I am going to show my age today. In fact, I am becoming the old man yelling, “Get off my lawn.” Specifically, you are stepping on my weeds. Furthermore, I might even sound like a Karen asking to speak to the manager. However, I need to complain and rant for a minute. Unfortunately, today’s youth is not like the youth of prior years. As a result, it feels like the Gen Z and Millennial generations have lost their minds.
I know I might offend half of you watching or reading this. However, just know that I do not mean you if you behave like a civilized human being. On the other hand, if you behave like a baboon, I am talking to you. Recently, we saw a display where people ripped, pulled, and twisted everything possible inside a vehicle. Consequently, they inflicted the worst possible abuse on the machine. Moreover, they destroyed other people’s property with no regard for the consequences. Ultimately, they had only one objective in mind. They wanted huge amounts of views to go viral.
Jeep Recon Controversy at the LA Auto Show
If you are the one who did this stupid thing, I am frankly irritated. In fact, I am irritated enough to make this statement. This situation is worthy of a discussion because of my history with this manufacturer. For example, I have spent years being as critical as anybody regarding Stellantis products. Specifically, I have railed against the Dodge Hornet and the Dodge Charger Daytona abominations. Subsequently, the market has screamed out that I was correct the entire time.
However, never once in that time period have I needed to jump into someone else’s car. I have never gone into a dealer’s car or a manufacturer’s display to tear the thing apart. Furthermore, I have never tried to make a fool of myself by breaking things. I have not had to attempt to break someone else’s property to make a point. Therefore, I think things have gotten stupid in this industry. When the goal to go viral blurs the lines into integrity and class, we have a problem. As a result, professional conduct as an aspiring journalist is dead.
Defending Jeep Against Destructive Behavior
For one of the rare times, I am going to stand up here and straight-up defend Jeep. Specifically, I want to defend what they said regarding this incident. It feels like the influencers involved are pushing back against reality. The video in question ended up on TikTok and went very viral. Eventually, the creators pulled and deleted it. However, the clip had already damaged the reputation of automotive journalism. Headlines soon appeared stating, “Jeep slams influencers who pull apart new Recon.”
Now, I have no love for an EV Jeep Recon coming out next year. Personally, I could care less if that thing ever comes out. As a matter of fact, I would probably yearn for its utter failure. I believe that will happen unless they drop the price significantly. However, it sounds like the price will be too high. Therefore, it will likely be another flop for Stellantis. Regardless, I will talk trash about the product’s viability. But one thing I would not do is jump into the car at a press event.
At the LA Auto Show, manufacturers give media access to cars that are not even out yet. These are pre-production vehicles. According to Jeep, builders put these units together by hand. We all know what a pre-production car implies. It is something there for you to look at to get a feel for the future. Consequently, I wouldn’t jump in the thing and start tearing it to shreds. Yet, the video shows them yanking the door handle until a gap appears. They pulled the grab handle until the dashboard moved. They screamed, “What the hell is this car made of?”
The Entitlement of Viral Fame
The video shows them mocking the gaps. They laughed as they disassembled the Jeep interior. “Verdict: in the bin,” they claimed. No, the verdict is that wolves raised you. You do not tear apart someone else’s car. Let’s paint a clear picture here. This is someone else’s property that they allowed you to film and discuss. They did not say go in there and start tearing the plastic apart. Furthermore, the influencers’ defense in the aftermath is downright hilarious.
One of them stated that if the Recon was a pre-production model, he would love to see the final version. He claimed he hoped the build quality would improve. This argument is horrible. Whether it improves or not is irrelevant to your actions today. If you want to buy one and tear it apart for a video, go for it. However, it is someone else’s thing right now. It may very well be crap quality. But a pre-production version for display only is not a fair representation of the final assembly line product.
Jeep released a statement expressing surprise at the video’s reach. They noted the story sparked a debate. They regretted the controversy but pushed back on the destructive nature of the content. Jeep correctly identified it as destructive content. The video clearly shows that clips holding interior parts were loose. The influencers argued the parts popped out easily by hand without damage. However, let me say this clearly. It does not matter.
The Problem with “It Didn’t Break”
Here is the main point. You guys didn’t know that when you started pulling on those things. Specifically, you did not know that it wouldn’t break. You were lucky to find that it didn’t break and just popped out. However, you didn’t know that when you started yanking on the navigation screen. Similarly, you didn’t know that when you pulled the trim pieces. What would you have done if it snapped? Would you have taken responsibility? Would you have written a check to replace those parts?
Claiming loose assembly is a weak excuse. It implies that you are psychic. Additionally, it implies you knew the outcome before you applied force. But you didn’t know. You were simply fortunate that it popped back into place. My only point in this rant is to highlight a lack of respect. If it isn’t your thing, you don’t get to tear it apart. It is that simple. Just because a company lets you take video doesn’t give you permission to destroy.
This mentality reminds me why I sometimes say if I had a son, he would be in the military. I would drop him off at the recruiter at 18 years old. Currently, the universe is pulling young people so hard to want to be famous. They want to be influencers so badly that they will do anything. Even if it completely thrashes someone else’s property. It is wrong. Freedom of speech is absolutely a thing. You can say the car is crap. But physical destruction crosses a line.
Conclusion
We need to ask if this behavior is acceptable. Do you think it’s okay to jump in and start ripping someone else’s thing apart? Do you just hope that it won’t break? When people thrash you online, you should own it. Don’t defend it by saying the parts were loose. Instead, just admit that ripping out plastic pieces wasn’t a good idea. Admit that you didn’t know if it would break until after you did it.
They could have caused irreparable damage. I doubt Jeep would sue them, but they probably could. They took freedom of speech and crossed into liability. I might be being a little extreme here. Perhaps I am just being an old man. However, this seems endemic of the social media age. Everyone will do anything to go viral. Hopefully, this message reaches someone out there. Make a better decision when taking care of someone else’s thing. It seems reasonable to me.
