VW Mulls Legal Action on Fake Terror Ad
January 29, 2005German automaker Volkswagen said it had filed a complaint against the makers of a video clip depicting a suicide bombing using one of its cars. The 22-second film, which has been making the rounds on the Internet, shows an Arab-looking man with a Palestinian scarf driving a VW Polo through a city where he pulls up in front of a crowded
cafe and sets off a bomb in his car. The Polo and the surroundings remain unscathed and the slogan "Small but tough" appears. In a German version, the phrase reads
"Extremely well-built". VW spokesman Hartwig von Sass described the clip as "violence-glorifying, cynical and criminal" and said it amounted to "an attack on Volkswagen's good reputation". Sass said a steering wheel on the right-hand side, the license plate and the appearance of a London taxi in the background of the film indicated that it had been shot in the British capital. He said he could not confirm reports that a London advertising agency had made it but said it was in any case not an agency that worked with Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker. (AFP)