And here is some "Corrected" info about some spam that was recently forwarded around about Auto company donations to those affected by 9/11

FROM THE HOAXINFO.COM website:

Car Company Contributions

First Published January, 2002
Updated February, 2002

At the beginning of the month of January an e-mail began circulate as a chain letter concerning the lack of donations by foreign car companies to relief for the September 11th attack. Far be it for me to be the one to say the original writer had an "agenda", perhaps they were just being patriotic. Nevertheless, a cursory review of the statements in this letter quickly prove that it was poorly researched (intentionally or unintentionally). In defense of the writer, I must say that finding press releases for every contribution a company makes can be a difficult task. Many companies don't use every contribution to charity as a public relations tool. Sometimes it is just a tax write-off and part of what all large corporations are expected to do as a matter of course. Many companies do not use their web sites to publish this information even when they do contribute money.

That doesn't mean however that because they don't always pat themselves on the back that they didn't give any money to this cause. I recently received a copy of a letter by Lori Barnes, the Vice President of Public Affairs for the American International Automobile Dealers Assn., which as you might expect takes great issue with this hoax. I was able to verify many of her assertions about the contributions made by the various car makers named in the chain letter circulating on the matter.

Here is her letter in response to the chain letter at the bottom of the page:

Your e-mail concerning charitable giving by the auto industry was forwarded to me. I wanted to share with you a more recent list of industry contributions in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy. This is an enormous and diverse industry, so documenting the tremendous outpouring of support by each company dollar for dollar would be difficult at best. Even this list barely scratches the surface of how the auto industry, like the rest of the nation, has responded overwhelmingly to the needs of rescuers, survivors and victims of the terrorist attacks.

However, I think you will find that automakers and dealers -- both those representing domestic and international nameplates -- have done much to aid those affected by the tragedy, and continue to do so. AUTOMAKERS DONATE MILLIONS FOR N.Y., D.C. RELIEF EFFORTS The automobile industry has rolled up its sleeves to provide equipment and money to support the relief efforts for New York City, the Pentagon and wherever there was damaging fallout. Here's a look at some of the contributions:

- BMW Group has donated $1 million in cash to the American Red Cross, gave the New York Police Department 100 new BMW police motorcycles, and provided rescue teams with 10 new X5 sport-utility vehicles. The total donation is valued at $2.4 million. In addition, BMW donated 11motorcycles to the NYC Sheriff's Dept. Employees at the BMW factory in South Carolina donated tens of thousands of their own dollars to the local Red Cross chapter, which was matched by BMW Manufacturing Corp. BMW of North America, which lost an employee on the United flight that crashed in Pennsylvania, established an endowed scholarship fund in honor of that employee. The company also authorized two paid days off to employees who volunteered in relief efforts at Ground Zero in conjunction with the Salvation Army.

- DaimlerChrysler has committed $10 million to support the children of victims of the attacks and is conducting additional employee fund-raising programs at its operations worldwide. Mercedes-Benz employees and dealers have donated clothing, supplies and funding to support rescue and recovery efforts.

- Ford Motor Co. has donated $1 million to the Red Cross, and the United Auto Workers Union's Ford National Programs unit is donating $1 million to the Salvation Army. Additionally, Ford facilities and dealer groups have donated $550,000 to relief efforts, Ford has pledged to match all employee contributions, and the company - through its various operating units and subsidiaries - has donated or lent 76 cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks for use in rescue and relief programs.

- General Motors Corp. has donated $1 million to the Red Cross, provided 60 GM vehicles to rescue and relief agencies, and pledged to match all employee donations. The company's Northeast region offered a fleet of trucks, vans and SUVs for use in disaster recovery efforts.

- Honda Motor Co. donated in excess of $1.5 million to the Red Cross and United Way through a combination of Honda associate contributions, matching corporate funds, and additional corporate donations. Honda also donated significant heavy equipment to the NYPD and FDNY for use at ground zero. This includes all-terrain vehicles, industrial lighting equipment, large and small power generators, water pumps and other equipment.

- Isuzu Motors America has donated $16,800 in corporate and employee contributions and is conducting further fund-raising efforts at its American Isuzu sales unit and at parent Isuzu Motors Ltd. in Japan.

- Jaguar donated computer equipment to the Red Cross in Manhattan and matched proceeds raised for the Red Cross from the sale of American flags and pins to employees. - Hyundai/Kia Motors Group contributed $300,000 to the Red Cross.

- Mazda North American Operations is matching employee contributions to raise a total of $40,000 to be donated to the United Way.

- Mitsubishi Motors in the United States and Japan has raised more than $150,000 in corporate and employee donations in a continuing campaign.

- Nissan Motor Co. has donated $500,000 to the Red Cross and $500,000 to the Twin Towers Fund for the families of police officers, firefighters and emergency rescue crew members killed in New York, and is matching employee donations to the two organizations.

- Porsche Cars of North America has dedicated 20 percent of the proceeds of a national fund-raising program to disaster relief and sponsored a benefit concert starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

- Subaru of America and its parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. Have made combined contributions of cash and equipment totaling $1 million to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other relief organizations.

- American Suzuki Motor Corp. has donated 25 all-terrain vehicles and five four-wheel-drive SUVs, in addition to matching employee and dealer donations.

- Toyota Motor Corp., its employees and dealers have donated $1.93 million to the American Red Cross, the NYPD and Fire Widows and the Washington Family Relief Fund.

- Volkswagen Group has established a relief foundation with initial funding from the German company of $2 million, and Volkswagen of America has donated 25 Eurovans to the New York Fire Department.

Further, automobile dealers across the country, both domestic and international nameplate, have done much to support the cause. Many dealerships have hosted blood drives, matched employee giving, donated dollars per car sold, etc. The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation has raised over $1 million for its Survivors Relief Fund to benefit victims. The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) has contributed to that fund in support of the victims.

__________________________________________________
Lori Barnes, APR
Vice President, Public Affairs
American International Automobile Dealers Assn.

Here are some links to verify a few of the statements above:

Honda contributed to the United Way and Red Cross with both corporate and employee monies totaling over 1.5 million dollars. Further, I found they contributed another 500,000 dollars to the September 11th relief fund.

BMW gave cash and vehicles worth 2.5 million dollars.

Nissan has contributed at least 1.3 million dollars.

Toyota has contributed at least 1.9 million dollars to various September 11th funds.

Subaru has contributed almost a million dollars to the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

These links came without really delving into it too deeply. I know there is a great deal of sentiment to BUY AMERICAN and I sympathize with this, but it is important that we don't conveniently ignore the facts when it doesn't support our convictions.

Here is a copy of the e-mail chain letter which started this uproar:

CNN Headline News did a short news listing regarding Ford and GM's contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and Washington. The findings are as follows......

1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The company also offered ER response team services and office space to displaced government employees.
2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, SUV's, and trucks.
3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support the children and victims of the Sept. 11 attack.
4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept.
5.Volkswagen- Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation, funded initially with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and victims of the WTC.
6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross.
7. Audi- Nothing.
8. BMW- Nothing.
9. Daewoo- Nothing.
10. Fiat- Nothing.
11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001
12. Isuzu- Nothing.
13. Mitsubishi- Nothing.
14. Nissan- Nothing.
15. Porsche- Nothing. Press release with condolences via the Porsche web site.
16. Subaru- Nothing.
17. Suzuki- Nothing.
18. Toyota- Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the web site

Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and / or American based company. Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing at all to the citizens of the United States. It's OK for these companies to take money out of this country, but it is apparently not acceptable to return some in a time of crisis.

I believe we should not forget things like this. Say thank you in a way that gets their attention.
Pass it on!

Here are Web sites that discuss Internet hoaxes:
Computer Virus Myths,(http://kumite.com/myths)