Volkswagen ad banned in U.K. for portraying gender stereotypes

A Volkswagen TV commercial set to air in the U.K. has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) there for harmfully portraying gender stereotypes.The ad, for VWs new eGolf, depicts men engaged in a variety of activities such as climbing mountains, traveling through space and competing in para-athletic sports, in contrast with images of women making a sandwich, doing laundry and sitting drinking coffee.When we learn to adapt, we can achieve anything, reads the tagline on the ad, which was intended to show how society can adapt to the more widespread use of electric cars such as the eGolf. However, the advertising authority says it received three complaints about its portrayal of harmful gender stereotypes.The ASA ruled the implication behind the ad is that raising a child and doing household chores are exclusively roles for women, and that adventurous activities are better left to men, reports the BBC.Volkswagen defended the ad saying it made no suggestion that childcare was solely associated with women, says the British news outlet, and the fact that the woman in its advertisement was calm and reading could be seen as going against the stereotypical depiction of harassed or anxious parents in advertising. A second ad, for Philadelphia cream cheese, banned by the ASA at the same time portrays two new dads at a restaurant with their children; the fathers become distracted by some bagels and toast, and leave their kids on the conveyor belt. That ad received 128 complaints for its portrayal of gender stereotypes, which apparently painted men as being unable to care for their children.Both of the ads broke a brand new U.K. ASA rule that states advertising cannot depict men and women engaged in gender-stereotypical
Origin: Volkswagen ad banned in U.K. for portraying gender stereotypes

News Roundup: A US$4-mil ‘67 Corvette heads to auction, a gender reveal burnout ends in flames and more top stories 

Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.What might be the most expensive Corvette ever is going up for saleWhen it comes to Corvettes, none is more coveted than the L88. So when this, the first 1967 Corvette L88 to ever be produced according to Hagerty, goes up for sale at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, it’s expected to break sales records. The rare V8-powered car comes with a pedigree including a few SCCA race wins with Tony DeLorenzo behind the wheel, and is expected to fetch upwards of US$4 million at the classic car auction. Rear-end photos of the next-gen Corvette leak days before official revealIt’s mere days before GM is set to officially reveal the new Chevrolet Corvette, but just like a spoiled 9-year-old one day before his birthday party, we just can’t help sneaking a peek through the wrapping paper. An image posted on corvetteforum.com and reposted to Instagram appears to show the back side of the mid-engined Chevy, revealing tail lights that remind some of the Camaro. Take a look-see if you’re into spoilers, or hold off just a few more days until July 18.Hyundai says the Santa Cruz-inspired pickup truck is coming very soonHyundai is hoping to generate a “whole new class of buyers” with its first pickup truck, which it says should be on the way shortly. Details and specs haven’t been revealed just yet, so we’re still imagining something close to the five-seat crossover-style Santa Cruz concept truck  Hyundai revealed over four years ago. The South Korean brand will likely build the trucks in the U.S. to avoid the 25-per-cent tariff on imports. We get behind the wheel of the 2020 Toyota GR Supra for the first timeIt’s been 21 years since the last Supra was produced, so when Toyota decided to bring it back for a 2020 model year, it only made sense to make it the brand’s sportiest production car ever. And the sportiest Toyota it is. Our experts can confirm it, having recently taken the car out for a first drive on Quebec’s Circuit Mont Tremblant. Sharing a platform with the BMW Z4, the Supra isn’t just a Bimmer dressed by Toyota. As Costa Mouzouris puts it, “the Supra looks and feels completely different, and returns a driving experience that is more visceral and more intense.”Gender reveal burnout goes wrong—congratulations, it’s an explosion!And just like that, with the ignition and explosion of an Australian muscle car, we’ve reached Peak Gender Reveal. Because instead of opting to cut into a blue or pink cake cloaked in white icing, or open a box full of pink or blue balloons, one Australian dad decided to announce the sex of his new child using the spinning rear tires of a V8 Holden Special Vehicles Senator. But before the blue smoke had stopped swirling, a fire broke out, resulting in an explosion and the destruction of the Australian muscle car. Nobody was hurt, but the driver was fined and the video of the incident is now being used as an educational tool by Australian police.  Five reasons we can’t wait to drive the 2020 Shelby GT500People deal with excitement in various ways. Driving’s expert Alex Reid, for one, makes lists. This week, with the anticipation of the new 2020 Shelby GT500 becoming simply too much to bear, the auto journalist began documenting and organizing the reasons he’s excited to drive Ford’s new pony. First, at the heart of the matter is what the brand calls “the world’s most torque-dense V8,” making 760 horsepower and 625 lb.-ft. of torque. And then there’s the history, which dates back to Texas in 1965. Read the rest of the list to further benefit from our writer’s fastidious nervous twitch. GM recalls 500,000 trucks due to “hard” brakes and defrosters that could start firesA probe into faulty power braking systems in some GM trucks and SUVS has escalated into a full-blown recall of around 300,000 new GM trucks and SUVs across Canada. The fault lies in a deteriorating vacuum that assists the power brakes, which can lead to a hard brake pedal and less effective braking. A second recall is targeting nearly 160,000 trucks with potentially glitchy rear window defrosters that could overheat and possibly start a fire. Click the link above to see if you’re GM truck or SUV might be affected.
Origin: News Roundup: A US$4-mil ‘67 Corvette heads to auction, a gender reveal burnout ends in flames and more top stories 

Watch: Australian gender reveal burnout ends with explosion, car fire

Australians love burnouts its almost like its in their blood, something imbued in them from birth. That goes double for this one kid, whose gender-reveal-via-burnout turned out even more memorable than his parents had planned when it ended with an explosion and car fire.Police in Australia are using a gender reveal party that took place on the countrys Gold Coast in April 2018 as an example of how these sorts of stunts can go way wrong way fast.The reveal was supposed to happen via a giant smokey burnout in the revealers V8-powered Holden Special Vehicles Senator, a rear-wheel-drive muscle car. As he spun the tires, the blue smoke gave away the baby would be a boy.Unfortunately, the hoonigan at the wheel got a little overzealous and ended up causing a big explosion that burned the car to the ground. Nobody was hurt, but according to CNN, the 29-year-old driver was convicted of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.Police have stepped in after a gender reveal ceremony took a turn for the worst.The explosive finale was captured on video, with the daredevil driver slapped with a hefty fine: https://t.co/V7DkwMkN2l @njkelly9 #9News pic.twitter.com/voh5QeTRqy Nine News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) July 9, 2019This isnt the first time a gender reveal has sparked flames the its-a-boy!-burnout party is actually part of a growing trend in Australia, apparently which is whats got police increasingly concerned.On top of it all, gender reveal parties are starting to see a lot of push-back generally, especially over-the-top ones. Our thoughts? At the end of the day, just dont be dumb,
Origin: Watch: Australian gender reveal burnout ends with explosion, car fire