Huh? Chevrolet Ads Tout Steel Over Aluminum Trucks Even Through They Are Working An Aluminum Pickup Of Their Own

he battle between the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado is headed for a cage match.

Chevrolet is escalating the always-hot pickup wars this week with a social media campaign that takes a swipe at Ford's aluminum-body F-150. In a commercial slated for online and possible TV play, focus group members are asked which cage they would use for refuge when a grizzly bear lumbers into the room: one made of aluminum or another made of high-strength steel. Most scurry wide-eyed to the steel cage.

For all the industry buzz leading up to the F-150 launch about Ford's big aluminum bet, Ford's marketing hasn't exactly flogged that point with consumers. Now, Chevy's tongue-in-cheek salvo brings the topic to the fore, raising the stakes -- and risks -- for both brands.

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MDarringer - 7/6/2015 4:05:02 PM

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I ran across an old ad from Ford that noted that the Pinto Pony MPG had 627 pounds more road hugging weight than the Chevy Chevette Scooter. (I just Googled it to find it again.)

Chevy has to do something because their "all-new" pickups were anything but all new. In fact, aside from fresh styling and some frame strengthening it's the same old architecture underneath.

TomM - 7/6/2015 5:00:37 PM

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Auto makers are in the Business of selling vehicles - and the ones they have are the ones they are selling. It makes no difference that GM will eventually put more aluminum in their vehicles - today the trucks are made of steel - and steel DOES have advantages over aluminum (Weight is not necessarily one of them). You sell what you have.

Note - GM trucks were lighter than the last generation Ford Steel Pick Ups - and the difference between the Gm and Ford Trucks today is not as much as the difference Ford mentions about its OLD Trucks. And while GM's all new trucks were indeed new - the styling - much like the Camaro -which is also ALL NEW - makes it appear otherwise. GM NEXT generation Trucks will have to have significant styling differences when they add more aluminum.

Now - which cage would YOU rather be in?

MDarringer - 7/6/2015 8:10:46 PM

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Trust me. They were NOT new.

TomM - 7/7/2015 6:45:25 AM

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Sorry - but in fact they were NEW
Quote Kelly Blue Book review for instance

"Though its familiar sheet metal does very little to suggest otherwise, the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado is all-new from head to toe. It's what lies beneath the bodywork that counts, as the Silverado's improvements become immediately evident once you step inside."

xjug1987a - 7/7/2015 8:37:14 AM

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That just is not true, there were absolutely NOT all new. They were refreshed and restyled. New means a completely blank sheet of paper and GM did not have the resources at the time for all new.

MDarringer - 7/7/2015 10:39:25 AM

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And they are saying that because GM said that. Crawl under them and you'll see old truck = new truck. A look at replacement parts (identical) tells the story as well.