April Fools' Day prank FAIL.

[AZhitman]

Email I received today from SEMA:

Some of you may have received notice of an alleged New York Times article indicating that legislation was being drafted in the U.S. Congress to create a federal tax on collector cars. Hopefully, most of you know by now that the article was an April Fools Day prank. The author has indicated his regrets for any confusion or embarrassment to automobile collectors and enthusiasts caused by the prank. Below, we have included the full text of his letter revealing the hoax.

Please contact me if I can be of additional assistance.

Steve McDonald
Vice President, Government Affairs
Specialty Equipment Market Association


SENATOR SCHUMER “TAXING CLASSIC CARS” NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE REVEALED AS ONLY AN APRIL FOOL’S PRANK

The Shelby American Automobile Club’s annual April Fool’s gag reached a much wider audience that anyone could have predicted. Initially a four-page newsletter was emailed to every member. It contained stories about a perpetual motion ’68 Shelby, a ’69 GT350 that supposedly got 40 miles per gallon and a bogus front page recreation of the New York Times, dated March 28th, that had two stories. One was a hoax about purported tax legislation being prepared by Sen. Charles Schumer, which would tax every collector car, antique, hot rod and race car in the country. This was, of course, concocted out of thin air. But it was, on the surface, believable and it hit numerous hot buttons of car owners.

As soon as some SAAC members read this they immediately went into full “Paul Revere mode,” posting the article on a wide variety of Internet car forums. Once on those forums, readers swarmed like angry killer bees, both posting angry comments about the unfairness of the concept and spreading parts and pieces of the original article in emails and postings. It was the classic definition of something “going viral.”

When readers on some forums recognized the whole thing as an April Fool’s joke and posted this, other readers seemed to look right past the warnings. We now know how Orson Wells must have felt after his 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast resulted in traffic jams as panicked people tried to flee New Jersey.

While we enjoy a good April Fool’s prank as much as anyone, we never envisioned that this one could spread so quickly or so widely beyond the Shelby American Automobile Club. We deeply regret if taking this story seriously has caused anyone any undue distress or embarrassment. To keep more of that from happening we would greatly appreciate it if you could forward this message to as many car enthusiasts as possible. If they forward it to others who can forward it to even more people, maybe this second message will catch up with and overpower the first one.

And finally, please do not contact Senator Schumer’s office. He already has his hands full with real issues of importance.

Best regards,

Rick Kopec
Shelby American Automobile Club

[Beancooker]

Damn... LOL.

[Jesda]

Leave Chuckie alone! There's productive people he's trying to raise taxes on.

[Repo Man]

I like Jesda's comment.

[Amays U G37S]

Best prank ever

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

I dunno how you would classify this in "fail" territory, seems like quite a successful prank to me.

[OriginalWheelman]

And finally, please do not contact Senator Schumer’s office. He already has his hands full with real issues of importance.

As a New Yorker who has tried to contact Senator Schumer’s office more than once, I agree. All you will get is a form email promising a later reply that will never come.

[Rev_D21]

Chuck did actually respond to an email I sent long ago.

[OriginalWheelman]

He never responded when I emailed him asking him to do more research before pushing the stimulus through. I've emailed him 2 other times for things I can't quite remember, and aside from the,

"Dear Xxxx,
Your email has been recieved and blah blah we're busy we'll respond personally later."

I've never received a reply. All three times I got the same form letter and no further response.

[AZhitman]

He never responded when I emailed him asking him to do more research before pushing the stimulus through.

I'm appalled.

Not really.



:

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Wouldn't it suck if such a proposal really was up for consideration, or worse if this prank gave someone in congress the notion that this is actually a good idea and pushed it through.

[OriginalWheelman]

He never responded when I emailed him asking him to do more research before pushing the stimulus through.

I'm appalled.

Not really.



:

lol what truly annoying is every time, EVERY TIME I see legislation that pisses me off, Schumer's name is on it.

[snwbrdr435]

Like all the anti gun bs he spews

[themadscientist]

I just wish he would either take the glasses off or push the damned things up his nose already, cripes!



I will worry about his disturbing policies after we get that out of the way.

[AZhitman]

Time to go buy a box, Chuck. The world has passed you by.