Do the Toyota ads encourage insurance fraud?

[alfredo]

It shows people destroying their old cars so they can get a new toyota.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Yes! I've been kind of freaked by that campaign.

I can't wait until some home-builder tries a similar ad campaign of people torching their homes.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. What about the Jack & the Box ads were he's in the hot tub &lady says "lets make a jack sandwich"

That ad raised a few eyebrows.

[havocmom]

22. raised eyebrows are ok. Fraud is not and that is the problem with the Toyota ad

It suggests using fraudulent means to get what one wants. Bad form

[Tesha]

2. I dunno about "encourage", but they're certainly in bad taste. (NT)

[LynzM]

6. Yeah....

I saw them for the first time yesterday and was like, wow, talk about wasteful... geez.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Thought I was the only one that thought the ads were weird... suggestion of fraud and dangerous

[alfredo]

18. the one with the parking garage is terrible. Recently a car hit

the wall in a parking garage. A section of the wall fell on and killed a pregnant woman and her fetus. I wrote Toyota and asked them to pull that particular ad in this market.

[SacredCow]

3. That's how they struck me, too.....

but after getting reamed by an insurance company when I got hit a couple of years ago.... I find it difficult to really be bothered by it.

[aikoaiko]

4. Nope their just funny ads.

I'm sure they will have little effect on the rate of insurance fraud.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. Agreed. n/t

[lildreamer316]

23. They're funny ads? n/t

[aikoaiko]

25. Sure, if you have a sense of humor for such things.

[Dawggie]

5. I've wondered the same thing.

Totally tasteless adverts.

[sentelle]

7. not to me.

I thought they were kind of dumb.
Toyota? was that what they were trying to sell?
My wife looks at it differently... she thinks 'wasteful americans' (she grew up elsewhere), and goes on a tirade as to how much crap there is for us to spend money on.

[alfredo]

20. Talk about conspicuous consumption.

[EnviroBat]

8. Yep, I think so... Funny that you should post this

as I was just thinking that same thing yesterday.

To me they say "Destroy your vehicle, so your insurance will buy you a new one"...

[TexasProgresive]

9. I would say so-"total your car,get new Toyota!"

[hisownpetard]

11. Yeah, I thought it was in horrible taste. Who's making decision over there?

[alfredo]

19. I guess bad taste tests well.

[Lisa0825]

12. I was thinking that very thought last night when the commercial was on.

First I thought, "What a waste" when they kept destroying what looked like perfectly good cars and trucks. Then I thought somewhere out there some numbskull was going to have a "lightbulb moment" while watching it.

[DefenseLawyer]

13. Same reaction

I was wondering if there would be one of those little disclaimers in tiny print at the bottom like "This is a felony. Do not attempt."

[distantearlywarning]

14. That's what I thought too the first time I saw those ads.

I still don't think they're funny. They don't even make sense from a non-insurance fraud perspective. Why not just go down and turn your perfectly good car into the dealer and put the money towards a new one?

[Iggo]

15. Yes, they absolutely do.

Except for the fact that they don't.

[Redstone]

21. Oh, spare me. Ever heard of a concept called a JOKE? (Unless, of course, I'm being dumb again,

and not understanding that you're being sarcastic. I'm a bit slow about that, now and again. It's the four concussions, not the drugs. Really.)

Redstone

[Oilwellian]

24. Indeed they do...

and will join the many other responses and say I thought the same thing yesterday. But hey, a culture of corruption is prevalent in America today. :D

[blogslut]

26. There is a disclaimer

Top left hand corner: DO NOT ATTEMPT

Of course, in my perfect world, car manufacturers would not be allowed to promote their products with film of vehicles driving above the speed limit. In fact, I don't think street cars should be built to go faster than the speed limit, period. Speeding wastes gas and is completely irresponsible. Then again, I am a spoil sport who wishes the speed limit went back to a mandatory 55, nationwide. :hi:

[taterguy]

27. Doesn't driving a car in the first place waste gas?

Exactly where do you draw the line about which types of wasteful fuel consumption are acceptable?

[blogslut]

29. Driving one too fast wastes more

And let's just gloss over that whole slower speeds = less accidents thing.

[taterguy]

30. How so?

If you're walking or riding a bike you're not using any gas, (and any accidents you cause won't do much damage). If you're driving slower you're saving some gas but not as much as you would if you left your car at home.

[blogslut]

31. You're asking the wrong person

I don't drive and have not driven for the last 4 years.

[taterguy]

32. I'm asking the person who initiated the topic

[blogslut]

33. okay

Speed: http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/consumer_tips/speeding_and_mpg.html

SPEEDING AND YOUR VEHICLE'S MILEAGE

The Biggest Gasoline Waster - Excess Speed!

Speeding may be the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B, but it's not a very fuel-efficient solution.
graph showing mileage drop-off with higher speeds

While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly speeds above 55 miles per hour. Just slowing down from 65 mph to 55 mph can increase your miles per gallon by as much as 15 percent.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.21 per gallon for gas (at $3.00 per gallon)...

SAFETY: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980ce2de113bf937a15752c1a9659c8b63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

The consensus of most traffic safety researchers is that raising speed limits is harmful.

''Speed is central to safety,'' said Leonard Evans, a safety researcher who worked for General Motors for more than three decades. ''The largest yearly traffic fatality decline ever recorded in peacetime in the U.S. was in 1974, the first year of the nationwide 55 m.p.h. speed limit.''

Dr. Evans noted that there were other factors involved, but ''a major portion of the 16 percent decline, from 54,052 in 1973 to 45,196 in 1974, is related directly or indirectly to the speed limit change.''

''Increasing speed limits reverses the process,'' he added...

[taterguy]

34. No one's claiming that speeding isn't dangerous or wasteful

But the philosophical question is how much fuel would be saved if people didn't drive when they didn't have to.

[blogslut]

35. That's your philosophical question

Mine was about forbidding cars to go above the speed limit and preventing car manufacturers from using high speed as a selling point.

[taterguy]

36. So why is your way of infringing on freedom more valid than mine?

[blogslut]

37. Did I say anything about validity?

If you want to drive like a maniac, be my guest.

[taterguy]

38. You said cars shouldn't be made that can drive over 55 mph

And what's your definition of maniac?

[blogslut]

39. Now, you're boring me

Go pick nits with someone else. I'm not in the mood.

[taterguy]

40. Not in the mood to defend the indefensible?

Why am I not surprised?

[LanternWaste]

44. She stated an opinion-

Jesus, fella-- a bit OCD about her opinions?

She stated an opinion-- cars should not be made to go faster than 55. You're interpreting this that she wants to take away your freedom and then wonder why she walks away?

You're a blast at parties I bet...

[taterguy]

45. No one wants to talk about excessive driving on DU

Heaven forbid we have a discussion about something we could all do that would help the environment and bring about an end to oil wars.

That would just be silly

[alfredo]

41. That disclaimer is effective as the cigarette pkg warning.

[Orsino]

28. No, just crass consumerism.

Out with the old crap, and in with the shiny NEW crap.

[treestar]

42. It assumes most people would get the joke and know not to do that

As such, it possibly overestimates the intelligence of many.

It is rather lame, too. If you like Toyotas, you'd have had the chance to choose one before you bought another car. They've been around for decades.

Often the insurance coverage doesn't allow for the purchase of a comparable vehicle as the one totalled. Being in an accident is no fun. It has no upside as in you get a brand new shiny car. You have to get a new one, and it is no better than the old one, in fact, most likely not as good. Anyone who has had to deal with this will be turned off by this ad.

[LanternWaste]

43. Only insomuch as...

Only insomuch as McDonald's ads encourage overeating, or the Three Stooges shorts encouraged a rampage of pies in the face.

[Midlodemocrat]

46. I doubt that we will see an increase in insurance fraud as a result of those ads.

:eyes:

[alfredo]

47. there's always some idiot who might think it is a good idea.