Vote for 'America's Most Toxic Car Commercial'

Kea Wilson announces a new contest of ignominy underway at Streetsblog: "America’s Most Toxic Car Commercial." 

Last week, Streetsblog the new March madness-style bracket contest, "where you’ll have a chance to pick which ad deserves this year’s Most Toxic Car Commercial title." Wilson promises that Streetsblog will "dive deep into how this industry glorifies reckless driving, knowingly fuels our pedestrian death crisis, and often glosses over the climate impact of the dirtiest (and, critically, most profitable) cars around — as well as a few thoughts from advocates on what we should do about it all."

For years now, Streetsblog has been documenting the wort abuses of car-centric excess with similarly formatted contests the "Sorriest Bus Stops" and "Parking Madness." The "America’s Most Toxic Car Commercial" contest shifts the focus of these contests from the built environment to the cultural influences that create the demand for automobile dominance.

The article announcing the new context calls for submissions via a Survey on Google Forms, as well as a hashtag, #ToxicCarAds (be sure to tag @StreetsblogUSA), for submissions via social media.

As for the criteria for a car commercial to be deemed toxic, Wilson writes: "the submission should highlight something violent, aggressive, dangerous, disturbing, or otherwise corrosive about U.S. car culture, specifically."

In keeping with Streetblog's promise to do a deep dive into toxic ads, Tom Flood has already written an opinion piece digging into 'Muscle-Car Mayhem' for Streetsblog NYC, focusing specifically on the carnage caused drivers using Dodge Chargers to do exactly what the cares were designed to do: race.