Dodge made a massive social media mistake over the weekend, and the internet is offering exactly zero forgiveness, with Instagram commenters relentlessly piling on after the brand promoted street takeovers. This is a problem because street takeovers are totally wack, and anyone who participates them should be ashamed of themselves.
Having become especially popular during the pandemic, when many streets were empty and people were bored, street takeovers remain a popular way for people to put others’ lives in danger, or at the very least completely inconveniencing anyone else on the road. KTLA describes what a street takeover is in its story “What is a street takeover and how is social media fueling the illegal activity?“:
Illegal street takeovers have become a common occurrence in Los Angeles that authorities warn can turn deadly.
Takeovers typically involve “flash mobs” of hundreds of spectators and several cars that arrive in a coordinated manner at specific intersections, or even interstates, and blocking traffic to speed and show off dangerous stunts like drifting.
As vehicles turn and screech through intersections, spinning dangerously close to cheering crowds, the stunts are often filmed by onlookers and posted on social media — which police say generates even more interest in the illegal activity.
Illegal street racing has always been part of L.A.’s car culture, but police say the practice has changed over the years.
Per the Police Executive Research Forum, vehicles used in Street Takeovers are sometimes stolen.
This is the very worst of American car culture — an abhorrent display of utter recklessness and complete lack of consideration for the wellbeing of others. I cannot possibly denounce this activity more. Donuts in an empty parking lot with a friend or two is one thing, but a huge group of cars and people in the middle of an active intersection/street is something that else ‚ something totally unacceptable.
Which is why Dodge is being dragged after this Instagram post over the weekend:
This was part of a rather odd “marriage is scary” series of Instagram posts wherein the brand was trying to be funny, suggesting marriages are scary because of the risk that the partner isn’t into the car things you are into. The posts featured heritage cars (last-gen Chargers and Challengers), as well as some current models:
I was only able to take a screengrab of the main post and not of the comments, which were brutal. But even after Dodge deleted its post, the unrelenting continued in this other Dodge post:
Here’s a look at the rightly-harsh comments replying to Dodge, a brand whose vehicles have been key to the whole street takeover movement, and a brand whose macho burnout-y, V8-y, muscle-y messagaging probably hasn’t helped, either:
First, I’ll say I’m proud of the car community for standing against dangerous, irresponsible, and inconsiderate idiocy known as Street Takeovers. That so many of us are united in this stance gives me hope, as it seemed for a while like the world was heading into chaos, with street takeovers happening far too regularly. But it’s clear that the masses think street takeovers are not cool, and Dodge — promoter of street takeovers via that Instagram post — is therefore also not cool. At least at this moment.
I’m not going to feed into cancel culture; I think people and organizations make mistakes, and so long as the mistake isn’t too egregious, we can all forgive and forget. This is just a social media post, and Dodge eventually removed it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we learned that whoever posted it didn’t fully understand what they were writing, and if they did, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dodge distanced themselves from that person. But I’m not going to speak for Dodge; after seeing this post yesterday (hat tip to David Osorio!) I reached out to the brand for comment but have not heard back. How they reply is how I’ll gauge how upset I want to be at the brand for promoting the very worst, most erosive part of car culture — a culture we here at The Autopian love and cherish so deeply.