| When Jeep introduced the new-for-2014 Cherokee, the cute-ute's polarizing styling, Eurotrash underpinnings, and front-wheel-drive base configuration immediately sent the autoblogosphere into a violent tizzy. Much of the criticism seemed to be engendered by the use of the name "Cherokee", which is associated in the name of the average Jeep fan with the time-tested, AMC-era XJ Cherokee. (It should be noted, however, that Jalopnik has already decided the new Cherokee is superior to the old one.) Had Chrysler used the name "Liberty", which is primarily associated with dorky-looking uranium-dense crapwagons leaking oil in traffic, or "Patriot", which is primarily associated with the Dodge Caliber, much of the initial agitation might not have happened. That's all car-geek inside baseball, however. In the real world, meaning Manhattan, what really matters isn't crawl ratio or wind noise or durability — it's identity-based politics. It's a surprise, then, that the New York Times has taken this long to uncover the critical feature of the new small Jeep: it's all racist and whatnot.
Those of us who have been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to attend university in the past twenty or so years know that some large part of the modern post-secondary educational apparatus is devoted to old white men earnestly bleating on about black people and womyn and transgenders and whatnot. Without the intervention of these wise old Caucasians (are we allowed to say enlightened, or is that a skin-color value-judgement trigger event?) the average black person or womon or transgender individual would probably be too busy watching "Mad Men" or playing Candy Crush Saga to realize when his/her/their rights, identities, feelings, or heritage is being disrespected. It's therefore critical that the SWPL spiritual leaders of the minority communities stay vigilant at all times. Without their intervention, Paula Deen would still be on television. The fact that you can turn on the Food Network and see more of Giada De Laurentitis or that sexy little Cat Cora and not have to look at some ugly old expired bag means that a true blow has been struck for diversity and against ageism. I think. I'm still a little fuzzy on that part. Where was I? Oh yes, the Jeep Cherokee. Someone apparently told white guy Glenn Collins that Jeep's been naming an SUV of some sort after a Native American tribe for the last forty years. Presumably there are no Jeep Cherokees in Manhattan. I know I've never seen one. Mr. Collins immediately leapt into SWPL action, contacting the Cherokee tribe to see what they think about this racist act.
In other words: We don't care about it, you old white man, and we think your time would be better spent agonizing about truffles or font choice. The Cherokee Nation itself is busy participating in disaster relief and improving tribal access to healthcare. Mr. Collins must have been absolutely shocked that the people he calls "American Indians" are unwilling to drop everything and march on Toledo (a name that, I must add, was stolen from the Spaniards) to protest Jeep's newest trucklet. I wonder if he saw himself as a potential leader of the movement, standing hand-in-hand with the American Indian girl from "Banshee" (who is really a Cuban-American) and the Crying Indian (who was just a regular white guy in real life). I've written a brief script for this scenario.
Mr. Collins does make a valid point in the second page of his click-friendly article, however: it's likely that the proliferation of alphabet soup nomenclature is due at least in part to the fact that a name like "MKZ" or "MKS" or "MDX" or "ML350″ is completely identity-politics compatible, and therefore completely inoffensive to white university professors, and therefore totally cool to use. Until, of course, the day comes that we meet the aliens, and it turns out that they're all named "S63 AMG". from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
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