The first consumer superstar, Ralph Nader wrote "Unsafe At Any Speed," exposing the defects of the Corvair from the Chevrolet division of General Motors, along with other safety defects which auto manufacturers could, but chose not to, remedy.
His controversial bid for the presidency in the election of 2000, during which he claimed that there was no real difference between the Democrats and Republicans, probably cost Al Gore a victory, and made Nader a reviled person in many Democratic circles.