We have all seen the commercial of the Toyota Pick-up with the big trailer that goes up this ramp (teeter-totter) and then barreling down the other side stopping before it gets to the end of the ramp. Very impressive!
Seems the company that does the in-house competitive comparison training for General Motors has discovered a couple of secrets. Sandy Corp. wants you to know a couple things.
At the beginning of the ad an announcer states, "It's tough pushing 10,000 pounds up a steep grade". Toyota wants us to think that the trailer that the truck is towing weighs 10,000 pounds ... the reality is that the trailer weighs 5,000 lbs and the truck weighs 5,000 lbs (gross combination weight is 10,000). Is this misleading ... yes, an out and out lie ... no.
On the way down, the camera zooms in on the brakes as they lock up and stop the truck right before it hits the end of the ramp. If you look closely before the zoom, you can see that the trailer is equipped with trailer brakes ... the truck doesn't stop the trailer, the trailer stops itself. Misleading ... you bet
Guess Toyota decided that since it wanted to play with the big boys in the full-size truck market ... It would learn how to lie to the American Public. Must be taking notes from our politicians.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Toyota Stretches The Truth
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27 comments:
lies lies and darn lies
I want to hear from Mr Lee Iacoca on this one !!!
Have a fine TEXAS evening.
All ads r misleading...most of the time :)
I love Toyota cars tho...cos I own one ;-)
Keshi.
Ah. Technically, though, it depends on what 'pushing' implies. Pretty good, actually, the connection between what's said and unsaid; it's the public who's jumping to conclusion. That's advertising (reminds me of the beer ads; they never guaranteed that with a beer in your hand, you'd become the centre of attraction ;-))
I thought deceptive advertising was the norm!
ryc: the whole idea of speaking 'well' n gentility and all that is so fake - its jus some concept w no real need that became an easy way to differentiate the rich and the poor. language and communication should be at the end of the day, a true expression of what you think and feel, not suppressed. language is the most convenient way to articulate our soul's movements and if even that we bind and break, aren't we silly?
My Dad sold Buicks for 40yrs, my sister worked at the Buick dealership for over 30yrs. She quit and went to work for the Toyota dealership. Her and hubby both lease Toyotas and love them. She says they routinely take in Toyotas with 200,000 miles on them and are still resellable! The Tundra truck has a great deal of versatility for storage. Too bad they have to embellish its' accomplishments...
Toyota makes a a better, longer lasting, safer truck. There is no denying that.
As for the out and out lies..
1) The trucks weight IS factored in with the tow weight. If you know about towing heavy loads with a full size, you now about this.
2) If you are towing more than 2000 LBS, what your towing NEEDS to have it's own breaking system.
They didn't hide anything. They simply showed the viewer, rather than told the viewer what you need.
I don't own a Toyota. But after driving one and pulling a 7000 LBS boat I wish I did.
i love toyota and im yokota :D
I knew that commerical wasnt possible...sneaky bastards!
tlrb ... aren't lies what advertising is all about?
keshi ... wouldn't a truck be a better fit in Austrailia? How about a Jackeroo?
eve ... I have however found that with a beer in my hand (and several in my belly) ... I felt that I was the center of attention. :P
david ... it is the norm, what is soooo good about this commercial is that there is always about 25% of the population that can see through the deception ... this one fooled almost everyone.
celestine ... how well you speak influences how others perceive you. A well spoken person will be given a chance in the business world, while someone who "talks regular" won't be given the opportunity in most instances. I grew up in NYC, and had to go to a speech therapist to lose my accent (I consider a New York accent to sound ignorant ... although amusing). The same can be said about people with facial piercings and visable tatoos ... the perception is that they are not as intelligent as someone who dresses well and is clean-cut. The perception may be wrong, but it is still there. Why would you want to have to prove yourself to everyone that you meet, when you can cut all the bull by presenting yourself as well dressed, clean-cut and erudite?
buffalo ... were you aware that Buick has just tied Lexus for fewest problems in the 3-year JD Powers survey. This ended Lexus's reign as number one (for 11 consecutive years). US cars are getting better ... problem is that people still remember the Pinto and other unreliable cars and haven't given US cars a second look ... hell, some never gave them a first look.
mike ... If you are going to tow a 7000 pound boat, you do not want to do it with a Toyota. The only thing I would tow something that big with is a Sierra or Silverado with the Duramax diesel and Allison transmission. Any other vehicle and your fuel mileage will be in single digits. Not to mention that you would have trouble going up hill.
niki ... toyota is having some troubles with quality now (probably from getting too big ... too fast) If you like Japanese vehicles, may I suggest Isuzu?
jenny ... but you gotta give them their props for fooling so many people for so long.
Have you ever seen the Ford commercial where they pick a truck up in the air by the pick-up bed and hold it over this poor schlub's head? Don't worry, it's safe ... he's wearing a hard hat.
I use a Durango to pull my boat, but I did used a Tundra to pull 7000 Sea Ray without problems, including up hill. The gas gauge dropped like a dime and the engine did whine a bit but I didn't kill anyone. HA
The differential in the backend did feel it but it went pretty good in my book.
But as you can see, over the long haul I will stick with my Dodge hands down.
when aren't ads misleading?
i am waiting for some douche to drive his hummer off a dock to see if he has propeller wheels too.
Paul,
This is too much.....What would be the purpose of a vehicle such as this.....???? anyway, it looks good????? I ramble,,,,,stay well....tks for the visits to my blog.....(told you I ramble)
I'm sure all of that is included in that tiny tiny print at the bottom of the screen, isn't it? You know, the print that takes a magnifying glass to read.
I hope y'all haven't floated away. Stay safe!
i dunno whether the moral of my life should b all abt how others perceive me. if i cannot b comfortable, myself and be free to seek my own truth, anything else I am is a fake entity and pp who want that are likely pp who want to create illusions to hide away from the inevitability of death - we have only so many years to live. i can't go to my deathbed ashamed of myself or half self.
True dat! They did have a good fool!
interesting reading...
oh yeah isuzu & mitsubishi sell well!
mikem ... Agreed, there is nothing like a good ole American truck to do some towing with.
blanco ... still trying to answer the question about when ads aren't deceiving, can't think of one. The reason it upset me is that it fooled me. I can usually spot where they are embellishing on an ad ... not this time, and it pisses me off.
tapline ... ramble away any time you want buddy. The picture is of a "stretch" limosine version of the truck and I used it to emphasize the "stretching" the truth part of the title.
stephanie ... that fine (unreadable) print that is flashed on the screen at the end of the commercial is called a disclaimer and is there by law to clarify any statements in the commercial (what a joke) ... I especially like the disclaimers on radio ads where the announcer is going so fast, the words sound like an outboard motor.
david ... no, I'm located in West Texas, the flooding is in East Texas near Houston ... thanks for worrying though.
celestine ... I can understand your conundrum ... whether to be true to yourself, or to the standards of society. Why are the two mutually exclusive? When in the corporate world you should conform ... and when you are on your own time, just be you.
jenny ... Yeah ... they fooled me, but that just makes me angry.
inspired ... just wanted to point out that you can't believe everything you see on TV. While most of us intrinsically know this ... we can actually start believing when it is repeated often enough ... after all, that is the whole basis of brain-washing.
niki ... they sell well in Asia, but not in the United States. Honda, Toyota and Nissan got here first and they have been brain-washing the American public for years. Where the manufacturers are on a level playing field, Isuzu and Mitsubishi do well.
Though you always have interesting posts, what I really meant was "interesting comments".
inspired ... the comments are the best thing about my blog. I always try to write a post that will elicit comments (either good or bad) and then sit back and act as moderator. I have some of the most intelligent, passionate, and moral readers in the blogosphere, and they make my blog what it is.
I love reading comments too..
it's like the comment box takes on a life of it's own...
Hum...
we have a Ford ...(and I had a Saturn SC2 for 13 years)
hubby only wants to buy American made cars.
terri ... hubby is right, every foreign made car sold in the United States costs American jobs ... even if the cars are assembled here.
lols yeah but I doubt it if I cud drive a truck/ute! :)
Keshi.
keshi ... Isuzu has a small truck called the D-Max (well at least that is what it is called in Thailand ... not sure if it is called the same in Austrailia), this truck when equipped with the diesel engine gets over 50 miles per gallon ... I think you could handle it.
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