Tundra ad

[Robert Hall]

I saw a Tundra Crew Max ad today that was interesting... the truck was shown pulling a large metal cargo box (like a shipping container) out of a canyon where it was dangling... I wonder how that ad was filmed..I assume it was done with CGI and green screens? Interesting location also, looked a bit like the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park..

[Intrepidation]

Their commercials are nothing if not interesting.

[gm4life]

The prolly had two Chevy HD's or Ford SD's pulling the Tundra and the box. Because the Turd didn't have enough power.

[CSpec]

I would bet that the entire thing was CGI...

[Satty]

As far as the commercial itself, there is probably soem computer trickery going in. As far as the content, they cant just pull stuff out of nowhere, it has to be validated in some way, thats why many ads have a disclaimer at the bottom saying something about AMCI. The Tundra commercial in question states that the Tundra can pul 10,000 pounds from a dead stop. I'd put my money on them playing with words there, since a 5000lb truck pulling a 5000lb trailer is indeed moving 10,000lbs from a dead stop.

[scotthendersonfan]

Zero CGI or special effects, just good camera work. Toyota even makes that claim at the beginning of their ads. The making of the different ads can be seen on the Tundra website.

[Northstar]

Zero CGI or special effects, just good camera work. Toyota even makes that claim at the beginning of their ads. The making of the different ads can be seen on the Tundra website.

So this actually happened? I don't think anyone is going to hop in the truck, let someone tie a huge dangling trailer to the cliff and then let it fall so that they can stop the truck and start pulling the trailer back up. The truck is a few inches from falling off the ramp if I remember correctly, and there's nowhere to go but down, down, down if it did roll back another foot.

If the thing they dropped actually was 5000lbs, the Tundra had to overcome a 22300 Newtons trying to pull it off the ramp in a very short period of time. Assuming the Tundra also weighs 5000 lbs and the coefficient of static friction was ~.8 (this is the normal static friction between a tire and road), the Tundra would be making a force of only 17800 Newtons with the road in the opposite direction of the 22300 trying to pull it off. Where is the extra 4500 Newtons of force coming from? It certainly is going to take longer than the commercial shows to stop a 4500 Newton force.

So it may be real, but the trailer doesn't weigh as much as advertised if it does.

[scotthendersonfan]

So this actually happened? I don't think anyone is going to hop in the truck, let someone tie a huge dangling trailer to the cliff and then let it fall so that they can stop the truck and start pulling the trailer back up. The truck is a few inches from falling off the ramp if I remember correctly, and there's nowhere to go but down, down, down if it did roll back another foot.

If the thing they dropped actually was 5000lbs, the Tundra had to overcome a 22300 Newtons trying to pull it off the ramp in a very short period of time. Assuming the Tundra also weighs 5000 lbs and the coefficient of static friction was ~.8 (this is the normal static friction between a tire and road), the Tundra would be making a force of only 17800 Newtons with the road in the opposite direction of the 22300 trying to pull it off. Where is the extra 4500 Newtons of force coming from? It certainly is going to take longer than the commercial shows to stop a 4500 Newton force.

So it may be real, but the trailer doesn't weigh as much as advertised if it does.

The Tundra makes 401 lb-ft torque. Assuming all 400 lb-ft is utilized, the torque driving the tires = 401 x 3.333 x 4.1 = 5475 lb-ft. If you assume 18" wheels, the force at the road surface is approx. 5475 x 12 / 9 = 7300 lbs. Assuming the Tundra is 5000 lbs like you said, assume there's about 1250 lbs at each wheel (for simplicity). Therefore the max friction = 0.8 x 1250 x 4 = 6250 lbs.

So I don't think they were lying.

[Autoholic217]

At the end and at the bottom of the screen it says that its an actual demonstration, but whether or not green screens were used i dont know.

[deftonesfan867]

Torque means NOTHING when the truck isn't moving. That much weight falling makes its force even greater. If I were there in person then maybe I would believe it, same goes with any domestic truck doing the ad. The scenarios used in the ads are nothing more than smoke and mirrors trying to convey a tough image with situations that would almost never happen in the real world.

[gm4life]

Something was fishy.

[scotthendersonfan]

Torque means NOTHING when the truck isn't moving. That much weight falling makes its force even greater. If I were there in person then maybe I would believe it, same goes with any domestic truck doing the ad. The scenarios used in the ads are nothing more than smoke and mirrors trying to convey a tough image with situations that would almost never happen in the real world.

Huh? Torque is torque whether an object is moving or not. When force is applied in the direction of motion and the object moves, you do work. If force is applied and there is no motion, no work is said to be done. However the force (torque) is still being applied.

[Northstar]

The Tundra makes 401 lb-ft torque. Assuming all 400 lb-ft is utilized, the torque driving the tires = 401 x 3.333 x 4.1 = 5475 lb-ft. If you assume 18" wheels, the force at the road surface is approx. 5475 x 12 / 9 = 7300 lbs. Assuming the Tundra is 5000 lbs like you said, assume there's about 1250 lbs at each wheel (for simplicity). Therefore the max friction = 0.8 x 1250 x 4 = 6250 lbs.

So I don't think they were lying.

I don't see how the torque generated by the engine has anything to do with the force needed to stop the Tundra from sliding off the platform. If it can't stop itself from sliding, the engine can't pull it up.

Also, .8 x 1250 x 4 = 5000, not 6250.

Friction is not measured in pounds, but rather Newtons, and is a force. The max frictional force created by the Tundra is weight x 9.81 x coefficient of friction. Weight in kg is 2300kg. Coefficient of friction is .8... 2300 x .8 x 9.81 = ~18000N... this is the force opposing the 5000lbs box from falling. The force generated from the box falling is the weight of the box x 9.81 = 2300 x 9.81 = 22500N trying to pull the Tundra off the cliff. The output generated by the engine should not matter. Plus, you're assuming the engine is at the point where it's making max torque... clearly that would not be the case at the quite low RPMs in the commercial.

The number of wheels has nothing to do with it either. You could have 50 wheels and it would still have the same coefficient of friction.

[Northstar]

Huh? Torque is torque whether an object is moving or not. When force is applied in the direction of motion and the object moves, you do work. If force is applied and there is no motion, no work is said to be done. However the force (torque) is still being applied.

True, but the engine is not doing any work as you said.

[gm4life]

I think it was a 100lb trailer or something they can use false advertising and I am not sure of the punishment in this case.

[capriceman]

well lets rent a tundra get a container and try it if the guy dies we sue toyota for billions for false advertisement and saying it can be done no problem.

[balthazar]

If the truck pulls 10,000 lbs INCLUDING itself and itself weighs 5,000 lbs, how believable is a commercial showing a metal shipping container that looks to be 40 FEET LONG getting pulled up?? Every container I've ever seen is made of steel, not aluminum, so the illusion is particularly doubtful and reeks of deception, regardless of how adamant toyota is that it's all true.

For some reason I'm reminded of The Matrix where Neo slides across the rooftop, tethered to Trinity, then hops on the edge and holds her falling dead weight without going over. Looked real then, too.

Meanwhile, Ford is advertising towing capacities of 24,500 lbs...

[AxelTheRed]

I hate the Tundra ads. Its not because I hate Toyota, its because they're all practially screaming "WE HAVE REAL TRUCKS NOW!!! PAY ATTENTION!!! REAL TRUCKS!!!"

They're trying too hard and its making the Tundra look absolutely ridiculous. I mean that commercial that ends with "room for you and a meatball sub"? I haven't seen anything try to strive so hard to look manly since the "Silverado-turned-Monster truck" I saw in the grocery store parking lot.

[andy82471]

I hate the Tundra ads. Its not because I hate Toyota, its because they're all practially screaming "WE HAVE REAL TRUCKS NOW!!! PAY ATTENTION!!! REAL TRUCKS!!!"

They're trying too hard and its making the Tundra look absolutely ridiculous. I mean that commercial that ends with "room for you and a meatball sub"? I haven't seen anything try to strive so hard to look manly since the "Silverado-turned-Monster truck" I saw in the grocery store parking lot.

IMO, the TUNDRA ads are a lot more effective than THIS IS MY COUNTRY bs. That GM ad sounds like desperate pandering to patriotism for the reason to buy GM over TOYOTA. They tried that in the 80s and it didnt work. What makes them think it will work now?

[Intrepidation]

IMO, the TUNDRA ads are a lot more effective than THIS IS MY COUNTRY bs. That GM ad sounds like desperate pandering to patriotism for the reason to buy GM over TOYOTA. They tried that in the 80s and it didnt work. What makes them think it will work now?

Good point. The Tundra ads may be misleading and even fake...but they look cool and don't sound corny. I liked the Ram ads and the Superduty ads that showed of the brake assist the best of recent pickup commercials.

"Because what good is towing [insert however many pounds] if you can't control it."

[stefanmueller]

IMO, the TUNDRA ads are a lot more effective than THIS IS MY COUNTRY bs. That GM ad sounds like desperate pandering to patriotism for the reason to buy GM over TOYOTA. They tried that in the 80s and it didnt work. What makes them think it will work now?

I disagree, I love those chevy truck ads and that is a great looking truck. I think that was the perfect song for their ads, and the exolution from their first truck to the newest one emphasizes how much they've learned and changed over the years to be the solid truck it is today. I give props to whoever made those ads, they are bang on.

[Sixty8panther]

CGI???

DO you mean they really did NOT drive a Tundra down a

ramp at 100mph and then slam on the brakes at the last

minute before it falls off killing the driver.

[Oracle of Delphi]

CGI???

DO you mean they really did NOT drive a Tundra down a

ramp at 100mph and then slam on the brakes at the last

minute before it falls off killing the driver.

Damn, I was on the edge of my seat too!

[Variance]

Chevy puts some exaggerated ads out there, too. They had a commercial showing a Silverado HD pulling a train. And train had several cars attached.

[bowtie_dude]

Yeah, the Tundra ads are better than the "Our Country" ads. I hate that little diddy as well. C'mon, GM, get a better marketing company for Chevrolet already and drop the American Revolution crap.

[balthazar]

>>"Chevy puts some exaggerated ads out there, too. They had a commercial showing a Silverado HD pulling a train. And train had several cars attached."<<

A man has pulled a train car with his teeth- no CGI. I would think the HD absolutely could pull a few traincars weight-wise, tho the portrayal of doing so with it's tires on the rails is what's obviously a minor dramatization. But the toyota thing is blatantly physics-defying. Still, toyota-ists eat up false reality, so perhaps it's appropriate.

[gm4life]

I have always been a sucker for somewhat goofy patrotic ads. I like Chevy's ads and dis-like Toyotas.

[Northstar]

Chevy puts some exaggerated ads out there, too. They had a commercial showing a Silverado HD pulling a train. And train had several cars attached.

No where in the Chevy ad does it claim to be a real demonstration. The Tundra ad does.

[toyoguy]

No where in the Chevy ad does it claim to be a real demonstration. The Tundra ad does.

that's probably cause it's a real draw bar pull, you can try suing Toyota for false advertising.

A man has pulled a train car with his teeth- no CGI.

Edited May 17, 2007 by toyoguy

[CSpec]

>>"Chevy puts some exaggerated ads out there, too. They had a commercial showing a Silverado HD pulling a train. And train had several cars attached."<<

A man has pulled a train car with his teeth- no CGI. I would think the HD absolutely could pull a few traincars weight-wise, tho the portrayal of doing so with it's tires on the rails is what's obviously a minor dramatization. But the toyota thing is blatantly physics-defying. Still, toyota-ists eat up false reality, so perhaps it's appropriate.

Dude, ads are ads. Remember the ad with the Corvette flying? Or the Edge driving around skyscrapers?

[Autoholic217]

Dont get your panties all in a bunch. Its just an ad and in my personal opinion they rarely affect whether or not i buy a Silverado over a Tundra. Chill out.

[bowtie_dude]

The Tundra ads, exaggerated or not, invoke more enthusiasm than Chevrolet's jingoistic crap ads.

[Robert Hall]

Anyone remember the Tundra 'Killer Heat' ad from the '09 Super Bowl? Just saw it aired on the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage on Fox...surprising to see a car commercial from over 3 years ago still being aired...

[Drew Dowdell]

The Tundra ads, exaggerated or not, invoke more enthusiasm than Chevrolet's jingoistic crap ads.

just wait till you see my article about a Lexus commercial tomorrow

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting...