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Texas Plumber Sues Car Dealer After His Truck Ends Up In Videos of Syria's Front Lines (mashable.com)
New submitter hydrodog writes: A Texas plumber traded in his truck, which ended up in ISIS videos showing his logo and phone number. Now he is getting hundreds of harassing phone calls for 'supporting ISIS' and is suing the dealership for not taking off his information before selling it. He is seeking more than $1 million in damages. According to Mashable: "According to the complaint, filed last week, a salesman at the dealership, Edgar Vasquez, told Oberholtzer 'not to worry about the decal,' saying that peeling it off would 'blemish the vehicle paint.' 'At no time did Vasquez or any other agent, servant, or employee of the Defendant tell Plaintiff that Defendant would leave the decals on the truck, which would be transferred in some fashion to international jihadists conducting warfare upon innocents in Syria,' reads the complaint.
That is very likely. Dealerships contract out people all the time to install pin striping and other specialty logos. Remember all those fancy graphics on Toyota trucks in the 80s? They didn't leave the factory like that, I worked in a dealership then. These guys know exactly how to remove the old sticks from other dealerships or company logos without leaving a film or scratch. The dealer just got lazy and wholesaled it out. It probably isn't illegal (although it probably was a lie), but it is very bad business.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Shipping stuff out of the U.S. by cargo container is dirt cheap, especially in a country like the U.S. which has a trade deficit. More containers of stuff come into the country than go out, so many of those containers have to shipped out empty at the expense of the shipping company. They are desperate to put anything into those containers to recoup at least some of their expenses. Consequently, the cost to ship something overseas out of the U.S. is about the same as what it costs to ship it from the middle of the U.S. to the coast.
Because they are some of the most popular vehicles in Africa and the Middle East. I have a couple of Landcruisers* and people from Africa stop and talk to me when they see me with a nearly 40 year old truck still running fine. That's the brand's reputation back home as well.
*Older models, before Toyota yuppified them and screwed them up.
Have gnu, will travel.
You can keep the Land Rovers.
The problem with European makes is that they assume that one is going to have a garage with the exact tools needed to do upkeep, the exact spec lubricants, and that everyone who works on the vehicle has been to the factory to take training and certification courses. The concept of a "shade-tree mechanic" is not in their playbook.
But in the real world, that can't be done often. In general, American and Japanese cars are engineered to be more forgiving if the right tool isn't in place. For example, on an old US brand pickup, the headlight assembly dim and faded. $50 later, I had a pair of OEM spec assemblies, and it took lifting a single lever and tugging on a cable to replace both of them. If I wanted to do that with the nearby German car, it would have cost thousands and required a shop visit.
Even a battery change. Chevy? Yank cables, pull out old battery, put new one in, put cables on, it starts. One European make, I found out the hard way that if the battery ever gets disconnected, the vehicle will not start and has to be towed to the shop for the battery to be "registered" with the vehicle's computer.
Nothing wrong with European vehicles. You buy a Mercedes, you pay Mercedes prices for parts and labor. However, European vehicles have no tolerance for oddball stuff. For example, one European make will void the warranty if more than 5% biodiesel is run. However, here in the US, it can go up to B20 without any notifications, with B10-B12 being the norm. So, pretty much, every make of that diesel vehicle has no engine warranty. Domestic brands can swallow B20, no issue.
I wouldn't be surprised if many of the people involved were shady and a government with a brain would follow the paper trail of this specific truck and figure out who should go to jail.
How is selling cars for export to Turkey illegal? Or selling used cars in Turkey for that matter? I'm pretty sure selling cars directly to dealers in Syria isn't illegal.
Because the Government of Turkey supports and gives aid and comfort to terrorists.
Because the US government has placed a trade embargo against against Turkey.
Except it hasn't.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.