Ford versus Chevrolet battle results in casualty
In Lakeland, FL,
the never-ending dispute over the superiority of Ford and Chevy trucks resulted in the death of one teenager
and the jailing of a second on murder charges. An angry phone conversation resulted in a parking lot confrontation,
which led to Brandon Prince and David Ormsbee exchanging additional words before Prince drove his 1980 GMC
towards Ormsbee, who had recently purchased a 2006 Ford Ranger. Ormsbee jumped up on the hood and fell off when
Prince made a sharp turn, which resulted in Ormsbee's death. As far as we can tell, this doesn't prove anything except
that it's a terrible idea to goof off around moving vehicles.
While we've certainly observed some fierce flame wars here at Autoblog, we'd like to point out that no one has yet died from any arguments in the Comments.
[Source: The Ledger; a hat tip goes out to GMInsidenews.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael G 7:08PM (4/22/2006)
The Ford vs GM is so stupid. While ford and GM fight each other the foreign manufactures clip right behind them to steal the hearts and minds of American car buyers, that's the casualty!
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ted 7:31PM (4/22/2006)
Hopefully they'll both go bankrupt and we will not have to listen any longer to hicks arguing over which of these two God-awful marques is "better".
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United Artists 7:35PM (4/22/2006)
Commence domestic bashing.
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Leo 7:45PM (4/22/2006)
These things often happen in communities where football is more important than academic achievement and knowledge of NASCAR takes precedent over communication skills.
I wonder if the dead kids dad cared what model the hearse was?
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Chris 7:56PM (4/22/2006)
Domestic products cause upright citizens to kill each other. This is the kind of aggression bred with domestic products, emphasizing macho I-am-bigger-than-you characteristics.
My V8 is bigger than yours, I can haul more than you, my truck goes faster than yours, I can run over your Civic any day.
We can clearly see what domestic products do to our children. Isn't it time to see a brighter side of the world?
Buy Japan. Invest in Japan. In a country where the worst human atrocities have already passed, the Japanese people have learned the tragedies of war, the sorrow of killing one another.
Now Japanese people surround themselves with nonviolence, keeping violence in cartoons, out of real life.
For the modern world, there is no better choice than the 2007 all-new Toyota Camry. Luxury, comfort, and a gas saving 158-horsepower, 2.4 liter 16-valve Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence 4-cylinder engine. Our children won't kill each other over that.
Toyota. Moving Forward.
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Chris 7:57PM (4/22/2006)
#1 and #3 you two are either about 12 years old or just a-holes. Leo, where the hell do you live that makes you so much better than Lakeland Florida? Ted, same for you. Could there be chance there is more to this than what is said? Maybe they were fighting about something else and this was just part of the argument? In some ways I do hope the idiots on this site that wish death on Ford and GM get their wish because if it were to happen, damn you would be sorry. Grow up, this is a tragic event that you two trivializewith comments like "wonder if the dead kids dad cared what model the hearse was?" I hope you never have to go through the aftermath of losing a child. You two make me sick.
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Chris 7:59PM (4/22/2006)
Sorry #4 Chris, I should have put a different name but your post came up after I sent mine to e-mail.
Chris #5
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Chris 8:04PM (4/22/2006)
Hi Chris #5. No problem.
I'm just following the advice of United Artists #2. Enjoy your day!
-Chris #4
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Corey W. 8:08PM (4/22/2006)
I can't believe this was posted, must be a slow weekend on Autoblog.
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matt 8:44PM (4/22/2006)
I don't find this story funny, its tragic for both boys involved, but I do find it funny that the sponsored links section on the bottom on the ledger web site was intelligent enough (or dumb enough) to advertise Gmc Sierra Accessories.
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Koba 10:40PM (4/22/2006)
Wow, ridiculous idiots. Poor kids. That's the difference between self-respect and pride. I suspect each of these kids were raised in car loving households, and they probably got one two many pep talks about the virtues of GM vs. Ford.
What's really sad is the freakin' Ford ad on the news page. Talk about tasteless.
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Colin 11:28PM (4/22/2006)
#4 lol Your just too much... Are you an ad bot or just a half-assed idiot?
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AR 11:37PM (4/22/2006)
Wow. Just goes to show how sophisticated and intelligent domestic fanboys are. You'd never see the same thing with Toyota fans versus Honda fans.
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That One Person 11:37PM (4/22/2006)
Yawn...this isnt new...
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Pinkerton 11:39PM (4/22/2006)
#4 (Chris)
Nice shilling for Toyota/Japan. Try hauling a yard of dirt in your precious Camry and see how that goes. This may be a "modern" world, but there is still a lot of work to do that requires a truck. BTW, I've owned three Toyotas and I have received my share of scorn from these types ignorants as well. Que sera.
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Jay 12:10AM (4/23/2006)
>Domestic products cause upright citizens to kill each
>other. This is the kind of aggression bred with
>domestic products, emphasizing macho I-am-bigger-than-
>you characteristics.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Whatever. Go to a video game message board somewhere and say "Sony PS2 sux!" or "Gamecube sux!" and see how many upright import-product-owning citizens DON'T flame you and/or threaten your life. Domestic or import, doesn't matter. In every group in which its members swear alliegance to something, you'll find a few whackjobs willing to kill over whatever item or ideal they support. Long before there was such a thing as Ford, Chevy, or even America, there were people willing to kill each other over national pride, religious differences, whatever.
>For the modern world, there is no better choice than
>the 2007 all-new Toyota Camry. Luxury, comfort, and a
>gas saving 158-horsepower, 2.4 liter 16-valve
>Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence 4-cylinder
>engine. Our children won't kill each other over that.
I'll agree with you there. A ho-hum 4-cylinder family sedan surely isn't worth killing anyone over. :D
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taipeileviathan 1:24AM (4/23/2006)
this is ridiculous. the penis-envy thing exists at least in trace amounts in every culture, every nation... it's just that it seems to be so prevalent in the states that it can be described as an actual characteristic of american culture. that's why ps2 vs gamecube wars could happen here... would it happen so much in japan or anywhere in the rest of the world? nope, not so much. that's pretty much the fact of the matter: this type of thing could've happened anywhere with any combination of loyalists towards any combination of branded consumer products, but the chances of it happening in the states are much higher.
noone's very surprised when they see this kind of event happening in the states... the typical reaction to this domestically would be, "*sigh*, dumb kids," whereas internationally it'd be something more like, "*sigh*, dumb americans". if this tragedy occured in a quiet village in the south of france or somewhere in tibet, ppl would be shocked and bewildered, not joking around or adding lame, irrelevant comments like, "maybe they were fighting about something else and this was just part of the argument," (which, by the way, is totally lame).
whatever, the conclusion is, american or not, hormones-raging or not, penis big or small, these two kids were seriously stupid. it's like with those school shootings: it's not that klebold or harris played video games, or watched violent tv, or listened to hardcore music, or were american or had exposure to guns. there're lots of ppl who fit those criteria and are perfectly normal. it's simply that an unfathomable amount of nurture factors mixed in with an inherently screwed up nature ended up turning them into the killers they were.
in other words, these kids were just plain stupid. and i, for one, am laughing my butt off, ready to nominate them for this year's darwin awards.
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Actual American Owner 2:05AM (4/23/2006)
Dying over who sold the most? Gm or Ford? Dying is a good word for the auto industry... and both GM and Ford are trying hard to hold on. Admittedly, they are run by some slow hard headed baby boomers who are slow to initially react... but it appears they are both going headstrong into remodel mode with some success. I would like Americans to remember that everything we have was built by someone before them.. and it can be taken away tommorrow by a Japanese company who doesn't care about the US at all. The moves they make are only targeted at taking money out of this country. The auto plants DO NOT give jobs the same way either.. with huge Tax Breaks and puny retirements for workers. I know it's hard to hear, but we still need to buy American both Ford and GM. GM and Ford should work together to crush Toyota.. and our Government should BACK OFF and not claim that they are unfair. I have had it with America Haters. Did you know Gm had more JD powers than Toyota? I didnt think so. or that the top 4 top plants for Quality were GM? So wipe that Asian Grin off your face and explain to 60000 out of work Americans your hatred of them and your need for status and greed.
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Anonymous Insomniac 3:35AM (4/23/2006)
GM, F, HMC, DCX, TM are all publicly traded companies and their number one allegiance is to the investors that live all over the world. If any of those companies are considered less than "investment grade" by Moody's or something, then they pay credit card interest rates for every single loan they take out. In an effort to stay out (in GM's case get out) of that position, 60000 or more GM workers will get laid off and their jobs will probably be sent over to other countries because that will bring GM the most profit thus making share prices rise. In turn, TM is opening more plants and hiring in America mainly because they want to sell in the all important US market and possibly want to give an image that they are as American as GM so they will sell more cars and in turn making their share prices rise.
GM right now sells LOTS of cars in the US. By volume they are #1. But there seems to be a huge disconnect between selling cars and making a profit on the cars they sell. It looks like GM needs the flexibility right now to hire and fire workers (and management) more easily so that their manufacturing facilities can be scaled down due to demand and the plants upgraded so that it becomes more efficient and when they do return to profits and good investment standing, they can hire a lot more than 60000 people that they laid off before and teach whoever they hire, union or non-union, how to operate cutting edge machinery at a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
The better idea would be for every single UAW employee getting the buyout deal to pool their severance pay together, partner up with an investment firm and buy 9% of GM shares so that they can get someone who is pro-UAW on the board. They might have a fighting chance of keeping their pensions and benefits.
My deepest condolences for the families on this tragedy.
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risingsun 4:05AM (4/23/2006)
A large portion of the cost of every GM vehicle sold goes to pay the UAW, it's something between 1000-2000 of the sticker price. These employees get paid WAY too much money for a job that hardly needs a high school diploma. They get outstanding benefits that cost GM a fortune, AND, part of the agreement with the UAW is that GM still has to pay the worker's salary long after they have been fired. This policy was created in a time before real competition from other countries, and it was assumed that demand for American cars would always be on the rise.
When GM goes bankrupt, the American tax payers will be footing the bill. GM is burning through their monetary reserves at an alarming rate. Seems they should have spent less time on the Z06 Vette or CTS-V and a helluva lot more time on cars like the Cobalt and Impala.
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