What's Wrong With This Picture: GM Hearts Cycling After All Edition

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: November 1st, 2011

what s wrong with this picture gm hearts cycling after all edition

Having royally pissed off all of cyclist-dom with a tone-deaf, multi-brand ad in college newspapers, GM just so happens to have a concept car for the SEMA tuner show featuring a mountain bike. Not that the two are in any way related though, as NASCAR racer Ricky Carmichael is the creative force behind the concept. The 15-time American Motorcycle Association champion explains in a Chevy press release

The car looks so cool, colorful and fun to drive. I live my life on the go and this Sonic really represents that active lifestyle and my desire to have fun when I’m off the race track.

See? Cycling is cool… as a hobby. On the other hand, maybe the bike just a way to escape the photoshopped beach when this slammed Sonic inevitably gets stuck in the sand. Or perhaps it’s there as a reminder that even if you want to drive a Sonic you may be stuck on a bike, as Automotive News [sub] reports that GM has to idle production of the subcompact for two weeks over a parts shortage. Either way, it’s an improvement on shaming cyclists into buying cars.

#3WTP #Marketing #PR #Tuners

Edward Niedermeyer

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5 of 13 comments

Tallnikita on Nov 01, 2011

OR you can remove the front wheel and put the bike inside the car and save gas. Is that uncool too?

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- Mcs on Nov 01, 2011
  OR you can remove the front wheel and put the bike inside the car and save gas +1 I remove both wheels and put my bike in a case. Lots of reasons - the biggest is to avoid extra maintenance if I hit a sudden rainstorm on the drive home or encounter a dirt road. The case protects both the cars interior and the bike.
  
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- Slow_Joe_Crow on Nov 01, 2011
  
  The problem is that consumes a large percentage of the available space in your car for people and luggage. While we did manage to fit 2 mountain bikes in the back of a Ford Escort this spring, we normally use a roof or trunk rack so that my kids can ride in the back seat. Our primary car has a roof rack for 3 bikes and a we have been known to put the trunk rack on to take 4 people and 5 bikes on a trip. As long as you watch out for low clearance (happened once, cost me 2 saddles and a Saturn drip rail) the bikes get dirty, but stay secure. Besides after a cyclocross race you really don't want that inside your car anyway.
  
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- Quentin on Nov 01, 2011
  
  @Slow_Joe_Crow I've converted to a hitch mount rack since I got my 4Runner. I still have trays and roof rails if I need more than 2 bikes, but I use the hitch 99% of the time. It is installed and removed in the matter of minutes and doesn't give me the fuel economy penalty. When my wife gets a new car, I'll be installing a receiver on it, too.
  
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Sushytom on Nov 01, 2011

The funny thing is, GM has been a major sponsor of US coverage of the Tour de France for several years, in the form of heavy Cadillac advertising and marketing tie-ins on the Versus cable network. In a lot of upscale areas of the US, a "cyclist" is not a kid who can't afford a car, it means a middle aged professional with enough spare income to indulge in a very expensive hobby. GM would love to tap that demographic, but it looks like they have a long way to go yet.

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