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Dude, Where's My Car: Koran-Burning Edition
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 15, 2010
Modified Oct 15, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 15, 2010
Modified Oct 15, 2010
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Is there anything more American than having a public temper-tantrum that almost tears the country apart and jump starts a religious war? There is one thing: getting a free car out of it. Mustachioed kook Pastor Terry Jones got just that for not burning Korans a month ago.
In the midst of Jones' fifteen minutes of fame, when he was threatening to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11, NJ car dealer Brad Benson offered to give the Pastor a free car if he promised not to. Benson said it as part of one of his "quirky" radio commercials, not expecting Jones to actually follow through. But lo and behold, a representative for Jones called recently to collect the 2011 Hyundai Accent, which retails for $14,200. “They said unless I was doing false advertising, they would like to arrange to pick up the car,” Benson recalled.
After confirming that it really was Jones (he asked him to send a copy of his driver's license), Benson asked radio listeners to weigh in on the decision. He ultimately decided to stick to his word. Jones told CBS he plans to donate the car to an organization that helps abused Muslim women: “We are not trying to profit from this. We are not keeping the car for ourselves.”
It's too bad. If he had kept it, he could have used it to carpool to one of his rallies. He only drew ten people to his last one.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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