“…maybe the wife just couldn’t stand being seen in a Buick anymore.”

Any man who’s half alive already understands that the lady is the boss!

“I’m still going with his wife Elin Nordegren putting her foot down. She just doesn’t have that Buick look…”

jnik:

“Whoa! Definitely NOT Buick material!”

Indeed not. I would go so far as to say “Definitely not GM material!”

Besides, Nike still owns the rest of his body.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2006-04/05/xin_39040305151320707141.jpg

When Jeff Gordon would visit our DuPont site when he’d be racing at Michigan International Speedway he would drive a Cadillac. The Hendricks team races “Chevys”, so at least it was part of the family. Gordon may have driving talent, but leaving the guest lot he clipped and drove straight over a curb.

He got a big kick out of it when I handed him a 1:64 scale die cast of his race car with a micropoint Sharpie for an autograph on the hood, and said it was probably the smallest autograph he ever signed.

With some, like the radio talk show hosts that GM has sponsored, at least there’s some brand exposure and actual advertising involved, but many celebs get tons of free stuff just for being celebrities with little benefit to the companies giving them freebies. The late Bernie Mac even did an episode of his sitcom about those complimentary perks. Last year during the NAIAS, one of the Detroit papers was interviewing celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck, and he mentioned, in an offhand way, that he drove a comped Escalade. I’m sure that the Detroit mfgs aren’t the only car companies doing this. I’d be surprised if some Bentleys aren’t comped.

All of it is silly. I’m a cycling enthusiast and I remember a few years ago Cannondale gave Shaquille O’neal a custom mountain bike – their largest stock frame wasn’t big enough. With all the high end components and custom shop frame (and road style carbon fiber wheels because Shaq liked the way they looked, have to roll in style y’know) the bike was worth maybe $7K, something well within O’neal’s budget. I realize that the free publicity ‘Can of ale’ got was probably worth more than $7K, but it seemed wrong to give a rich man something for free.

Also, I bet I can ride Shaq into the ground. He may be professional athlete but it takes a tough butt to ride 100 miles.

Now Buick = old guy with a fedora driving a 20-year-old Buick

Tiger was just fleecing them for money (and I don’t blame him)

For any other make, I can name a negative connotation about them as easily as those who rip on Buick.

The Buick spokesperson should have been Joe Paterno.