Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
car-ad.jpg

With Detroit increasingly desperate to unload inventory, one Missouri car dealership seems to have struck gold with a special promotion: Buyers get a $250 coupon towards either a gun or gasoline. The offer comes from Max Motors,
a small dealership south of Kansas City that has slapped
the image of a grimacing cowboy wielding two pistols all over its
website.

Max Motors owner Mark Muller claims sales have quadrupled since the offer took effect. But in this case, the high price of gas seems not to be influencing consumers' decisions. Most takers are opting to pack heat, reports Reuters:

Every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and one old guy" has elected to take the gun, Muller said. Muller recommends his customers select a Kel-Tec .380 pistol. "It's a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket," he said.

When asked by the bloggers at Wheels why drivers choose guns over gas, Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner explained that most consumers prefer their prizes to come in the form of an optional purchase -- the gun -- rather than a necessary purchase -- the gas. "For many coffee-drinking New Yorkers, an equivalent may be the choice between $250 grocery money and an espresso machine," the blog says.

Of course, the analogy doesn't run very deep. According to the Centers for Disease Control, guns were responsible for 30,694 deaths in 2005, and motor vehicles caused 45,520. You can say this for the latte-sipping elite -- the CDC reported no deaths by espresso.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Bulk Transit Passes for All

Jawnt's Ruth Miller on how employer transit pass programs like SEPTA's work to support employees, agencies and regions overall.

December 12, 2024

America Has A New ‘Friendliest’ State for Cycling

...but even the best of the best isn't doing enough to protect people on two wheels, a top advocacy group warns.

December 12, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines Hold Out Hope

It's not as catchy a slogan as MAGA, but maybe Donald Trump will Make American High-Speed Rail Great For the First Time?

December 12, 2024

Astro-Turf: Industry Group Says Fair Pay For Delivery Workers Means Higher Grocery Prices

An app industry-supported group is trying to sway the conversation around expanding the delivery worker minimum wage.

December 11, 2024

New Camera Tech Hopes to Stop Drivers From Close-Passing Cyclists

If only policymakers could fully experience the pervasive problem of drivers passing too closely to cyclists perhaps they'd find a way to stop the deadly practice and get victims justice.

December 11, 2024
See all posts