Ford F-150 brings happiness to Halloween fans, hauling some of the world’s biggest pumpkins.
Halloween is quickly approaching, and that means that many people around the United States are heading to their local farmers market to pick up pumpkins that will be transformed into jack-o-lanterns. Most people buy pumpkins that can be packed into a box and loaded into the trunk of a car, but other people go for the biggest pumpkins possible. In many cases, these giant pumpkins are grown by farmers who focus on growing the biggest pumpkins possible, and the unique Ford F-150 commercial above, from the Hills Ford YouTube channel, tells us the story of one of those farmers.
Giant Pumpkins
This unconventional commercial from 2014 is for a Ford F-150, and it features pumpkin farmer John Harnica of Harnica Kids Pumpkin Farm. Harnica explains that growing a gigantic pumpkin requires special seeds, a ton of work, just as much knowledge, a whole lot of luck and some help from Mother Nature. When everything goes well, the result is a massive pumpkin like the one shown in the images here.
This pumpkin from Harnica’s farm weighs a whopping 1,200 pounds, having been planted in late April and growing for about six months when it was harvested. Of course, harvesting a pumpkin this big requires some special equipment, such as a tractor and some tow straps for a car to move the half-ton pumpkin. Getting these huge pumpkins to market also requires a special truck and that is where the Ford F-150 comes into play.
Hauling the Pumpkin
Harnica explains that one of his favorite parts about growing giant pumpkins is hauling them to the final destination in his Ford F-150. Along the route, people ride alongside to get pictures and give him thumbs up for the results of his farming prowess.
He doesn’t go into any detail as to where this Ford F-150 hauled the 1,200-pound pumpkin, but the odds are good that this huge orange fruit made someone’s Halloween very special.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.