MPLexus301
06-15-07, 07:48 AM
I know this is sort of an old topic, but I wanted to post the full response to the ad so that everyone can be sure that Toyota wasn't BSing. I know it has been discussed on many other forums and elsewhere, and many people still say the ads are false.
Toyota's response:
By now you have seen it: Tundra’s "See-Saw” TV ad, in which a Tundra tows 10,000 pounds of cinder blocks and trailer from a standing start, up one side and down the other of a gigantic teeter-totter, slamming on the brakes at the end.
And by now you might also have seen a zealous competitor email some of their dealers claiming that the 10,000 pounds refers to the truck plus trailer and that the trailer is only 5000 pounds. Some news agencies reported the assertion and others, who shall remain nameless, reported on the reports, without checking the facts. Time to debunk the debunking. . .
The trailer weighed 10,000 pounds just like the voice over says. Including the truck itself, it’s a total of 15,575 pounds. There are affidavits, notarized independent witness reports and plenty of other documentation. You can bet that the marketing department, ad agency, production company, our legal department and everyone else wants to have this stuff covered, and they did.
And what about the whispers that the trailer was equipped with trailer brakes? True. It’s the law. All 50 states require trailer brakes for loads this heavy. While it varies state by state, many require trailer brakes for gross weights down to 3000 pounds.
Given the legal climate today, carmakers watch very closely what we say and show. Without trailer brakes, the rig would surely have jackknifed off the edge of the 27.5% (that’s 16 degrees) grade. More entertaining perhaps, but hard on equipment and stunt drivers!
- Contributed by Mike Michels, TMS Corporate Communications
Toyota's response:
By now you have seen it: Tundra’s "See-Saw” TV ad, in which a Tundra tows 10,000 pounds of cinder blocks and trailer from a standing start, up one side and down the other of a gigantic teeter-totter, slamming on the brakes at the end.
And by now you might also have seen a zealous competitor email some of their dealers claiming that the 10,000 pounds refers to the truck plus trailer and that the trailer is only 5000 pounds. Some news agencies reported the assertion and others, who shall remain nameless, reported on the reports, without checking the facts. Time to debunk the debunking. . .
The trailer weighed 10,000 pounds just like the voice over says. Including the truck itself, it’s a total of 15,575 pounds. There are affidavits, notarized independent witness reports and plenty of other documentation. You can bet that the marketing department, ad agency, production company, our legal department and everyone else wants to have this stuff covered, and they did.
And what about the whispers that the trailer was equipped with trailer brakes? True. It’s the law. All 50 states require trailer brakes for loads this heavy. While it varies state by state, many require trailer brakes for gross weights down to 3000 pounds.
Given the legal climate today, carmakers watch very closely what we say and show. Without trailer brakes, the rig would surely have jackknifed off the edge of the 27.5% (that’s 16 degrees) grade. More entertaining perhaps, but hard on equipment and stunt drivers!
- Contributed by Mike Michels, TMS Corporate Communications