Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq by Sheldon Rampton; John Stauber

Author:Sheldon Rampton; John Stauber
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780965492386
Publisher: Tarcher
Published: 2003-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

Arnold Gets a Hummer

Politicians and terrorists are not the only propagandists who use fear to drive human behavior in irrational directions. A striking recent use of fear psychology in marketing occurred following Operation Desert Storm in 1991. During the war, television coverage of armored Humvees sweeping across the desert helped launch the Hummer, a consumer version of a vehicle that was originally designed exclusively for military use. The initial idea to make a consumer version came from actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wanted a tough-looking, road-warrior vehicle for himself. At his prodding, AM General (what was left of the old American Motors) began making civilian Hummers in 1992, with the first vehicle off the assembly line going to Schwarzenegger himself.7

In addition to the Hummer, the war helped launch a broader sport-utility vehicle craze in the United States. Psychiatrist Clotaire Rapaille, a consultant to the automobile industry, conducted studies of post-war consumer psyches for Chrysler and reported that Americans wanted “aggressive” cars.8 In interviews with Keith Bradsher, the former Detroit bureau chief for the New York Times, Rapaille candidly discussed the results of his research. SUVs, he said, are “weapons”—“armored cars for the battlefield”—that appeal to Americans’ deepest fears of violence and crime.9 Rapaille also helped plan Chrysler’s PT Cruiser, which was consciously designed to look like a gangster car of the 1930s. It was designed, he said, to make drivers feel like “Al Capone at the wheel, with a machine gun.” The Dodge Durango was designed to look like a savage jungle cat. “A strong animal has a big jaw, that’s why we put big fenders,” Rapaille said.10 Another hostility-intensification feature is the “grill guard” that SUV manufacturers promote. “Grill guards, useful mainly for pushing oryx out of the road in Namibia, have no application under normal driving conditions,” observes writer Gregg Easterbrook. “But they make SUVs look angrier, especially when viewed through a rearview mirror. . . . Grill guards also increase the chance that an SUV will kill someone in an accident.”11

Deliberately marketed as “urban assault luxury vehicles,”12 SUVs exploit fear while actually doing nothing to make people safer. They make their owners feel safe, not by protecting them, but by feeding their aggressive impulses. Due to SUVs’ propensity for rollovers, Bradsher notes, the occupant death rate in SUVs is actually 6 percent higher than for cars—8 percent higher in the largest SUVs.13 Rapaille himself understands this very well; he refuses to drive an SUV, owing to the increased danger of rollovers.14 Of course, they also get worse gas mileage. According to dealers, Hummers average a mere 8 to 10 miles per gallon15—a figure that takes on additional significance in light of the role that dependency on foreign oil has played in shaping U.S. relations with countries in the Middle East.

With this combination of features, selling SUVs on their merits would be a challenge, which is why Rapaille consistently advises Detroit to rely instead on irrational fear appeals. Six months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Fortune magazine reported that Ford Motors had joined Chrysler in seeking Rapaille’s advice.

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