One man’s crusade for car safety is nearing its destructive climax, with Ashton Wood needing only a further $3300 to destroy his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
As part of a quirky public campaign for a ‘Lemon Law’ to protect buyers from unknowingly buying defective vehicles, Wood has turned to the community to help destroy his 4WD.
Rather than on-sell what he says has been a vehicle riddled with faults to an unsuspecting buyer, and potentially place them and their family at risk, Wood has looked to ‘crowd source’ the demolition of his car.
His Jeep has been covered in signatures of people supporting his efforts, and the ink-plastered Jeep has made its way around Brisbane – when it works – to encourage fellow motorists with issues to lodge complaints with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
“It’s going really well, we’ve got about $3300 left to raise to destroy the car,” Wood told the Sunshine Coast Daily.
“Everything’s booked; we’ve got a van booked with four cameras to film it (destruction of the Jeep). We’ve got two 34-tonne excavators booked to rip the engine out and there’s names written on arrows that will be shot into it beforehand,” Wood says.
There is a serious undertone to Wood’s campaign. After lobbying, he says the ACCC has confirmed it will investigate Fiat Chrysler, the Jeep distributor.
“The ACCC are now taking it seriously,” he adds.
Wood said he wanted to see a ‘Lemon Law’ introduced, to ensure both safer roads and more protection for consumers. He has two lobby groups on board, as well as at least one federal politician and a radio advertising campaign on Brisbane radio.
“At the end of the day, I refuse to sell my car to someone – it’s just too dangerous,” he notes.
According to Wood, there should be no reason why car dealers were not held to account for their products in much the same way as whitegoods dealers.
Wood’s Jeep will be destroyed on October 4.
For more details, visit Facebook and search ‘Destroy My Jeep’ or click here
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