorant people who feel the same way as this douche, and went to go buy 5 cars just to support his cause.

@Rippleeffect: yeah you have no friends or followers and your account was started this month. Nice try guys, but it's easy to spot a coward. We know it's you kieffe. don't be a coward just admit it's you.

@ALL COMMENTERS: Lets all e-mail the editors to noticy them of the corporate drones that are from kieffe are active commenters on the name 'rippleeffect' so that way they get banned!

*notify

This is what a shop does that has neither quality, nor service, nor ethics. If their ONLY selling point is that they're Christianist bigots, then they'll go down in flames soon enough.

Why do I say this? Because what dealership can compete against other dealerships by staying honest? These people can't... they don't have the brains. The more they scream and whine that they're lily-white Christians, the more their inevitable scams and customer mistreatment will stand out.

Classy.

@Alex Chasick: So do you own a banhammer? I think Chris told me once that only Ben has the power to ban people.

@rmric0: ronal pegan? Is that you?

Wasnt Ford a proud anti-semite?

[en.wikipedia.org]

@edicius: Indeed. I can put on a crucifix. Anyone can. I can "give God the glory" in my speech (there's a secretary in my office who is borderline obnoxious about it). Anyone can learn the patter. I probably know more actual Bible verses and theology than these stupid dealers do. If they were by some incredible chance the last dealers on Earth, I could still avoid getting ripped off, just by putting up a fake front.

It's easy. Most Christians do it every day as a matter of course.

Okay, then. I retract my comment in the apology entry.

However, I will stand by my belief that being a Ford dealer and living in Bakersfield is punishment enough for this tool.

wow children. I've not started an account until now because I never felt I had something to say, even though I've read this blog since last year. You people are paranoid. All this anger over a commercial not anywhere near you, not directed to you, and a person signs up to give some local info, and you bite his damn head off.

imo, this was a smart advertising move considering the local people here. Mostly Christian, conservative, and republican, and they mostly advertise on the local country station (typically more christian listeners than other genres) I can't really see that people locally were offended.

The more you get angry over it, the more publicity they receive.

Just saying I know these guys, and all the bitching here isn't going to change them, which is more than I can say for people that only try to please you at the cost of their own beliefs.

@snoop-blog: Do you have any proof of this claim?

@Rippleeffect: no proof is needed. You're a troll, that's reason enough.

I'm pretty sure Jesus would drive a Prius, not a Ford.

@Rippleeffect: If you don't like it, then sit down and shut up.

No, I just coincidentally have the same bear. I feel very ashamed, like we showed up to the same party wearing the same dress, but I'm just too lazy to change it and too ashamed to go naked.

is it just me or does Blog-lo-dites sound like some defunct ice cream from the 80s?

I can't believe their websites survived the traffic. Why is it the slashdot effect (Consumerist effect?) only applies to good sites?

this whole "Christian" car dealership thing just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. what the hell does selling cars have anything to do with religion?

@NoNamesLeft: I know people say any press helps a company out whether good or bad but I would hope in a state as open minded as CA that something like this would only cause them to lose customers.

@pine22: I'm not sure, though there's a similar trend in real estate agencies to broadcast their identity as well. I think the idea is that like-minded people will believe that a Christian dealer/agent is going to be more honest and fair. Having my own beliefs solidified by first-hand experience, the last person I'd trust with anything is an outspoken Christian with a faux persecution complex.

I think that RippleEffect has a point, if they're trying to capture a demographic then this is a good way to go. It's a really blunt way of saying that "we're too cool for everyone else but you're special."

It's the same principle as the Mac vs. PC ads, just that those were funny in a different way.

It's stupid and offensive to people outside of that group, but that's the point. It's up to Ford to decide whether or not they want their brand associated with that kind of intolerance at this point.

It's people like this who give the rest of us religious people a bad name. Incidents of ignorance laced with the lack of tact or respect only serve to fuel the stereotype that people who believe in God or people who call themselves Christian are ignorant and disrespect the beliefs of others.

It just makes me sad.

@parad0x360: Open-minded California is a myth. Though we have some pockets of progressives, the state as a whole is moderately conservative. However, the further south and inland you go, the more conservative it gets. The inland counties (where this Ford dealer is located) can be very Bible Belt-like in their religious views.

However, California's demographics and economy are changing quickly, so I think it's just a question of time before his own ads or failure to adapt to a changing marketplace put him out of business.

@DaveStolte: I bet he would love that. He would probably get alot of money from Ford in a lawsiut if they did.

Private business gets its license revoked by Ford, over religious advertising. It would really get headlines.

@dantsea: You sir are correct. The "Left Coast" really only applies to the first 30-50 miles from the coast. From experience (living here 25 years) the more inland you go, the more bible belt it becomes.

people need to let ford inc know of their feelings on this...
maybe this "person" that owns this dealership will be laughing just as much when ford pulls his franchise...
the big 3 are looking to cut the crap dealerships out...
another thing is to find those companies that use that dealership for business uses (ie company cars, supply their vending machines, their parts suppliers) and let them know...
maybe they wont deal with a company that acts like this....
i find it sad that when christians act this way, non christians must "deal with it" but when things go the other way, its "anti-american", maybe the christians need to "deal with it" when the schools ban religious expression on campus...

@Rippleeffect:

I beg to differ. I'm Christian, and I will never buy a car from them. As in ever. Most Christians I know are made sick by this sort of thing.

I would remind them that to truly *be* Christian, they would need to follow the words of Christ. Especially the ones were he said that people who loudly proclaimed their own faith for gain are doing it wrong.

Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Jesus, for the win.

@SonicMan: Actually I bet it's written into the contract that the license can be revoked for any reason at Ford's sole discretion, so if Ford feels that the dealer is behaving badly -- and remember that dealers have the company name and logo and are the public face of the company, so what the dealer does reflects on Ford -- they can lose their franchise, and all Ford would have to say is "we don't have to give you a reason, we felt that this relationship should not continue".

If you are franchising some bigger company's product, you'd better be damn sure that you are putting your best foot forward at all times, especially if that franchise is your only source of income. (I don't know if this dealer sells other makes, and I'm not going to find their website to give them any traffic).

There are lots of other dealers out there that would probably be interested in selling Fords. Or, since sales are nosediving for a bunch of reasons, the company will just decide to have one less dealership and save money.

All in all, NOT a good idea to go against what your franchisor tells you to do. Especially not now, when you need them more than they need you.

@snoop-blog: Ben, Meg, and Anne the Comments Moderator get to ban people, but the rest of us can flag people as necessary. I try not to do that unless another there are a string of personal attacks (someone went off on Bladefist a month or two ago and got banned, if you want an example), but now is as good a time as any to remind everyone that one way to lose commenter privileges is by being boring, and nothing is more boring than a "slow news day?" or "why is this on consumerist?" comment.

All publicity is NOT good publicity (if it was, then why would Ford have demanded the apology in the first place?). And while I realize that many of us here are too lazy, apathetic, or ignorant to pay attention to an issue that goes on for more than one post, or to sustain a sense of right and wrong past 3 or 4 comments, the point here is that RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IS NOT OKAY in a free country, period, no matter what flavor the bigot that's doing it.

For being bigots -- for trying to divide people along an imaginary Christian/atheist line, when the truth is so much more complex and deserving of compassion -- these people deserve every inch of trouncing they get, online or off, in or out of the business realm.

The "sit down and shut up" people, whom I applaud for attempting to use a slogan from third grade to win a grown-up discussion, need to realize that it is NOT a mandate of tolerance to be "tolerant of the intolerant". Compassion, tolerance and open-mindedness need constant protection, and it's up to those of us who believe in them to shout down the people who would ostracize, oppress or slander others based on their beliefs (or whatever).

So yeah. I support the continuation of this story because I refuse to support, in word dollar or deed, intolerant businesses -- I think that's what a lot of us are here for, and we should be proud of that -- and I am never, ever going to sit down and shut up about it. Every intolerant bigot out there, claiming to be Christian or not, has me and my college degree to contend with for the rest of my life. HA!