The Chevrolet Silverado, unfortunately, has seen better days in the pickup space. And that’s probably why General Motors is playing the proverbial desperate man doing desperate things, having launched a new marketing campaign that arguably lands some low blows on Ford and the F-150. And it’s not surprising, considering how the F-150 is seemingly pulling farther and farther away from the Silverado in terms of domestic vehicle sales.
Yes, it does seem like a shot in the nuts, as Chevrolet on Wednesday fired off a vicious volley against the F-150. Directly mentioning Ford’s best-selling truck, the Chevy ads stated that lab tests have revealed the Silverado’s high-strength steel bed is more resistant to damage than the aluminum bed of the F-150. Loaders were shown dumping concrete blocks onto both trucks’ beds, and while those blocks punched holes into the F-150’s bed, the Silverado’s bed escaped with minor scratches and dings. Those tests, however, were run without bed liners to protect either truck’s bed.
That’s not to say that the Silverado is selling poorly. However, it is selling solidly, which isn’t where Chevrolet wants to be against its Detroit rival and its truck. Ford F-Series sales still put it comfortably ahead of other vehicles in the U.S., and sales have been up by more than 7 percent through May 2016. Silverado sales, on the other hand, have remained flat. Solid, but unspectacular – seemingly enough for the Bowtie to fire off at the Blue Oval in its new ad campaign.
Ford, however, seems unfazed by Chevy’s latest promotional efforts.
“When you’re the market leader for 39 years, competitors sometimes try to take shots at you with marketing stunts,” said a Ford spokesman, adding that the aluminum alloy cargo box on the F-150 is of “high strength” and “military-grade,” making it strong, durable, and resistant to rusting as compared to other truck beds.
Automotive experts don’t seem too impressed either with the Chevy ads. AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan pointed out some proverbial plot holes in the GM ads, saying that it is a “must” for trucks with aluminum beds to have a bed liner; no bed liners were used on either truck in the new advertisements. But he did add as well that the Chevy promotional efforts are symbolic of the high-stakes competition going on in the pickup truck space these days.
“It’s an all-out war,” he said. “There is nothing that appears to be off-limits now.”
And if this writer is to add his own two cents, the ads do suggest that the Chevrolet Silverado is, as we say it in my language, desperado. (Desperate, that is.)
source by http://www.modernreaders.com/