Oprah is too rich.

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Oprah Winfrey surprises audience with new cars; celebrates premiere
CHICAGO (AP) — Oprah Winfrey celebrated the premiere of her 19th season by surprising each of her 276 audience members with a new car.
“We’re calling this our wildest dream season, because this year on the Oprah show, no dream is too wild, no surprise too impossible to pull off,” Winfrey said on the show that aired Monday.
Winfrey said the audience members were chosen because their friends or family had written about their need for a new car. One woman’s young son said she drove a car that “looks like she got into a gunfight”; another couple had almost 400,000 miles (about 644,000 kilometres) on their two vehicles.
Making sure the audience was kept in suspense, Winfrey opened the show by calling 11 people onto the stage. She gave each of them a car — a Pontiac G6.
She then had gift boxes distributed to the rest of the audience and said one of the boxes contained keys to a 12th car. But when everyone opened the boxes, each had a set of keys.
“Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!” Winfrey yelled as she jumped up and down on the stage.
The audience screamed, cried and hugged each other — then followed Winfrey out to the parking lot of her Harpo Studios to see their Pontiacs, all decorated with giant red bows.
The cars, which retail for $28,000 US, were donated by Pontiac.
“A little idea grew into a big idea,” Mary Henige of Pontiac told The Associated Press.
She added that Pontiac will pay for the taxes and the customizing of the cars.
In other segments on the show, taped Thursday, Winfrey surprised a 20-year-old girl who had spent years in foster care and homeless shelters with a four-year college scholarship, a makeover and $10,000 in clothes. And a family with eight foster children who were going to be kicked out of their house were given $130,000 to buy and repair the home.
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which debuted in 1986, is syndicated to 212 domestic markets and 109 countries.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, so the cars were donated by Pontiac, but still. This is madness.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:49 (twenty-one years ago)

That is completely fuckin' insane.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

“Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!” Winfrey yelled as she jumped up and down on the stage.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Sometimes your dreams can be answered .. and that's what makes America great... Of course, you have to appear on TV for good things to happen to you.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

$10,000 in clothes
Christ almighty. That's a lot of clothes. Hope she gave the girl a dry-cleaning trust fund, too.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess we really can do without adequate funding of social services, so long as Oprah is around to pick up the slack.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Some of those audience members don't need another car, I'd bet.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:57 (twenty-one years ago)

oh c'mon, this is awesome, don't try and deny it

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 16:58 (twenty-one years ago)

she should have given each audience member their own magazine on the cover of which they would appear monthly--usually wearing red

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Monday, 13 September 2004 16:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Couldn't she have gone to her local soup kitchen and given those people new cars instead? I don't know....it just seems, as Huk suggest, like an abjectly vulgar display of affluence.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Chicago has pretty decent public transportation, yes. But next to Oprah, they've got nothing.

oh, and Oprah for president!

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

No. We must stop people who seek to do good. It makes the rest of us mazillionaires who just like to roll around naked in our money and throw rocks at poor people look bad.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=08242004

― TOMBOT, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

We must stop people who seek to do good

But, really, is this really "doing good"?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

This is beautiful. I love Oprah's show, especially the ones where she makes people's dreams come true & such. And saying Oprah's too rich is like saying God's too almighty.

― briania (briania), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

This would be much better if, å la Robin Hood, Oprah took the cars from Maury Povich viewers to give to her audience.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

We must stop people who seek to do good
But, really, is this really "doing good"?

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), September 13th, 2004.

i dunno, do you want a new car? i could use a new car.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

i dunno, do you want a new car? i could use a new car.

I'd love a car....new or otherwise, but just because she's giving a bunch of her fawning cult-members new cars, does that mean it's some saintly act?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

who said it was a saintly act? people could use new cars, that's all.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

We must stop people who seek to do good
But, really, is this really "doing good"?

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), September 13th, 2004.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i dunno, do you want a new car? i could use a new car.
I'd love a car....new or otherwise, but just because she's giving a bunch of her fawning cult-members new cars, does that mean it's some saintly act?

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), September 13th, 2004.

is there no space between "doing good" and a "saintly act"?

what are you reacting to alex?

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i'll break it down.

(a) oprah gave some people w/crappy cars new cars
(b) i think this is a good thing to do; people will be happy with their new cars
(c) most would agree that there is a difference in degree, if not in kind, between a saintly act and a good deed (even if we're only talking about rhetoric)
(d) no one argued that oprah is saint or committed a saintly act

if you would like to continue venting your spleen without the impediment of reason, please refer to this post for my presumed reponse. thank you.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:14 (twenty-one years ago)

whoops. i thought the previous two posts hadn't worked!!!! sorry about that. the pc just hung about i hit "submit" so i went back and retyped the post--twice.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Which would come off better..
1-Oprah gives everyone in the audience a new (donated) car
2-Oprah does a show from the homeless shelter, and gives everyone a set of (donated) golf clubs

(I'm not sure of the point myself.)

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

i think oprah is a big philanthropist so it's not like she isn't also doing the other stuff that alex would probably approve of.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:16 (twenty-one years ago)

She's raised millions of dollars for Habitat for Humanity and scholarships for disadvantaged young people and other worthy charities. Let Oprah have her fun.

PS Oprah I would like a new car, too, please. Thank you.

― Nemo (JND), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Plus, it's showbiz.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I'll be racing home today to watch - bet this makes fabulous television. Plus, Oprah is forever hott.

― briania (briania), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Alex was only picking on the word "Need" ...

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Oprah can you please come to my place and pimp my ride?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.discountpartcenter.com/photos/02-23-04-01-Pontiac-G6.jpg

Here is the car.

― Nemo (JND), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I bet when Oprah fucks she makes mer man-servant-bot wear condoms made of hundred dollar bills.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Why do refer to yourself in the third person, N'licious?

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Boprah and her little man-servant sex dwarf.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Way to fuck up Chicago's traffic even more, Oprah. Thanks.

Couldn't she have just given out cash? So people could buy bicycles, or pay off their mortgage, or set up a meth lab, or something actually useful, as opposed to encouraging gasoline consumption (when gas is $2.20 a gallon in Chicago), pollution, and, as mentioned above, more shitty traffic?

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Nevermind. Who cares? Yay Oprah.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm most impressed with her helping the family with 8 foster children. but i think i agree with alex on this. i love the idea of oprah doing shows where she is changing people's lives for the better, but question giving them cars as "doing good." That's also not to say that she's "doing bad" by giving away cars. nor do i doubt that some people on the show actually needed a new car....i just wish she'd use her position to make better statements, i guess. not that i'm all hyper-activist-y or anything... but could she have found a more creative way to give people the transportation they needed? found a way to recycle old cars by fixing them up, or something? even convinced toyota to donate a handful of hybrid cars. it just seems so excessive to me.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the Oprah police are going to come get me.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I'M BRIAN FELLOWS!!!!!

(At least they're not SUVs.)

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

OTM Andy. They could've been SUVs.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

The Oprah Police through expensive things at you until you implode in an orgy of avarice.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Do promo cars have a hole punch in the driver's seat or something? A small key scratch on the passenger door?

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

haha!

a giant black stripe through the interior?

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

My cousin got married last weekend and his wife got her dress from Oprah!!! Her mom has a dress boutique which got flooded or something, and so B's dress was ruined. So the sister wrote to Oprah, and B went on the show and got a Vera Wang dress.

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

They should make a TV show of me giving money to charity. I'm certainly not going to bother unless I can do it on TV. "Kevin gives £1 to OXFAM!". "Kevin talks to people in street and sets up a £3 a month standing order to Barnardos, which with Gift Aid means the government do the same! Or something". Which is to say, overly showy good acts are easily confused with, or are, actually selfish attempts to gain publicity.

Besides, if the cars were donated, Oprah didn't give anything to anyone.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

never, in my wildest dreams.

she should have just given them the money.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 13 September 2004 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Just imagine the mob scene she'll get at the premiere of her 20th season.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I really want to hear her yelling "Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!". That would make a fantastic sample.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I am too poor.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Cars are dumb.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:36 (twenty-one years ago)

is anyone ever tempted to try & get tickets for the show? if only for the free stuff?

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I'll start jumping up and down yelling EVERYBODY GETS A CAR! EVERYBODY GETS A CAR! here at my desk. But seriously, I think she has good intentions.

Has anyone else noticed a skyrocketing in reality shows that involve making all of your dreams come true? Have you ever seen Extreme Makeover Home edition? Everyone ends up in tears. "We thank Jesus for twenty plasma TVs and an awesome crib." I feel weird about it. It's incredibly generous and, sure, a lot of these people deserve a little something, but there's also this message that if you are REALLY bad off, then someone will come fix everything for you.

Never mind. I obviously don't know what I'm trying to say.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:43 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post (over myself) I would like to see what it's like sometime, but don't they only shoot during the day?

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:43 (twenty-one years ago)

It also gives this message of "all your problems can be fixed with high-end STUFF".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Daddy drinks too much, but I have a bed shaped like a race car.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

ha ha Huck just inadvertantly described MY life

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Am I a terrible person for always imagining that daytime talk show audiences are full of people who smell really bad?

― TOMBOT, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:51 (twenty-one years ago)

i always thought that the oprah crowd would smell over-perfumed.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

They smell like ham and coca cola.

― Leon Czolgosz (Nicole), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

EVERYBODY GETS A BATH!

― briania (briania), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:54 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not for nothing that they're called the Great Unwashed.

xpost

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:54 (twenty-one years ago)

The audience always looks a bit cramped.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Is there a name for Oprah-fans? Like Dittoheads or Juggallos?

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Oprons.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Oprah-Loompahs

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 18:59 (twenty-one years ago)

DUMBASSES

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Watch your words, son.

― Dan Perry '08, happily married to an Oprah fan (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:08 (twenty-one years ago)

soccer moms

― oops (Oops), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post

Did your wife get a free car? If not you should write away and ask why not.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

The robots that put those cars together should mutiny.

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Jesus, this thread took off, didn't it.

Bottom line: I don't think whistleheaded Oprah fans should be rewarded for going to her show. And I also think it's somewhat irresponsible to give new cars to people who may not need new cars. If you're going to be a big philanthropist about it (which maybe she is anyway, I don't know), fuckin' give'em to people who you know for a fact need'em. The whole thing is just fuckin' senseless.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

why should oprah not reward people who support her? it's not like the government is giving out the cars

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:15 (twenty-one years ago)

are you against birthday gifts from parents alex?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, put that uppity bitch in her place.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

why should oprah not reward people who support her?

Well, that's a fair point, i guess....but fuck, it's such an extravagant gesture. I don't know. I don't like it, though.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Everybody gets CHAOS FOR BREAKFAST!!!

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.imao.us/img/race_card.gif

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:17 (twenty-one years ago)

They don't deserve Chaos for Breakfast.

You calling me a racist, Dan?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I am not calling you a racist. I am saying that race is playing very heavily into this discussion.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)

If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't like it if Jerry Springer gave his fuckin' fans new cars either (does he even have a show anymore?)

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

All of the people in the audience had been selected based on letters from family and friends saying that they desperately needed new rides.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Class also; Oprah has SO MUCH MONEY that everything she does is automatically suspect and wrong in the eyes of some (ie, you).

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Is that true, Huk?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't see where race has played into this thread. Sexism, maybe, but I haven't noticed any race-based comments.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

she didn't even pay for the cars! (xp)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Read the posted article, Alex!

Winfrey said the audience members were chosen because their friends or family had written about their need for a new car.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

alex i'm beginning to suspect you did not read the article in full. (xp again)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Winfrey said the audience members were chosen because their friends or family had written about their need for a new car. One woman’s young son
said she drove a car that “looks like she got into a gunfight”; another couple had almost 400,000 miles (about 644,000 kilometres) on their two
vehicles.

xxxpost

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

My point: if you're going to make what is undeniably such an extravagant gesture, wouldn't you want to make DAMN SURE that it was going to serve people that GENUINELY NEEDED it?

Be it Dr.Phil or Oprah or Jerry Springer or Maury Povich or Lisa Ling or fuckin' Uncle Floyd, it don't matter.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

BUT THEY DID NEED THE CARS

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Alright, then, I feel better about it, then. I mistakenly just thought she was handing out Pontiacs to folks who just happened to show up to that taping.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I apologize for not reading the intro blurb too carefully.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

this is a near-textbook case of ostentatious charity (NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT OF COURSE) solving (heh "solving") a problem that needs work at a much broader level. i don't care if oprah's fans are "whistleheaded" (i don't think they are, actually), that's hardly the issue.

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Still, 276 new cars is a crazy giveaway, whether it's Oprah or Pontiac. Maybe Oprah will take the time to point out WHY these people MIGHT not be able to afford new cars in the wake of mega-billion $$$ tax cuts to the very, very rich.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:27 (twenty-one years ago)

"another couple had almost 400,000 miles (about 644,000 kilometres) on their two vehicles"

Two cars! And she's giving them another one!

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I just find talk-show hosts in general pretty fuckin' creepy, regardless of their gender, race and/or incalculabe affluence.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:28 (twenty-one years ago)

this is how nuts i am: this thread sent me off on an hour-long hunt for the right quote about medieval peasants having a loyalty to their monarch as an embodiment of their concerns against their local feudal rulers. but i couldn't find it.

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, if there's anyone whose judgment I'd question in this deal, it would be the eggheads at Pontiac. 276 cars at $28,000 per comes to $7,728,000. That would buy a lot of advertising. Even if you reduce the cost per car to $20,000 it still comes to $5,520,000.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe they talked to the publishing industry about the power of Oprah-endorsement.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm all for oprah ostentatiously giving people cars and scholarships and clothing and cash, considering the vicious, greedy, petty, and mean-spirited example being set by our current government. good lord. can't we find fault with the ban on assault weapons expiring, instead?

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

this is only bugging me because i can remember so many fucking dorm room bull sessions with nascent neolib pigs about "society," and can now imagine hearing "oh but oprah is totally loaded! and she's a black woman, you know! and she gave away like fifty cars to people who really deserved them, to poor people who were good! vote republican!"

otherwise, in and of itself, this is pretty cool. you go girl!

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe she should be giving away free kevlar.

xpost

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

but fuck a pontiac, just give me the cash

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Better yet, Oprah should've given everyone in her audience a high-powered, semi-automatic assault weapon and dispatched them to Washington DC.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe they talked to the publishing industry about the power of Oprah-endorsement

Yeah, maybe if this is what it takes to get on Oprah's good side, it will be worth it for them. If she takes to name-dropping Pontiac on her show on a regular basis, that would be worth a fortune in ads.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Although shelling out $15 for a book because Oprah says so is a far cry from shelling out $25K for a car.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.moviesnapshot.com/1994Stills/It_Could_Happen_To_You.JPG

― TOMBOT, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Even if you reduce the cost per car to $20,000 it still comes to $5,520,000.

Reduce it to 5K then, cause I bet it costs Pontiac no more than that in manufacturing costs.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Basically this thread is making me REALLY want to go to a taping of Oprah.

Also, I need to get on the ball and send her that letter about my wife's abrupt switch to a career in opera.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 19:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Do it.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i read this title as in "oh my, that is too rich..."

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

what's your wife's story dan? sounds oprah-able so far!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

The correct term is Oprah-ational.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Reduce it to 5K then, cause I bet it costs Pontiac no more than that in manufacturing costs

I would take that bet. But there's probably no hard numbers out there to settle it. The only reliable site that I found with any data on this is from Motley Fool:

Assembly plants cost millions of dollars to build and operate. A state-of-the-art paint system alone these days can cost well over $250 million. It cost Ford over $6 billion to design, engineer, plan, market, and put into manufacture the Contour/Mystique/Montero world car several years ago. Because of the scale and number of costs, it is extremely difficult to determine how much a car costs the auto makers to build. We do know that in today's market the sport utility and truck market has several entrants that reportedly make the manufacturers over $10,000 per vehicle! Ford's Lincoln Towne Car, Wixom Assembly Plant at one time made the corporation over $1 million a hour in profits.

So an SUV provides a manufacturer's profit of "over $10,000 per vehicle", and you would estimate that a Pontiac car has a manufacturer's profit of over $20,000? That doesn't seem likely.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

oh btw i just remembered my cousin met oprah once! she was travelling in the southern US and she sat next to her in a hair salon! they hung out and went to a movie together! apparently she was very very nice.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

you're forgetting about dealer's profit.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

there was no dealer's profit in my cousin's story

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The difference between sticker price and dealer invoice is probably only a few thousand at the most. That would not make up the difference.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

i didn't wanna be the one to tell you, but your cousin is a cokehead.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Story in a nutshell:

Wife started singing at an early age, taking voice lessons and doing very well in competitions/talent shows/etc, to the point where Juilliard was recruiting her for undergrad. Her parents said, "Conservatory? HELL NO!" and made her apply to colleges/universities. She was accepted at Harvard and her parents basically told her she had to go there because it was ranked #1 and it was very prestigious. She got there and discovered there was no performance major in music. Due to this and mounting pressure from home, she becomes pre-med and gives up on the singing thing. She also gives up on the pre-med thing after a while and ends up in psychology. After graduating, she starts working in human resources but is really, really, REALLY unhappy. After a lot of soul-searching and prodding from me, she finally rededicates herself to a performance career but is now running into the hurdle where people think she's too old for various programs/competitions, plus she's been battling several issues where she feels she's lost roles due to weight/height/color (this is definitely true in certain cases and not just some sour grapes, esp. wrt the weight issue).

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I think we can play on the age thing and the weight thing to get some exposure (not to mention the race thing).

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:22 (twenty-one years ago)

It is weird for me to think of weight being an issue in opera. Shows what I know about opera, I guess.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

did you guys meet through the singing thing?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

(because that would be a good angle too)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

You should work the whole Oprah/opera angle.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Kind of. We met at a Christmas party for the church choir I sang in right before she took time off from school. In the intervening year, I befriended a whole bunch of people that happened to have ties to her, including:

- her social circle in her dorm;
- her younger sister's best friend from high school and her friends;
- a whole bunch of singers from the Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society who were friends with her.

When she came back to school, they all tried to introduce us to each other. It wasn't until about a year and a half later that we realized we'd actually met before.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

(Yes the Oprah/opera angle occurred to us, too)

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

PLUS there's a christmas angle? you've got it sewn up!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

plus you have the concerned husband angle where he wants to do something special for his wife.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

perfect for late night on showtime

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

"The High C" starring Dan Perry and Rosario Dawson

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

"honey, i'd thought you'd like spending out diamond anniversary at 'todd's gourmet fuck farm'!!"

― amateur!!st, Monday, 13 September 2004 20:35 (twenty-one years ago)

If only your wife had written a novel about a slightly quirky lower-middle-class family in a New England town that is suffering from the death of their stoic and repressed patriarch, you'd have this shit sewn up.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:35 (twenty-one years ago)

(xpost Yeah, there's nothing Showtime wants to show more than acouple of 80-year-olds at a sex ranch.)

It would have to involve a woman being locked in a closet and raped, though.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:37 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.gaychapeloflasvegas.com/epinkcad.jpg
I'm very disappointed in Oprah right now. Who gives away Pontiacs?

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyone who's bought one.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 13 September 2004 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Oops, your estimate is way off.

― Leon Czolgosz (Nicole), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 00:52 (twenty-one years ago)

"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men..."

Sorry, Op. It needed to be said.

― Joe (Joe), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 01:15 (twenty-one years ago)

you know what...im one of those people that got a new car on the show...and you know what..i didnt have a car or enough money to buy one cause i got to many doctor bills to pay cause i was in an accident and i dont have a right leg....so all who think it was ridiculous..think again..she changed me life

― mary-jo, Tuesday, 14 September 2004 01:46 (twenty-one years ago)

How weird that this post seemed to halt the thread!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

shock'n'y'all

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, my estimate is off. But I think his was, too.

I love it when someone comes into the thread with a terse "you're wrong". So pleasant.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Dear Oprah,

I need a hot girlfriend. I have been without one for quite some time. I'd actually settle for 2/3 of my request, if that demonstrates my humility. I.e. "hot girl" or "hot friend" or "girl friend" but preferably all three. I believe in all the weird spiritual stuff you've been preaching, I believe that people are essentially good, and I believe in new cars and wish fulfillment. I also liked that interview you did with the guy who fell down a lot of stairs and woke up wanting to be a woman. I kinda still think you're cute, but only in that disengendered, respectful, Meryl-Streepy, non-degrading-to-womyn sense. That you're the most successful black woman in the world matters little to me, except as it reifies your wonderfulness. I wait with baited breath -

J373my C000mb5
[email protected]
485x Rosew00d Ave, Apt #x
Los Angeles, CA, 90004

― the ex, jeremy (x Jeremy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe you should do something about your breath smelling like bait before resorting to Oprah.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:48 (twenty-one years ago)

'bated' sounds too autoerotic for Ms. Winfrey - I'm trying to sound non-sexually threatening - so I went with the misspelling (LACK OF EDUCATION DOESN'T MEAN I"M DUMB, OKAY? I WAS AT HOME LIVIN' MY LIFE IN THE TRAILER PARK AND NOT GETTING SOME FANCY DEGREE AT HARVERD!!")

― the ex, jeremy (x Jeremy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:50 (twenty-one years ago)

how about "i'm holding my breath until you reply"

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:52 (twenty-one years ago)

lowering the gene pool, one hick at a time.

― the ex, jeremy (x Jeremy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I love it when someone comes into the thread with a terse "you're wrong". So pleasant.

You're wrong.

― Leon Czolgosz (Nicole), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Can you say charitable tax write off?
I know you can.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Cost thing:

Dealer invoice, starts at $18,918.
Subtract a few thou for GM profit & eliminate the fixed costs of production (i.e. cost of plant and equipment & office workers.)
Just guessing, but $9,000 is my guess.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:45 (twenty-one years ago)

It's great - she's Scrooge after the three visitations, or lives with a constant Clarence showing her the difference she makes in other people's lives. Even if the people in the audience aren't the optimal recipients of her generosity (and really, who's best to decide that? a committee?) or you deride her choice of books to promote, she's a hugely positive influence and role model. Hope she continues for years to come.

But I can't help picturing that SNL sketch with Tina Fey attacking the turkey, when these dream shows happen.

― Chris Hill (Chris Hill), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Leave it to Uncle Sam to spoil the party.

When Oprah Winfrey gave away 276 cars last week to the audience of her show, images of people laughing, jumping, crying -- some hysterically -- filled the airwaves and the give-away became stuff of legend. Late night talk show hosts and newspaper columnists are still talking about it.

But now some of those eager prize-winners have a choice: Fork over $7,000 or give up the car.

According to a spokeswomen for Harpo Productions Inc., Oprah's company, the recipients must pay a tax on the winnings, just like any prize.

For a brand new Pontiac G-Six, the model given away on the show, the sticker price is $28,500. The $28,500 would need to be claimed as income so, depending on the individuals tax bracket, the tax could be as high as $7,000. And that was after Pontiac agreed to pay most of the local charges, including state sales tax and licensing fees.

The Harpo Spokeswomen said winners had three choices. They could keep the car and pay the tax, sell the car and pay the tax with the profits or forfeit the car.

― Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 23 September 2004 03:27 (twenty-one years ago)

If Oprah's fortune was a car she would probably be paying $7 tax for it. Wouldn't it be nice if Oprahs pay the same kind of tax on their winnings. Then the government would give more than bills and people would get stuff they need by voting instead of begging.

― Queen Electric Driller Killer (Queen Electric Butt Prober BZZ), Thursday, 23 September 2004 04:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny part is I was under the impression that many of the people who received cars needed new ones because they couldn't afford them. I'm thinking a lot of these people can't afford a 7k tax.

― Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 23 September 2004 05:50 (twenty-one years ago)

shirley they could sell their old cars and apply that to the $7k...

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 23 September 2004 05:52 (twenty-one years ago)

They should all ditch the overpriced and all around nasty Pontiacs and spend the remainder on a decent import.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Thursday, 23 September 2004 06:18 (twenty-one years ago)

what a burn!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 23 September 2004 13:56 (twenty-one years ago)

This is why we need to keep Democrats out of the White House, all they want to do is tax Oprah fans.

― Huk-L, Thursday, 23 September 2004 13:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't see why selling the car and buying a cheaper one with the profits while paying off the tax isn't an option here.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Thursday, 23 September 2004 14:00 (twenty-one years ago)

It is, according to a spokesperson for Harpo. You've still just won a pain in the ass thought.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 23 September 2004 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I could deal with a $20K pain in the ass.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Thursday, 23 September 2004 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, if American TV viewers liked paying taxes, Sally Jesse Raphael would still be on the air.

― Huk-L, Thursday, 23 September 2004 14:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, sure. I don't care about it.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 23 September 2004 14:03 (twenty-one years ago)

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