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CONSUMERS UNITE.COMTHE INTERNET MAY BE A valuable consumer weapon in battling Big Business. Look at Charlene Blake's grass-roots campaign, launched in April, 1995, against Chrysler via a Usenet newsgroup (rec.autos.makers.chrysler). Blake, owner of a '92 Dodge Caravan minivan, balked at a dealer's $2,100 brake-repair estimate and enlisted others with complaints about brake failures. Helped by Blake-generated ammo on the Net, a lawyer filed a class action. Today, most of Blake's cyber-kvetchers are claiming victory after Chrysler's Apr. 16 recall of 350,000 vehicles with the Bendix four-wheel antilock brake system. (Some skeptics say they won't be happy until they get a check.) Chrysler won't comment publicly except to downplay Blake's role. Execs say the more important factor was a brake-problems probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has no comment on Blake's effort. By Lisa Sanders
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Updated June 14, 1997 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1996, Bloomberg L.P.
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