I have been watching with pleasure, the latest battle between Chevrolet and Ford over just which company has the best, most reliable trucks. This "war" has been going on since I was young, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. My earliest childhood memories were about which brand was the best. In grade school, we sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the words: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord, he is driving down the mountain in a '57 Ford". We held those truths to be self-evident. Of course most of us also believed that the initials FORD meant "Found on Road Dead", or "Fix or Repair Daily". The banter back and forth was good for numerous conversations over the years. Then one day the song "American Pie" burst into our lives. The most blatant line was "I Drove my Chevy to the Levee". Not, "I drove my Ford to the Fjord"! It appeared that Chevrolet was fast becoming the symbol of America. Ford was just another brand , while we sang about "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet". The flag was flying, and the colors were Chevy red, white and blue!
Of course, the battle never ended, and both sides would go on to boast about who had the most registered trucks on the road, or whose trucks were still running after years of use. It appeared to be a semi-friendly battle up until Ford's VP of marketing, Jim Farley, uttered the now-famous words "F*ck GM! I hate those guys, I hate what they stand for." Not exactly kind words for a competitor. Those comments were swept under the rug, and things went on as normal until Chevrolet introduced it's Super Bowl commercial this year. The ad shows a post-apocalyptic view of an American city. A fluttering newspaper's headline proclaims "Mayan 2012 Apocalypse", and the scene is of utter destruction. And then, the camera pans to a pile of rubble, an engine starts, and a Chevrolet truck drives out. A man and his dog are seemingly unhurt, as they make their way through the devastation. Finally, they reach an area where there are more Chevrolet trucks gathered. The driver gets out, and asks "Where's Dave?" A man replies that Dave didn't drive the most dependable, longest lasting truck, "He drove a Ford"! The commercial ends with the line: "From the start of your day, to the end of the world, Chevy runs deep!"
Ford's lawyers blew a gasket over this one! They sent cease and desist letters to not only General Motors, but also to NBC who broadcast the show. Ford was mad as hell!
So now we must wait for Ford's response to this jab. What will they do to counter punch? Will they make their claims even nastier? All I know is that a little competition makes life interesting, and products better. I can't wait for Ford's next salvo, and Chevy's after that!
I suppose it would be unfair to choose sides, but then I did drive my Chevy to the levee, and all over hell's half acre to boot, and it's still running strong. How about that, Ford?
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