9/11 Silverado featured in Olympics commercial
A tip of the cap is due to GM for the automaker's new Chevy Silverado TV spot, which premiered this Sunday during the Olympics. The spot features brief testimonials from drivers of high-mileage pickups wearing the bowtie badge, but one stands out more than the rest. Twenty seconds in, FDNY Firefighter Craig Monahan's segment opens with a wide shot of him standing in front of the Manhattan skyline. His battered truck has melted lights and a Ladder 5 placard affixed to the bed on the driver's side. In the spot, he recounts how the damaged truck started when he reached into the singed interior and turned the ignition key, saying that it served as an isnpiration, "If that truck could keep going, then we could all keep going."
This all happened on 9/11, a fact left unsaid but tactfully implied in the commercial. Veteran New York Daily News reporter Michael Daly knows Monahan and tells the truck's full story in an excellent piece that ran in Tuesday's Daily News. Frankly, you need to go there and just read the whole thing, because Daly's account is first-rate. Reading it also underscores the level of restraint GM exercised in how it used the truck in the commercial. It's a great TV spot, but the story behind that one particular 14-second segment is more remarkable and inspirational than you'd ever guess. Firefighter Monahan agreed to let his truck be used because he felt it was important for people see it and get a feel for what it represents. Monahan was compensated by GM for his participation, but he donated that money to another FDNY family, showing that even now, that burned and battered Chevy still helps him help others. We salute him, and we hope he keeps that truck forever. Thnks for the tip, Julius!
[Source: New York Daily News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
matt 8:40AM (8/13/2008)
in before the I HATE AMERICA crowd
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Vintage 9:48AM (8/13/2008)
I don't hate America, but I do hate STUPID american companies that don't learn from their mistakes, and wrap themselves in the flag just to try to get people to buy their crappy products. YEAH! BE A PATRIOT REMEMBER 911 PURCHASE A SILVERADO!
Yep. Because SUVs are just what we need to reduce our need for foreign oil. How stupid does GM think we are?
Avinash machado 10:27AM (8/13/2008)
Vintage holds the record for the highest number of low or lowest ranked posts on Autoblog.
obie 10:29AM (8/13/2008)
I thought it was a fantastic commercial. Why can't GM wrap itself in the flag? Toyota has done it before with their "made right here in Indiana" commercials. GM has such a great heritage and I think people forget the vital role the company has played in the US for the past 100 years.
It's just good advertising.
black 11:50AM (8/13/2008)
Viglante:
Actually this commercial didn't waive the patriotism flag that badly. It just shows Silverados doing what they do best: work. And you out of all people here are always pitching how misused trucks/SUVs are.
homunculus 12:15PM (8/13/2008)
Ooh yeah yeah yeah, 9-11 I said 9-11 9-11 9-11 9, 9-11 Where were you when they built a ladder to heaven?
Bungle 1:20PM (8/13/2008)
Thanks, Ann Coulter. I love how this "I hate America" slogan has become a shortcut to thinking.
Sorry, but if 9/11 was so important to this country, we should be using it for more than just an opportunity to start a random war, restrict civil liberties and sell trucks.
Patriotism is great, but a true patriot doesn't blindly wave a flag and sing the national hymn; he takes his country seriously enough to learn about its history and place in the world, and question the actions of its government. Without that check on centralized power, you get something like the Bush administration (or worse), which has done little to nothing to serve this country's citizens, and everything to ruin America's standing in the rest of the world.
Time to get rated down...
MasterCKO 1:23PM (8/13/2008)
Nevermind the 9/11 truck (which I definitely think was tastefully done by Chevy, all you haters are ridiculous).
There's a truck that commercial with over 2 MILLION miles! WOW!!
Epyx 1:40PM (8/13/2008)
Bungle -
You are absolutly correct but this commercial is not a big deal. This commercial or a picture of a Hummer, McDonalds, or Wal-Mart usually ellicit the same responses from people. Some folks just like to stir the pot and criticize for no reason other than to criticize (not the constructive stuff you are talking about). The croud likes to belive EVERYTHING is better in Europe and America can do nothing well or correct. Look at almost every Harley Davidson post, the same people bash HD in any way they can - just to be contrary. Every nation has great things about it, every nation has some problems, but there is a croud that takes every oportunity to cut on America just to be contrary. The ones that spell is with a K or an 'M. Make fun of the fictional "Soccer Mom" and claim the economy is never going to recover. Glass half empty croud.
mike 8:43AM (8/13/2008)
Este mi troka? WHAT?
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Adam Carolla 8:51AM (8/13/2008)
I don't haul anything or go off-road or even have a blue-collar job, but heck, I suddenly want a Chevy truck. Should inspire a lot of people like me to buy one.
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Vintage 9:49AM (8/13/2008)
That's what we need in this country. More people who don't actually need trucks, driving them.
Yar 10:08AM (8/13/2008)
Just what we need, another liberal telling people they can't buy something they don't NEED. You don't NEED internet, Vintage, why are you wasting the fossil fuels it takes to sustain your computer?
People buying what they WANT and not getting sh!t for it is part of the "pursuit of happiness" clause of the Constitution, if you've ever heard of such a thing.
Miguel 1:33PM (8/13/2008)
Yar, as much as I agree with you, I had to vote you down, because "the pursuit of Happiness" is one of the "certain unalienable rights" enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, not a guaranteed civil right enumerated in the Constitution.
Vintage, STFU. Because despite all that, Yar is still right.
Quan 4:30PM (8/13/2008)
I've been wondering; you're not actually Adam Carolla are you?
mike 8:49AM (8/13/2008)
Great Point
Interesting, so how American is it to keep a country dependant on oil simple because a large SUV is too small for your weekly Costco trips?
This is probably shocking to you but pick-ups get like 2 mpg, but hey at least they are not ricers.
P.S. If Prius owners have smugs, pick up truck "guys" have small units.
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Pete 8:58AM (8/13/2008)
It wasn't the automakers that stopped drilling for oil in the US. It was the hippie liberals...
endo 9:15AM (8/13/2008)
2mpg? I think you forgot a zero.
http://catastrophicerror.com/~endo/19.jpg
This is my full-size 2004 4wd GMC 1500 ECSB. It was pre-2008 EPA rated at 15/18 with the OEM 31" tires. It now has about 2" of lift and 33" tires on it (when the photo was taken)...not exactly set up for mileage, but it's worth it to me for the extra clearance and traction offroad. No special modifications in the name of fuel efficiency. This was achieved after 40 mile trip @ speed limits, and is typical of what I see on highway trips if I keep my foot out of it. Speedometer was calibrated against a GPS, fuel consumption data tends to be within 5% of gas station bill.
From what I've seen on the truck forum that I read, the folks with 07+ Silverados/Sierras are seeing better mileage than this.
Goat Law 9:15AM (8/13/2008)
What is your beef with Costco? I just don't get it. I don't personally shop there, but what is wrong with buying in Bulk? You save money, and hippies like yourself should love that you have to make less trips to the store, thereby saving the planet from Al Gore.
rar 9:42AM (8/13/2008)
This tv spot is about how long a Chevy truck can last. It has nothing to do with mpg. Some people need trucks for work, farming, hauling, towing and some people just like them. This is America, not China. Mike, don't you think it is time to turn off your computer and go play outside for a while? 6th grade is going to start back soon so you might want to get a little extra playtime in. Go play on the swing set or something.