Attack of the nanny state

Via Professor Bainbridge comes this article about GM pulling an ad with a kid dreaming about driving a Corvette. It was protested because- get this - safety groups complained that it would cause kids to drive their parents cars. Because little boys don't like cars and never dream about driving them until they see this ad.

When I was a kid my parents (who were pretty strict) would let me sit behind the wheel of their cars - which at the time were a 1972 AMC Gremlin (yellow) and a 1978 Dodge Aspen wagon (white, with woodgrain)- while they were parked in the driveway or garage. Guess it never occurred to them that this could lead to wild joyrides.