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Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Work, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Humor, Diesel

Max and Al see eye-to-eye - Click above to watch the videos after the break

General Motors' advertising department has seen quite a shakeup over the past year. GM chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick may have hand-picked San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein and Partners as his ad agency of choice, but the good ol' boys from Campbell-Ewald still have some tricks up their sleeves for Chevy Trucks.

The world may not completely understand how and why Chevy runs deep (to be fair, we're going to give it some time...), but nobody is going to miss the hidden meaning of GM's new "Max and Al" campaign, which features the recognizable faces of Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, Rules of Engagement) as Max, and Craig Robinson (The Office, Last Comic Standing, Hot Tub Time Machine) as Al.

What hidden meaning, you ask? You'll see it clearly when you watch the videos, naturally, but basically what we have here is a message that GM's Duramax diesel V8 engine and Allison transmission is a time-tested and proven combination that is the thinking man's obvious choice in a segment that also includes Ford's Power Stroke and Ram's Cummins series.

There's a website (www.maxandal.com), a series of videos (which you can find after the break along with the press release) an upcoming online game and even a downloadable app that's said to be coming soon to the iPhone App Store. Oh, and what modern-day marketing campaign would be complete without a FaceBook page and a Twitter account? Not this one, that's for sure.

Check out all the facets of this far-reaching HD pickup advertising campaign and let us know what you think of it. Us? Well, let's just say Chevy's got our stamp of approval so far on this one.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD

Videos: Chevrolet releases new "Duramax & Allison" ad campaign to promote Silverado HD originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy challenges Ford to HD towing contest, gets turned down

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Work, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Diesel

Numbers like maximum horsepower, torque and tow ratings are the heart and soul of the full-size heavy duty pickup truck segment. No shocker there. But how much reliance can consumers actually put on figures provided by the manufacturer? And, keeping in mind that the average test drive doesn't include hooking up a ten-ton trailer, how might we all get a proper frame of reference when judging one massive diesel beast with another?

Such questions may soon get an answer... other than this one, decided upon just a few weeks back. It seems that General Motors has issued a pretty straightforward challenge to Ford: a towing duel up mountain grades, followed by a comparison of factory-issued exhaust brakes on the way back down. (Sorry, Ram... guess you're not invited out to play.) Seems simple enough, no?

Here are some relevant statistics: Ford's (reflashed) 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 engine punishes the tarmac with an even 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque. That's class-leading, as GM's 6.6-liter Duramax pumps out 397 horses and 765 pound-feet. Looking at those numbers, Ford wins... right?

Not so fast, says Chevrolet Silverado Marketing Manager Tony Truelove, "Numbers on paper are fine," he said. "Let's go work these trucks in the mountains, and may the best truck win." To which Ford Trucks spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari replied, "We challenge our trucks against the competition in grueling prove-out tests continually, and the customer gives us the results - sales leadership year after year."

That's right, The Blue Oval plainly and unsurprisingly declined Chevrolet's invitation. But the show must go on, and our friends at Pickuptrucks.com promise to be on hand in their very best black-and-white-striped shirts to serve as referees for the main event. Let's get ready to rumble!

Gallery: PickupTrucks.com Heavy-Duty shootout 2010

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Chevy challenges Ford to HD towing contest, gets turned down originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Fuel economy standards could add up to $15K to price of heavy-duty pickups

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Work, Diesel

It's no secret that today's crop of full-size heavy duty pickup trucks cost a pretty penny to purchase and operate. To wit, the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 Heavy Duty Mega Cab that we recently reviewed carried a sticker price of over $56,000. A large chunk of that asking price can be accounted for by the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine - largely responsible for the truck's massively impressive capabilities.

Of course, it's also going to cost quite a few Benjamins to keep that truck running on a steady diet of low-sulfur diesel fuel, and the Feds are considering some legislation that could potentially have a massive impact on both fuel consumption and the aforementioned bottom line... both positively and negatively, depending on your point of view. While we all want better fuel efficiency, we doubt many would be willing to front a staggering $15,000 surcharge on top of their already pricey work truck for the mileage benefits.

According to a new study by The National Academies, there are lots of ways to increase the fuel economy of a full-size HD pickup, some of which cost just a few hundred dollars. Others, such as adding a hybrid powertrain or switching from a gasoline-fed engine to a diesel, cost several thousand dollars each.

At present, truck manufacturers aren't required to meet any specific fuel mileage requirements. But that's soon to change, as the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation are drafting up a series of regulations for these types of trucks. Exactly what those regulations will entail - and, of course, how much added price they will require to meet - isn't yet known. Stay tuned, and check out PickupTrucks.com for more data from the study.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Report: Fuel economy standards could add up to $15K to price of heavy-duty pickups originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan nixes plan for Heavy-Duty Titan pickup

Chris Shunk — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 09:07:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Nissan

It looks like the challenges in the heavy-duty pickup truck market is too intense for Nissan, who has decided to steer clear of the potentially lucrative, yet highly-competitive, market. Heavy duty offerings from the Detroit three come in several different configurations to suit virtually every need, and Nissan seems to feel that they would have trouble selling enough HD trucks to make it worth their while. The scribes over at Pickuptruck.com quote Nissan as pointing out data that shows only one in three truck owners would consider a foreign truck. With limited sales opportunities, Nissan would have trouble matching higher-volume manufacturers on price, including domestics that will pile on incentives in order to move their bread and butter trucks.

Nissan has plenty of reasons for their decision, yet we think if the Titan had lived up to its lofty sales goals there would be an HD version on the way.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

Nissan nixes plan for Heavy-Duty Titan pickup originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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