RE: [GreenYes] unimog

["Bantillo, Stephen" <Stephen.Bantillo@ci.sj.ca.us>]

Title:

I agree ....and disagree.  I'm not placing sole blame on the "public."  In a strictly profit motivated sense, companies market products they think people will buy.  In this case, we have a well-established company (that builds a good product for utilitarian purposes) that has identified an opportunity to enter a niche market by capitalizing on people's fascination with the SUV and the power mentality associated with "bigger is better" that interferes with their decision making process.  I still see people as the problem because it's "people" working for profit-minded companies who influence people to spend money on things "they've just got to have."  I suppose there is a fine line between the chicken and the egg, but I think in this case what's needed is enough people (purchasers) to just say no.  And it's up to those of us in our field to do our best to educate them on making responsible choices and hope that the manufacturers hear us and that markets/products then follow.  While I understand this isn't the right answer for everybody, I hope that my point about people, as producer and consumer, is clearer.

d8) 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Krupnik [mailto:tim@ecologycenter.org]
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 11:45 AM
To: multiple recipients of
Subject: RE: [GreenYes] unimog

       

        While I see your point, I would have to disagree that "the problem is....people." From what I've seen, the Unimog has been specifically marketed to the general public. In this sense, it's been fetishized as just another product that the "public" has "got to have."

        Such a vehicle may have great utilitarian uses, but the cat of the matter is that SUV's and landrovers in general have been marketed to the suburban/.urban dweller and I'd be willing to bet my life's savings that Manufacturers don't care about utilitarian purposes-- they just want to sell, sell sell.

        When are we going to start holding MANUFACTURERS responsible for the problems they create and then willingly MARKET, instead of blaming solely the public?

Resent-Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 14:27:51 -0400

From: "Bantillo, Stephen" <Stephen.Bantillo@ci.sj.ca.us>

To: "'Amy Perlmutter'" <amyp@chelseacenter.org>,

multiple recipients of

        <greenyes@earthsystems.org>

Subject: RE: [GreenYes] unimog

Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 11:34:23 -0700

Resent-From: greenyes@earthsystems.org

Resent-Sender: greenyes-request@earthsystems.org

Resent-To: multiple recipients of <greenyes@earthsystems.org>

Unimog is not a new vehicle. It was created around 1946 out of a desire to

have a more useful agricultural implement. Over the years the Unimog has

been pressed into municipal, forest, and industrial operations due to its

adaptability and cost-saving utilitarian features. It has served duty as

abulances, radio/communications, street sweepers, and a host of other

useful/necessary vehicles. And not all Unimogs are behemoth in nature. An

earlier model with a wheelbase considerably shorter than the current

"popular" Jeep models was available, and Unimog continues to make

liliputian-sized vehicles based on customer demand. Basically, the size and

design of Unimogs changes based on customers' wants and "needs". Do I like

the vehicles? Sure I do, from a utilitarian standpoint. The problem that

arises is when the customers start demanding them for use as

grocery-getters, shopping mall hogs, or other forms of personal

transporation. (If people want something bigger than the Ford Excursion,

then they should buy an Excavator.) The point is, these Unimogs are

well-built and purpose-built vehicles and get their jobs done in an

efficient manner. The problem isn't the vehicle or its manufacturer, it's

people.

d8)

-----Original Message-----

From: Amy Perlmutter [mailto:amyp@chelseacenter.org]

Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 10:45 AM

To: multiple recipients of

Subject: [GreenYes] unimog

For those of you who are Car Talk fans and/or hate SUV's, Car Talk is

having a contest to give the new behomoth, the Unimog, a more appropriate

name. To vote, go to the following link:

http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Unimog/Naming-Contest/ballot.html

Amy Perlmutter

Executive Director

Chelsea Center for Recycling and

Economic Development

University of Massachusetts

180 Second Street

Chelsea, MA 02150

617-887-2300/fax 617-887-0399

visit our web site at www.chelseacenter.org

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The GreenYes Listserv depends on reader support.

Your tax-deductible contribution in any amount can be

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Tim Krupnik

Plastics Education Coordinator

Berkeley Ecology Center

1231 Second St.

Berkeley Ca. 94710

510-527-5555

FAX 510-526-7995