Dear GASPIG:
I saw your stickers on a Pathfinder near Redondo Beach last week
when I was visiting. I just logged onto
your site to see what it was about and found the glory of all
websites. I agree totally with what you are promoting! I
am constantly appalled by the people here in Asheville and other
towns that feel they must own an SUV to get around, take their
kid's to school and do grocery shopping. Though I despise these
behemoths, I am the owner of one - a '93 Suburban 2500 that used
to be a CNG vehicle in Northern Virginia. If only they had CNG
filling facilities here I would switch. Alas, that is not the
case. I do however, use my Behemoth ( as I have appropriately
named it) for work (I am a self-employed woodworker and need to
haul lumber, plywood, finished cabinets, etc. Th enclosed rear
area is far better than a similar sized pickup.) and I do try to
drive it only when necessary. I am in fact looking to buy an
older model Honda or something that gets better than 15mpg.
Point of this message: send me all the stickers you want. I will
paste my Behemoth with them. I am not ashamed to admit I own a
gaspig and I want to advertise that it is a pig. Send the
stickers and I'll send back a photo for you to use. I'm willing
to help spread this message to the East Coast, in particular, the
truck loving Southeast.
Good luck with the campaign!
Joe
hi Joe:
i'm working with a contractor here in los angeles to deck out his
truck with gaspig.com stickers. it's great! i tell people all the
time, this isn't a protest about commercial vehicles, its about
using commercial vehicles -trucks- for family stuff. these days,
for every truck hauling stuff or working, there are like fifty
trucks hauling a person or small family. good lord, when i was a
kid, one of five, we rolled around in a sedan. now the family
"needs" a truck. can someone say "trendy"?
anyway, i really appreciate your perspective and i will certainly
send some stickers your way. do you want to sticker up the
suburban like my pathfinder http://www.gaspig.com/pathfinder.htm
? or would you prefer to do something like the bronco
http://www.gaspig.com/broncos.htm ? just say the word. thanks so
much for the great letter!
the Pig
www.gaspig.com
The Pathfinder is one that saw in Redondo the other week,
parked in some office complex. That's what caught me and had me
look you guys up. And I totally agree with the sentiments
regarding everyone driving pickups, SUVS and the like. And what's
with the Hummers? Do we really need the masses driving a modified
Army vehicle that even trained soldiers can't keep from rolling
over?
The stickers: I could certainly support the front windshield
sticker, probably two the size of the one on the Bronco bumper
for the rear side windows (they are about 2 feet long) and maybe
one that I can cut and put on the back door windows (they are the
ambulance kind), about 3" tall letters that said 'Cruising
the suburbs at 10 mpg' since it is a Suburban. What do you think?
I will, of course, send you pics of it on location, in use, in
the 'burbs, hopefully with many people staring and wondering how
they can change the trend. After all, that's the whole idea
right? Get people to change their minds and realize that they
don't NEED that gaspig SUV and that what they are really doing is
not helping their children but hurting them.
Look forward to your response.
Joe
done deal, Joe.
i'll get to work on cutting some stickers for you. i can't wait
to see your photos. i get all side tracked on this project.
sometimes it's more for fun than anything but ultimately, you're
right, the goal is to burn less gas. i started the website around
a half year ago and launched it in July kind of blindly following
my passion and hoping for the best. my wife thinks i'm in outer
space. how can one tiny little person make a difference? heck, i
don't know, but gaspig feels good to do, and perhaps the site
will do some good - when i'm old, i hope to look back and brag
that i did good things..... decking out your truck is going to
bring more eyeballs to gaspig.com and hopefully will help people
think twice at the dealership before they join the smoggy parade
of "outdoorsy" ramp models. i think you're gonna dig it
too cause it brings in some lively conversations!
living here is pretty expensive. the opportunities are good like
in any big city and if you're going to live in los angeles, the
best place is by the shore where it's cooler and the air is
fresher. production is in a major slump as are other industries,
but if you have your own trade, you could probably make it happen
out here. people here are like anywhere else - in fact the
majority of people who live here come from other states and
countries... some of the stereotype stuff you hear about exists
here, but its mostly normal folks...
i'll try and get your stickers in the mail before the end of the
week!! another gaspig mobile. Yeehaa!
the Pig
Tell your wife you have already done some good. I saw the
truck, went to site and am now (or will soon be) a promoter of
change. Hats off to you for having the gumption to launch it and
stand up for what you believe in.
Can't wait to get the stickers.
Joe
yeah man, when people like you stumble
across this project, it gains momentum and that's really fun.
i've already talked people into more fuel efficient cars - each
time that happens we're talking thousands of gallons that don't
get burned. what color is your suburban? do you have any photos
of it you could email to me? i'll get the stickers made up and
shipped out. can't wait to see the finished product - it's art!
the Pig
I don't have any photos at all. I will
take some 'before' pictures though and email them along with the
'after' pictures. Color is dark green, kind of a leaf green.
Looking forward to spreading the word.
Joe
Great Joe
your stickers are en route - should be there this week. no
problem on the photos. dark green is good cause i have a lot of
white vinyl. after you get the ones i'm sending, let me know if
you want more or bigger or whatever. great to have a gaspig
mobile on the east coast!
Pig
Hey Pig.
I just got the stickers. Thanks a bunch!
East Coast Gaspig is on the way! I'm heading to my folks
house on the coast tomorrow and will get a picture of the
Behemoth on the beach with a Gaspig sticker for the website.
Side note: Have you ever thought of doing a sister site for gas
mizers? Maybe gasfairy.com? Or gassprite.com? Gaspig could link
you to that and show more alternates to SUV's like hybrids,
CNG's, the really low-tech mobile - a bike, and even lower-tech -
walking! Just a thought.
Thanks again. I hope to get you pics by November.
Joe
hi Joe
just checking in... i just posted more of our letters back and
forth and
thought of your suburban... how's it looking?
all the best
Pig
Pig:
I got one of the sticker's on across the back doors with the two
circle-cross SUV's in the corners on. That was on the only sunny
day I had that I wasn't surfing when I was at the coast the past
two weeks. I'm hoping to get the others on soon and borrow my
friends' digital camera to get the pics. Haven't had too many
comments, yet.
Thanks for the DVD. And you said your wife thinks you are crazy
for the website? What about jumping out of planes with cameras
strapped on your head.
As a side note to that - there was one letter that criticized you
for wasting fuel with such frivolous activities. I must say I
tend to agree yet I, and many others like us who want change, do
things that are anti-theatical to our beliefs. Ibuild furniture,
sometimes with rain forest lumber, for rich people to put in
their over-blown houses. Yet I, like they, are entitled to make a
living. Sometimes making that living does not agree with your
belief or desires. Sometimes it does. My question really is - Did
that Ford truck just implode on impact or did it still resemble a
vehicle?
I'll get you the final pics soon.
Joe
hi Joe
great! can't wait to see the photos. yeah, my wife is used to my
unusual approach to life so this gaspig thing isn't too hard for
her to tolerate. you're right about me wasting fuel. ultimately,
i'd love each gallon i burn to save a million gallons - but it is
kind of a raunchy way to make a statement. i'm trying to dream up
other cleaner and less expensive ways to wreck SUVs that still
play well on camera. like you said, if we have to be perfect
before we spoke out, nobody would be talking. i'm not all that
concerned about being criticized personally as long as the
general momentum is toward awareness. at the dealership a person
who thinks i'm a total loser still might think twice about what
they really need in a car. ultimately, that's what i'm after.
the ford was toast on impact. i think i posted some images of it
crunched in the desert. try this link
http://www.skydive.tv/articles.htm and look for the ford
commercial.
can't wait to see the pics! thanks so much for putting the
stickers on!!
Pig:
Just caught a dollar brew pub viewing of 'XXX'; saw the
skydive/syboarding sequence and figured you did it; there was
your name
in the credits. Then realized I needed to contact you about the
'Behemoth Pig'. It rides the streets of Asheville with the Gaspig
sticker on the rear. The weather has been uncoeroperative of late
to put
the others on.Plus I need to coordinate with my friend who has
the
digital camera to get shots for the website. I promise to have
them by
Xmas.
I've gotten some people asking about it but so far most are
ignoring it.
Even though they do a double take or tailgate me to read it.
Hope things are well.
Joe, East Coast Gaspig Behemoth
hi Joe
good to hear from you! the good news is that people are reading
the sticker, even if it seems they're ignoring it. suv stuff is
all over the news so lots of them have plenty of practice
ignoring things. gaspig.com is short, to the point, and leads to
a pretty cool site - a message doesn't get much more direct than
that! i really appreciate the real estate on the behemoth. go
gaspig! good job picking out my name on tripleXXX. i think my
name came up with a hundred others - kind of a kid's movie with
big stunts - just the kind of movie i avoid watching, just the
kind of movie that keeps me employed. actually it was kind of fun
- like a big budget baywatch...
no rush on the photos my friend - i understand the holiday
hustle. merry christmas to you and yours - see you in 2003!
joe
the Pig
www.gaspig.com