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N.J. Car Dealer Offers Saddam a Car

Posted on: Friday, 21 February 2003, 06:00 CST

N.J. Car Dealer Offers Saddam a Car

Source: Associated Press

The way car dealer Brad Benson sees it, even a ruthless dictator like Saddam Hussein needs a good car.

Especially if decides to hit the road in a hurry.

Benson, who runs a Mitsubishi and Hyundai dealership in suburban New Jersey, ran a radio advertisement last week, offering a brand new car to Saddam if he leaves Iraq.

"If he'll just give up now and get out of Iraq, I'll give him a brand new Mitsubishi, nicely equipped, every year for the rest of his life," Benson said in the ad.

"How about a four-wheel drive Mitsubishi Outlander, a perfect choice for running away in the desert?"

The response was overwhelming - overwhelmingly negative.

"How dare you give a car to that guy, when he's going to be responsible for killing a lot of people," one caller said.

"I can't tell you how sickening it was to hear you making fun of a very serious situation," another said.

He said he decided to pull the ad after two days, however, given the response, and he apologized in another ad.

That one bombed, too. More than 700 people complained that Benson had nothing to apologize for to begin with.

Benson, 46, says he can't tell whether the ads have drummed up business or hurt it, in part because of a snowstorm this week.

Now he's at work on a third ad that aims at mollifying those offended by the second ad.

Oh, and the offer for Saddam still stands.

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Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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