A tip of the cap is due to GM for the automaker's new Chevy Silverado TV spot, which premiered this Sunday during the Olympics. The spot features brief testimonials from drivers of high-mileage pickups wearing the bowtie badge, but one stands out more than the rest. Twenty seconds in, FDNY Firefighter Craig Monahan's segment opens with a wide shot of him standing in front of the Manhattan skyline. His battered truck has melted lights and a Ladder 5 placard affixed to the bed on the driver's side. In the spot, he recounts how the damaged truck started when he reached into the singed interior and turned the ignition key, saying that it served as an isnpiration, "If that truck could keep going, then we could all keep going."

This all happened on 9/11, a fact left unsaid but tactfully implied in the commercial. Veteran New York Daily News reporter Michael Daly knows Monahan and tells the truck's full story in an excellent piece that ran in Tuesday's Daily News. Frankly, you need to go there and just read the whole thing, because Daly's account is first-rate. Reading it also underscores the level of restraint GM exercised in how it used the truck in the commercial. It's a great TV spot, but the story behind that one particular 14-second segment is more remarkable and inspirational than you'd ever guess. Firefighter Monahan agreed to let his truck be used because he felt it was important for people see it and get a feel for what it represents. Monahan was compensated by GM for his participation, but he donated that money to another FDNY family, showing that even now, that burned and battered Chevy still helps him help others. We salute him, and we hope he keeps that truck forever. Thnks for the tip, Julius!

Source: Autoblog

Read the article about Craig's Silverado: Give this pickup truck the gold

This is one of the most brilliant, moving, and tasteful commercials I've seen. Period.

anyone have a link to a vid of the commercial?

anyone have a link to a vid of the commercial?

AutoBlog has it posted on their site where the above article was copied from. Here's the link.

that is a good commercial They could've gotten more high-mileage trucks, though, I'm sure. My dad got 340k+ miles from his bare bones '92 Sierra (well, I guess that'd be GMC, but since it's the same truck, I'm sure there are more/others out there that have done similar or better).

This is one of the most brilliant, moving, and tasteful commercials I've seen. Period.

Definitely one of GM's best

That was a great commercial!

It was a touching commercial. It had alot of emotional value as well, the mood and music were up-lifting. I will own a Silverado one day too. Toyota can't do what Chevrolet did. Never.

"Results not typical"

lol

A couple of good ones in there. I wonder if the guy with the 2 million mile truck was still on the original engine and transmission.

Of course, you should read the comments they put on Autoblog after the posting... talk about GM hate! Makes me almost regret sending the link.

But yea, I remember seeing the commercial live during the Olympics... thought it was more personally involving than the one with the music.

Edited August 15, 200817 yr by traumadog