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Originally Posted by gmc
Nader, wasn't he the consumer champion that caught Ford out putting dangerous cars on the road despite knowing the problem (Ford Pinto if memory serves me well, there was the famous internal memo that costed paying the claims arising as cheaper than changing the production line ) and sparked of a whole raft of safety regulation that means american cars now have fuel tanks that don't just blow up when struck from behind. i remember it well as it was a case that rebounded round the world. From the father of consumerism to fringe lunatic, isn't propoganda wonderful.
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unfortunately, every one of your 'facts' above is wrong.
It wasn't ford, it was chevrolet. it wasn't the pinto (nearly a decade later), it was the corvair, in 1965. and every single one of naders criticisms about the corvair was later proven wrong - by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the very organization that was created as a result of the furor set off by his charges! The cause of the instability in the corvair was drivers not setting the tire pressures to the values specified in the car's handbook by chevrolet. it wasn't the evil auto industry callously killing innocent people, it was nader making a name for himself.
No, he was not the father of 'consumerism'. Setting aside that consumerism is simply the state of being consumers, nader was a johnny-come-lately to the consumer advocacy/protection movement. Consumers Union was formed in 1936, and they actually have been champions of consumer product quality, safety, reliability, and responsibility. So, nader coming along a quarter century later does not qualify as the 'father' of anything. he was a struggling lawyer who wanted to make a name for himself. he did.
The correct construct of your last line should be "From fringe lunatic to the father of consumerism, isn't propoganda wonderful"....