Does anyone remember the F-150 commercial with Mike Ro where they hooked up the tow hooks to a spinning machine and twirled the damn thing around (greatest commercial ever) I want to see them put and X on that thing.

P.S.
(Don't crack on me) Can the tow hooks really take that kind of abuse?

 

Actually, I do not remember that commercial, so if someone has a link to it, please share. You gotta love ol Mike!

 

Was Mike in the truck?

 

I can't believe there is Ford people that hasn't seen it. Youtube it, I know it's on there.

 

I remember the commercial...never did understand the point they were trying to make with it to be honest though...and no Mike was not in the truck at the time...

If a tow hook (singular) can be used to tug another vehicle out of a stuck situation...and there are dynamic forces at play (slack in chain or vehicles not moving exactly in sync, etc)...the forces exerted by slowly accelerating (i.e. linear forces) a truck hanging by both tow hooks are likely much less than the act of actually tugging someone out of a mud hole burried up to their axles (just a guess). In the case of spinning the F150 around in a circle...the centripetal forces are only of the weight of the F150 alone...

Joe.

 

During that time (and present) Ford was hemorrhaging TONS of money a day. I thought it retarded to spend that kind of money building that stupid centrifuge to spin a truck.

Like Joe, I felt that it proved nothing and they could have made a cheaper commercial and still shown the strength of their closed tow hook.

 

The commercials were unnecessary, but they did look, I guess we can call it cool.

Once Toyota put out their Tundra commercials with the seesaw thing, braking, trap speed, etc. Ford wanted their own commercials showing their truck doing similar stunts.

 

Unfortunately the marketeers have taken over and it is darn near impossible to decipher the real TOW RATINGS anymore...because after all...a toy truck can tow 10,000 #'s on a teeter todder...marketing is like legal lying...unfortunately with regards to towing capabilities...many simply DO BELIEVE these commercials and in many cases drop $$$ on a vehicle simply too small for the monster trailer or toy hauler they want/have.

A stripped down regular cab with only a 150# driver can theoretically tow 10,000#'s...but will it do it at 8,000' and maintain a legal speed on an interstate (i.e. >40mph) is another question. Now throw in a crew cab configuration with all the user 'comfort' options that are ordered in these vehicles...and the tow rating is down...next throw in the family and all their 'stuff' and the tow rating is REALLY down...

I chuckle and like Monsta find it interesting how these companies that are losing money hand over fist find the money to spend on these lavish sets to shoot these ridiculous commercials...I guess when you have dad (government) to bail you out...it don't much matter what you pee your money away on...perhaps some poor sap will actually believe that little tundra or f150 can actually tow more than a V10 3.73 geared Excursion by the 'ratings'...

Sorry for the rant...

joe.

 

I agree with what you said, but keep in mind, Ford is not in need of federal loans, at least not at this point.

 

Good point...I kinda lumped all of them together there...even the ferrin guys and I shouldn't have

But for the first time since 1938 toyota is showing in the red...so you know they are all hurting...and spending money on these types of things doesn't seem prudent...that's all...but you are right...my bad.

joe.

 

Toyota posting a loss is a good indication of how out of whack the auto industry is right now. Heck, even BMW has admitted that if these current conditions persist for another two years, they too will be in a hell of a position.

For the past decade, the industry as a whole has sold over 16 million vehicles per year; this year, I believe their on track to sell something like 10-12 million, thats a huge drop in just one year.

 

You have officially killed my high. LOL I did care the cost of the commercial, nor the fact that it is and I agree very pointless. The fact I was getting at was simply this: "Can a sorry *** Toyota do that!" I've hated Toyota ever since they raped their way into NASCAR.

 

YouTube - Ford F-150 "Centrifuge" commercial
They state at the beginning that they subjected the truck to 6 Gs' of force. That's 29,826# for a '08 F150 Scab with an 6.5' bed. Divide that by 2 and you get 14,913# per hook.

 

Before I owned an Excursion, I owned a 1977 Bronco. From about
19 to 29 years of age actually. 10 years. I subjected that truck
to just about everything possible, including huge shock-loads on the
front and rear tow-points.

A tiny, very mild one-afternoon example here:
YouTube - Big Bear Snow and a Ford Bronco

That is just a very, very small fraction of a decade of radical abuse
I put that wonderful Ford through, and it never failed or let me down.

john

 

Thanks for the link to the commercial. I cant believe I had never seen it. True that it is no real world demonstration of end user abuse, but it still looks cool.