Carolina Ford/Facebook/PANothing says ‘Murica!’ like a US car dealership offering a ‘God, Guns and America’ promotion to boost sales.
If you mosey on down to the South Carolina Ford dealership and buy a car, you’ll be gifted with a free bible, an American flag, and a voucher to buy an AR-15 assault rifle.
Derrick Hughes, general manager of Honea Path’s Carolina Ford dealer, said the ‘patriotic’ idea isn’t politically motivated – it’s simply to help the business.
Mostly enjoy making new friends today!! Thank you Duke Whitfield 😊 and congratulations on the new ride!
Posted by Carolina Ford on Monday, October 7, 2019
Hughes said the dealership came up with the promotion after a brainstorming session, where the team came up with ways to appeal to the demographic of the small town – which also has a large hunting community.
As reported by WYFF, via MailOnline, Hughes said:
We are not taking a political stance in any way, shape or form. We are all country folk, God-fearing people. We are very patriotic people, believe in our country and salute our military.
The dealership’s promotion is running all through November this year. If you purchase a car, you can head to Locked N Loaded, in nearby Abbeville, with a $400 voucher to buy Smith & Wesson AR-15-style rifle.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to buy an AR-15 – you can choose another gun, or other things like general fishing and hunting equipment. As Hughes added: ‘We are not forcing anyone to take the gun,’ explaining the customer can opt out of the voucher and instead take the price off the vehicle.
M62/Wikimedia$400 off the price of a car, or a free gun? Now there’s a question.
However, if you do decide to get yourself a nice, friendly AR-15, you’ll need to go through a background check.
As reported by 7 News, Locked N Loaded’s owner Jay Ashley said:
What we don’t want is someone who bought a car and they know they can’t buy a firearm to give that to somebody else to come in here and get it.
Not going to happen! We will squish that. We know the name of the person who bought the car, who signed [for it] and that’s why we require a copy of their driver’s license.
Posted by Carolina Ford on Monday, October 7, 2019
The AR-15 style rifle is a lightweight, semi-automatic weapon that has a prolific history in American violence: it’s been used in around half of the US’ deadliest mass shootings, including the Las Vegas massacre in 2017 which left 58 people dead.
According to Hughes, the dealership opted to promote the AR-15 as they believe it’s an effective tool for hunting wild hogs and coyotes. Also, as its very much a hunting town, many residents are already equipped with pistols and shotguns. Why not add a rifle into the mix?
There has been some controversy though, with one person writing on the dealership’s Facebook page: ‘Can’t wait for the lawsuits when your company is held liable for a shooting.’
PAAnother user wrote: ‘Welcome to the origin of our next mass shooting. Shame on you for handing these things out like candy.’
However, many are jubilant about the promotion. One user wrote: ‘Love this promo – And a good reason to buy another Ford truck.’
Another fan of the deal commented: ‘God Bless America!! Good for you, too bad I don’t live closer.’
What’s wrong with a free air freshener?
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.