GUN-TOTING truck drivers in the US have a new incentive to upgrade — a free AK-47 with every pick-up purchased.
Throughout August, all sales at Max Motors in Butler, south of Kansas, will be accompanied by a voucher for a complimentary semi-automatic weapon.
It is not the first time the dealership — which goes by the slogan “Guns, God, Guts and American Pick-Up Trucks” — has run such a promotion. Last year, free handguns saw Max Motors sell an extra 35 cars in one month.
Owner Mark Muller sees his promotion as a healthy way to encourage sales and ensure his countrymen are protected.
“We have an obligation to protect ourselves,” said Muller. “The only people being irresponsible are those not protecting themselves.” It is a creed by which Muller lives his own life.
“I’ve got them all – AKs, AR-15s, shotguns, handguns, everything,” he said. “I do not carry a gun because I’m evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see evil. . . I have had to defend my family before.”
In the car game for 32 years, Muller said he knew what his customers wanted – guns.
And he could be right. The pick-up has long been seen as the vehicle of choice for the self-respecting red-neck, gun-loving hillbilly.
Indeed, satirist PJ O’Rourke suggested the constitution should be amended to protect “the right of Texans (and people who act like Texans) to drive around with guns. . . and shoot varmints and critters out of the window”.
Muller said the reaction to the campaign has been overwhelmingly positive. “One customer has put in an order for seven trucks, but told us: ‘I do not need seven AK-47s’. So I’m letting him choose other guns.”
But responses on the company’s website are mixed. One post read: “Love the AK-47 offer!!! God Bless!”
Another read: “I think your dealership is crazy and irresponsible,” before criticising Muller’s “crazy, southern views”.
One thing is clear – if the giveaway is a success, Muller won’t mind a bit of negative publicity.
“I am shamelessly trying to sell trucks,” he said. And what next in the arms giveaway, hand-grenades? “If I could, I would,” he said. – PA