OT-pickup ads on TV

[n8terry]

Am I the only one that gets upset when the major manufactures use these goofy ads on TV? Slinging a pickup around by the toe hooks, running down a ramp between large steel I-beams and stopping before going over the edge. I know that the guy that comes up with these ads makes more money than I will ever see, but I wished he wouldn't think I was that stupid.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Oh, another thing is car lots that have a blow out sale, who the hell wants a blow out?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Yes they are stupid commercials, especially with the kind of junk they are building today. I mean really you would have to be a complete idiot to give these commercials any thought to presuade you to buy one of these things. Look at rear leaf srpings for example what does a 3/4 ton Chevy come with today maybe 5 if that, my 1973 1/2 ton GMC had 6 standard on it. The front ends on these Chevys are a joke, they dont even offer a straight axle anymore, the sheet metal seems thiner to me, it dont take much to dent them anymore. I have a 89 and 84 Chevy trucks, thats when Chevy made a TRUCK, todays trucks are just a comfy 4wd car. I had a 2002 Silverado brakes rusted up and would not work after 26,000 miles! Dealer laughed at me when I told him I had a break problem, said you need new brakes! I will never buy a Chevy again after the problems I had with that truck. 89 has 173,000 miles same rotors. Now come on. Thanks for letting me vent jayinNy

 

[Big Mike]

I've been a Chevy Man my whole life, but you shoulda looked at him and said, Bet they'll laugh even louder at the Ford/Dodge/ Toyota Garage!!!!!

 

[Goose]

When I was a GM salesman, we went to a Chevy meeting in Omaha one day. They asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to drive a Chevy vehicle in a TV commercial. We knew there had to be a catch.

They then proceeded to show a commercial maybe some of ya'll remember. They bongeed a full size Blazer off of a high bridge over a gorge. After retrieving the Blazer, they started it up and drove it off. Chevy reps said it was for real. The bongee was hooked to a factory installed hitch on the rear, and they said except for a slight kink in the hitch, there was no other damage.

Some of the commercials are ridiculous. Like the one where they use a Toyota (I think) pickup frame to stop a locomotive without bending the frame. Gimme a break!! Nobody's dumb enough to believe that. On second thought, there probably are people gullible and unknowledgable enough to believe it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Yes, I bought a 2000 Ford with the Power Stroke, I always knew Ford had a better Frame, suspension, leaf springs than chevy, but the 80s ford motors were junk next to the small block chevy. Now the Ford has to light of ball joints in the front end(which wernt greasable) for the heavier diesel motor, the oil pans are knowen to rust out, thus you have to pull the motor out to replace the oil pan. My wife is always gettin on my case because "I dont take care of my newer trucks" they smell like cow $hit clutter and parts all over the seat and floor, dings and dents. I say who cares, I maintain them top notch, but I dont care about a dent or ding. There made to use than throw away. Do you really think people are going to restore any of the crap thats being sold today? Will a 2004 chevy or any other truck ever be a classic?

 

[T_Bone]

Hi Terry,

Ya but there funny too. I liked the one about the Ford pulling a truck out of the lake on a boat ramp.

Lady says: "that sure sank fast"

Tow truck driver says "ya, like a rock"

Now that's just funny and I don't care what you drive!!!

T_Bone

 

[S.Crum]

Laughed like he11 about the Ford truck commercial a few years back where firemen rushed to a large building on fire. All of them piled out of a red F-150. Who's driving the fire truck?
Were they going to pi** on the fire? Didn't sell me on them.

 

[chvet73]

Those ads due more to make me NOT want to buy then buy.

 

[Big Mike]

Maybe when we're in the HOME, 'er DEAD! ":^))

 

[Big Mike]

Remember the one where a Chevy 4X4 pulls not only a Ford Tow-Truck out of a deep ditch, but the Ford Taurus hooked to it?!?!? Being a die-hard Shiverlay man, I kinda BELIEVED that one!!!!! ":^D

 

[RandyB(MI)]

Most of these "people" spend their days in a "cubicle" on the 47th floor in a city full of smog and the closest they get to "real" life is hitting a little white ball around. At least they touch "grass" once in a while! What can we really expect out of them??? AND , what does this say about their superiors?? Reallity will hit one day soon and these idiots will be the first to hit bottom.

 

[riverbend]

Nope. Once the computer goes, they're toast.

 

[Alex.C]

One thing I seen is a increase in the older vehicles ,especially trucks being driven around and used like they were meant to most of them form the 80's. I'm goin' to be drivin' soon and form what I've heard and seen is that the older trucks have and will out live the new thing(I think they should call most of the new trucks SUV's with miget beds)and are better for work like haulin' tractors, hay,ect.. the brand that I think is the best, and might get, is Dodge, especially the older trucks. now of course if I get somethin' like a 1/2 or a 3/4 I'm going to lift it and all that cause thats who I am.

 

[RobMD]

Remember the dodge pulling the huge monster dump truck? That was real.

Remember the Ford pulling the semi out of the tunnel so the fire dept could get through? It's not impossible for it to "help" do that, but the scenario was unrealistic.

BOTTOM LINE = NO COMMERCIAL for ANYTHING sells me! I do real research on products.

 

[JMS MN]

They might be getting on more than just "grass".

 

[Anonymous-0]

Back in 73 74 or so they had an ad with a chevy pickup pulling a 4 bottom plow . And yes I had to try it and yes until you got to wet ground it worked .I think it would of pulled it 20 mph.

 

[02XLT4X4]

I don't care, they beat the heck out of political or seed corn ads.

There really are far worse ads out there to tolerate than a far flug pickup ad.

 

[Ryan - WI]

Are you kidding. I can not count how many times now I have been driving along and fallen out of a plane I was chained to and had to stop the plane. I don't know where all of you live but that is at least a weekly occurrence here in Southern Wisconsin.

And I don't know how many times now I have sheared the bolts holding the bed on my truck...

 

[Anonymous-0]

I like the one where Chevy compares their warranty to Ford and Toyota---NOT Dodge!!

 

[Bruce Hopf]

A friend of mine told me if he ever bought a pickup truck, he would buy a Toyota Tundra. He said that they dropped an empty 40ft ship container of a cliff, and he said that the truck held it. I said yeah, but the container was also held by a 50 ton crane. I told him, after me triving tractor trailer for 13 years, that no braking system would hold more than what they are disined to hold. I remember a driver was trying to hook up a trailer in NJ, at a pear, without having his breaklines hooked up. King pin was locked, trailer brakes failed to hold when he hit the pin too hard. Tractor, trailer, and load, went through the baracade, down to Davy Jones Locker. Tractor brakes alone couldn't hold the load.
Bruce.

 

[Anonymous-0]

They say the winner of the NASCAR race on Sunday will boost the showroom sales of that make of vehicle on Monday. There is virtually no similarity of those NASCARS with the Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or Toyota "Stock cars" in the showroom. About the only thing that differentiates them on the track is the faux grills they throw on them but supposedly it sells. Go figure.

 

[Michael Soldan]

Yep, and the commercials where a truck is hammered through the mother of all mud holes, driven down a creek bed and climbs a rocky hillside..if I ever caught anybody treating my truck like that I'd drag his azz out and slap his head..I find them just plain insulting

 

[Nancy Howell]

I like the one where the Toyota pulls the huge tree stump out of the ground. If you look closely, you'll see that all the roots have been neatly chopped. I agree with ya'll, most of the commercials are silly and highly abusive to the vehicle.

P.S. Remember the Cadillac commercial a couple of years ago that showed the guy passing in a no passing zone? Lots of folks caught that and Caddy had to pull the commercial.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I guess some people will believe anything. I was at the Tractor Supply the other day,and could not believe what I was about to see.In fact I had to get the wife's attention and show her. In the parking lot some bonehead was loading a full bundle of fense posts into his Ford pick up.He and the forklift driver and his buddy where getting lined up to drop the bundle over the side and into the bed.The lift driver tilted the mast as far forward as it would go.Then the two pushed and pushed untill the bundle of post fell into the bed.The tailgate had a bow in it as he drove out the driveway. I guess he belived the add about droping the box from the chopper.

 

[Bob Kerr]

I pulled a 24ft straight mack flat bed pulling a 3 axle implement trailer With a 67 442 sitting on it out of a half frozen ditch once with , get this ...a wrecked (hit in the rear hard)72 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. I couldn"t get the tractor started so I had to use that old wrecked car with what was left of the trunk loaded down with cyl heads, intakes and brake rotors. hooked the chain to the front of the car and goterdone! Truck driver was speachless! If you are ever in Star City IN at a tractor repair shop just ask him! Bet that wouldn"t have made it in a truck ad!

 

[ChrisB]

I would just like to see one truck commercial where they say "We have done something with this pickup truck that has not been done in 30 years, we increased the gas mileage".

Then again I hear Toyota has 3/4 ton truck coming out that will profess such, and at 30 mpg (diesel/hybrid). If they do we may never see a new Dodge, Ford, or Chevy pickup again.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Everything they do in those commercials, Im sure would void any warrenty.
If any of the major manufactures would build just a basic work truck with nothing fancy or that you dont need, they would be raking in money. Everything is junk anymore.

 

[Tim B from MA]

My family and friends waited in great anticipation for the Ford F-150 commercial they played right before the Super Bowl because it was shot at a facility my wife's company owns in California. It is the one where they spun the truck around in a huge out-door centrifuge by the front tow hooks.

At first site, I thought it had to be about the stupidest commmercial I had ever seen - advertising the strength of the tow hooks ???? WTF!

Then, as an owner of a 2001 F-350 diesel it came to me ...

As often as the trucks need to be towed, it is a darn good thing the tow hooks will hold up to that kind of abuse. LOL

 

[Don L C]

8nterry -

I am glad to see some one else feels the same a I about TV adds.....Do these companies sell only to idiots.......the people doing these adds act stupid.....I guess these companies expect all there coustomers to be stupid, to buy their products.......Don

 

[Aaron Ford]

I particularly like the car adds, where they show a car in a full-on four wheel drift. Or one with the arse end sliding around til it lines up with the camera? I intentionally buy cars, and more importantly tires, so that my car will never do this. Who wants to find themselves in a side slide with the old lady in the passenger seat, two kids in the back seat, and 200 dollars of groceries in the trunk?

As far as the truck over the bridge, one was a GMC going over the New River bridge here in WV. It was supposed to sell the strong frame of the GMC truck. The truck did go over the side, but there was no driveline in it. The truck was supposedly ruined in the shoot.

Although, I am pretty sure if you happened to drive off the New River Gorge bridge (876 foot high), whether your frame held up or not would be the least of your concerns...

Aaron

 

[02XLT4X4]

(quoted from post at 20:49:46 04/06/08) I like the one where Chevy compares their warranty to Ford and Toyota---NOT Dodge!!

It is really funny because Ford has the same warrentee as Chevy...

 

[Anonymous-0]

couple years back, a MACK tractor with a side dump trailer was delivering several full loads of gravel to our place ...inexperienced driver got the rig stuck and was totally helpless. I hooked up to it and pulled him right out ...with my 4 banger in my Farmall 400 ...this IS a tractor forum ... right??? LOL!!! D

 

[Anonymous-0]

They are pretty deceptive with their facts too. Anyone ever catch that? You know the Ford commercial where they hang it by the bed claiming their 6" bolts are superior to the shorter bolts. Who cares how long they are as long as they go through the bed and frame! I want to know their diameter! Is a 10' bolt 1/4" diameter gonna have more strength than a 4" 3/4" bolt? And the tow hooks is another! Bend the facts, they all do it.

 

[02XLT4X4]

(quoted from post at 10:39:32 04/07/08) They are pretty deceptive with their facts too. Anyone ever catch that? You know the Ford commercial where they hang it by the bed claiming their 6" bolts are superior to the shorter bolts. Who cares how long they are as long as they go through the bed and frame! I want to know their diameter! Is a 10' bolt 1/4" diameter gonna have more strength than a 4" 3/4" bolt? And the tow hooks is another! Bend the facts, they all do it.

They are massive, here is a link to the company that makes them's website, there is a link to a .pdf file about the bolts.

http://www.reminc.net/

But, I have yet to hear of bed bolts just shearing off due to normal use of any brand. Breaking them trying to remove the bed after they get 10+ years of rust on them isn't all that uncommon though.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Remember when the add starts quoting statistics:

FIGURES DON'T LIE.... BUT LIARS CAN FIGURE...

The line that I laugh at most is... "BEST in its class"... When ford says that, they mean trucks that weigh between 4500-4754 pounds. Just so happens the comperable chevy weighs 4756 pounds. But doesn't matter, it is in different class.

 

[02XLT4X4]

(quoted from post at 17:56:16 04/07/08) Remember when the add starts quoting statistics:

FIGURES DON'T LIE.... BUT LIARS CAN FIGURE...

The line that I laugh at most is... "BEST in its class"... When ford says that, they mean trucks that weigh between 4500-4754 pounds. Just so happens the comperable chevy weighs 4756 pounds. But doesn't matter, it is in different class.

Odd that nobody else does it too, since by your figuring they are in their own class as well.

I think they mean half ton class.

 

[Eric SEI]

Remember the Toyota commercial where the gravely voiced
announcer said "We asked truck guys what they wanted in a
truck."? One of the responders wanted to pull a combine. A couple
weeks later I noticed that part of the commercial was now missing.

Do you suppose they got informed that suggesting that a Toyota
could pull a modern combine was false advertising? How much
weight would that put on their hitch ball?