Another great Chevy tear-jerker story

[Bob Andrews]

If you can watch this without at least one tissue, you may not be alive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz-nO6WvOYw

[BobPalma]

Excellent, and a 396/4-speed Super Sport to boot; not a common combination even then, much less to have survived life in the northeast between the realities of hot-rodding and a hostile, corrosive environment. I only watched it once so may have missed it; was their any reference to their mother still being alive as well?

One poster to the comments below the video also noticed the trunk key being in the ignition switch early-on. 'Figured I was being anal to have observed that, but I wasn't alone. <GGG>

They certainly have some creative people earning their keep researching and writing Chevy Runs Deep commercials, and they are doing an excellent job. This campaign greatly appeals to us older gear-heads, especially the America First brigade of which Bams and I are Charter Life Members. I wish there was a way to know or measure the campaign's effectiveness to the important demographic of younger people who may not share the emotional attachment to automobiles we do, and/or to traditional American brands. I guess sales reports and market penetration will validate that in a positive way. I hope so.

Chevrolet has a good product lineup and mix going forward; the Cruze and Malibu are spot-on automobiles, and for the crossover brigade, the Equinox is a fine value in short supply.

Meanwhile, this is indeed a cool beans story about the brothers locating and buying their Dad's '65 Impala SS, and the wonderful miracle that it survived in such good condition. Carry on, 'bros! BP

[JDP]

Just what I needed, a good cry to start off the morning, thanks Bob. BTW, as much as we love the ad's they don't work for the general public. I found this on the net.


"“Chevy runs deep,” its most recent attempt at a marketing slogan, is just confusing. Despite the automaker’s attempts to explain how that signifies the long term relationship between the brand and American culture, most Americans simply don’t understand it.

In fact, since the slogan was introduced last year, it’s done nothing to boost showroom traffic. It’s “maintained the brand,” in advertising-speak, which is another way of saying that it’s kept the public from forgetting that Chevrolet builds automobiles."

I still think it builds good will toward the brand, and overcomes some of the Government Motors. I'll never buy GM sentiment.

[Sdude]

That was an amazing story. To find that car after all those years and for it to be in immaculate condition is incredible. I wonder if it is true? If it is, that man is truly blessed. If it's not true, hats off to the writers for putting together a great story. Either way, I loved it.

[55champion]

This one got to me.....have to admit I loved it...

[DEEPNHOCK]

And I had daughters...

[JDP]

That was an amazing story. To find that car after all those years and for it to be in immaculate condition is incredible. I wonder if it is true? If it is, that man is truly blessed. If it's not true, hats off to the writers for putting together a great story. Either way, I loved it.

I doubt the car was found in immaculate condition. It was either restored by a PO, the guys sons, or GM got wind of the story and decided to restore the car for the kids and dad, not to mention a better presentation than some possibly modified example. I think the commercial would lose some impact if dads car was now a candy apple red, low rider with 21 inch wheels. The fact that it was the same color after all these years makes me think dad's car was restored back to factory, not survived like that.
BTW, even if GM stepped in to help late in the process to help make dad's dream come true, I'm cool with it.

[Bill Pressler]

I absolutely love this spot. I wish there was a way they could run it on TV, not at five minutes length of course.

I have always thought the '65 big Chevy had virtually perfect styling in, out, front, and back. I may go so far as to say I even like it better than a '55, '56, and '61, all of which I've appreciated for a long time, too.

The son in this spot says "it's been almost thirty years since I've sat in it", so the Dad had the car probably 'til '81 or '82. I believe it's possible the car wasn't restored. The Dad says, "It's the same!"

You guys know this, and it's not quite the same, but I was happy to show the original owner of my old '63 Daytona Skytop R1 the car after 45 years. It was a great day and I have a bunch of photos to remember it by.

[Bob Andrews]

I doubt the car was found in immaculate condition. It was either restored by a PO, the guys sons, or GM got wind of the story and decided to restore the car for the kids and dad, not to mention a better presentation than some possibly modified example. I think the commercial would lose some impact if dads car was now a candy apple red, low rider with 21 inch wheels. The fact that it was the same color after all these years makes me think dad's car was restored back to factory, not survived like that.
BTW, even if GM stepped in to help late in the process to help make dad's dream come true, I'm cool with it.

Why would you doubt it? Being a special model, there is every reason to believe it is in fact a survivor. We see them all the time, in every brand. In the story he says he'd been tracking it and it took 5 years to find. Maybe for the sake of brevity they left out the part where they had it restored; or left out commentary about how amazed they were to find it so well-preserved. He does use the word 'miracle'.

As I watched and then posted the video I never thought about it being a commercial. It came to me in the Chevy Hardcore newsletter under the heading 'Chevy True Stories'. Here's the link:

http://www.chevyhardcore.com/news/video-man-tracks-down-father’s-impala-30-years-later/

It may be, or end up as a commercial, but the story is real.

As a related note: Some racing friends of mine, two brothers, own a house company taken over from their father. They're the ones that built my house in '04. The father had a '67 Vette that he bought nearly new and loved, and wore the thing out completely. He put it away planning to have it restored "someday" and went about the business of raising a family and building his business. He came to a point that he figured he'd never get to having the car restored, and instead bought himself a brand new 'Vette in 2006. In '09 the boys stole the '67 from one of their storage buildings and sent it out for a frame-up restoration, and with their mother as consultant brought it back to exactly as it was when he bought it. He had no idea the car had been touched or even moved. They presented it to him on his 65th birthday. I think they increased the stock value of Kleenex that day- not a dry eye to be found

That's how I know the video I posted is real- just look at the eyes of the father when he realizes what he's seeing. I contend there's no way even the greatest actor could produce that genuine of a response. Same as my friend's dad when he saw that '67. Similar to when I gave Linda her dream minivan for Christmas one year. And, the same as when I gave my Mom and my very ill Dad a beautiful Chrysler New Yorker, just four months before he passed; Dad the Marine abruptly headed into the house so we couldn't see him cry; then half-heartedly denied it when we went after him. Told us it must have been dust in his eye

I crave opportunities to evoke that kind of joy from others.

Hey, maybe my son will get rich and spend $75K to restore my folks' Baby Blue '65 Continental back to an $8K show car I've still got the car; that's a big time-saver for him right there<GG>

[JDP]

Why would you doubt it? Being a special model, there is every reason to believe it is in fact a survivor. We see them all the time, in every brand. In the story he says he'd been tracking it and it took 5 years to find. Maybe for the sake of brevity they left out the part where they had it restored; or left out commentary about how amazed they were to find it so well-preserved. He does use the word 'miracle'.

As I watched and then posted the video I never thought about it being a commercial. It came to me in the Chevy Hardcore newsletter under the heading 'Chevy True Stories'. Here's the link:

http://www.chevyhardcore.com/news/video-man-tracks-down-father’s-impala-30-years-later/

It may be, or end up as a commercial, but the story is real.

As a related note: Some racing friends of mine, two brothers, own a house company taken over from their father. They're the ones that built my house in '04. The father had a '67 Vette that he bought nearly new and loved, and wore the thing out completely. He put it away planning to have it restored "someday" and went about the business of raising a family and building his business. He came to a point that he figured he'd never get to having the car restored, and instead bought himself a brand new 'Vette in 2006. In '09 the boys stole the '67 from one of their storage buildings and sent it out for a frame-up restoration, and with their mother as consultant brought it back to exactly as it was when he bought it. He had no idea the car had been touched or even moved. They presented it to him on his 65th birthday. I think they increased the stock value of Kleenex that day- not a dry eye to be found

That's how I know the video I posted is real- just look at the eyes of the father when he realizes what he's seeing. I contend there's no way even the greatest actor could produce that genuine of a response. Same as my friend's dad when he saw that '67. Similar to when I gave Linda her dream minivan for Christmas one year. And, the same as when I gave my Mom and my very ill Dad a beautiful Chrysler New Yorker, just four months before he passed; Dad the Marine abruptly headed into the house so we couldn't see him cry; then half-heartedly denied it when we went after him. Told us it must have been dust in his eye

I crave opportunities to evoke that kind of joy from others.

Hey, maybe my son will get rich and spend $75K to restore my folks' Baby Blue '65 Continental back to an $8K show car I've still got the car; that's a big time-saver for him right there<GG>

It may well be a real story, but it is a upcoming commercial. It was uploaded to youtube by Chevrolet and here's the 60 second version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_I9fyX0RhI

The Chevy Runs Deep commercials are produced by simi pro independents that submit their video's to GM. The story could be based 100% on facts, or scripted from a great plot. I don't see it as something done by a the kids with a camcorder, but I could be wrong. Maybe Chevy just filmed dad reaction to getting the car and just recreated the background of how the kids found the car.


Update, I have your answer about dad from the Chevy web site. it's the start of a true stories series :

"You’re probably wondering how we were able to capture Herb’s true Chevy story on film. It was easier than you’d think. Conspiring with his two sons, Jared and Derek, we posed as a film crew to document three generations of an American family. Herb, being a good sport and a proud father and grandfather, played along. Little did he know, of course, that as he was catching his granddaughters coming down the slide, his long- lost Impala would come rumbling into view. The rest, as you’ve seen, is history. Herb’s story marks the first of the many true stories that help celebrate Chevy’s 100-year anniversary."


More on the commercial here:


http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/art...ounger-family/

[BobPalma]

I absolutely love this spot. I wish there was a way they could run it on TV, not at five minutes length of course.

I have always thought the '65 big Chevy had virtually perfect styling in, out, front, and back. I may go so far as to say I even like it better than a '55, '56, and '61, all of which I've appreciated for a long time, too.

The son in this spot says "it's been almost thirty years since I've sat in it", so the Dad had the car probably 'til '81 or '82. I believe it's possible the car wasn't restored. The Dad says, "It's the same!"

Bill: Listen to the first minute of the original YouTube again.

The son says, "My Dad had the car 20 years, until the mid-80s." Obviously, that would place the disposal year at 1984 or 1985, depending on when he took delivery of it. It's right at 00.38 in the video.

(BTW, the report of the video being made says he bought the car "in the fall of 1964.")

(At 00.34, you can see the trunk key hanging out of the ignition switch in the "on" position. I'm still working through that....<GGG>) BP

[Bill Pressler]

Bill: Listen to the first minute of the original YouTube again.

The son says, "My Dad had the car 20 years, until the mid-80s." Obviously, that would place the disposal year at 1984 or 1985, depending on when he took delivery of it. It's right at 00.38 in the video.

(BTW, the report of the video being made says he bought the car "in the fall of 1964.")

(At 00.34, you can see the trunk key hanging out of the ignition switch in the "on" position. I'm still working through that....<GGG>) BP

I did note the "20 years" comment when I went back and watched it a second time a couple hours ago. I'd say the chance is OK the car looked good when the sons bought it.

I like when 'Dad' is holding up the 'Protect-O-Plate' with his name on it. I wonder how many people under, say...53 even know what that is!

[Bob Andrews]

It may well be a real story, but it is a upcoming commercial. It was uploaded to youtube by Chevrolet and here's the 60 second version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_I9fyX0RhI

The Chevy Runs Deep commercials are produced by simi pro independents that submit their video's to GM. The story could be based 100% on facts, or scripted from a great plot. I don't see it as something done by a the kids with a camcorder, but I could be wrong. Maybe Chevy just filmed dad reaction to getting the car and just recreated the background of how the kids found the car.

Dang, you're a crusty one! You can downplay the emotion of it if you're able to, I cannot. If you want to detract from it, that's OK, your choice, but I enjoy the moments in life that evoke tears of joy; they're some of the best in life. I feel very sorry for those unwilling- or incapable- of recognizing or taking part in those moments.

One of my favorite quotes along these lines is from the late, great Coach Jim Valvano, in an ESPY speech less than two months before his death from cancer in 1993:


"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

I suppose you can bring up his imperfections as a human being, or write this off to being frail from cancer and out of his mind; but by my measure is was classic Jimmy V. For me, it touched my spirit, and I have tried to live it since then. To each his own, but it has served me quite well.

Now, excuse me while I go watch that video one more time

[BobPalma]

I like when 'Dad' is holding up the 'Protect-O-Plate' with his name on it. I wonder how many people under, say...53 even know what that is!

Well, Bill, if you stop to think about it, anyone who attends a collector-car auction or watches Barrett-Jackson more than 20 minutes is bound to know what a Protecto-Plate is! <GGG>

Because they were tucked in that little sleeve under the hood, they had a relatively-high survival rate as documents and such go. This is opposed to just being tossed in the glove box or kept in the owner's wallet, where they would likely not accompany the car when traded if it was out of warranty, or if the dealer did not request it of the original owner.

Related amusement: Another of my "analities," for want of a better term and to avoid the loaded word fetish, is getting both sets of original keys when buying a car/truck used. (This is in addition to the battery-hold-down fetish...oops, I said fetish after all.)

For 25 years, when buying thousands (true) of vehicles in central Indiana for Unique Motorcars Ltd. of Rockford IL, I endeavored to secure both sets of original keys, even if it meant driving to someone's place of work to get a spare set after the deal was done. Unique's owner, my friend Mike Parker, appreciated that, but it wasn't as big of a deal to him. Sometimes, he even kidded me about it.

When he and his wife sold the business and closed up shop, I was visiting and he said he "had something for me; a souvenir of the business I know you'll like." He then gave me a huge coffee can filled with assorted original keys he had accumulated in some 30 years of business. That sucker must've weighed 20 pounds! <GGG> BP

[JDP]

Dang, you're a crusty one! You can downplay the emotion of it if you're able to, I cannot. If you want to detract from it, that's OK, your choice, but I enjoy the moments in life that evoke tears of joy; they're some of the best in life. I feel very sorry for those unwilling- or incapable- of recognizing or taking part in those moments.

One of my favorite quotes along these lines is from the late, great Coach Jim Valvano, in an ESPY speech less than two months before his death from cancer in 1993:


"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

I suppose you can bring up his imperfections as a human being, or write this off to being frail from cancer and out of his mind; but by my measure is was classic Jimmy V. For me, it touched my spirit, and I have tried to live it since then. To each his own, but it has served me quite well.

Now, excuse me while I go watch that video one more time

WTF Bob ?? You posted the video I replied it made me cry. Than I commented about the possibility that the car was restored by the PO. the kids or GM before they shot the commercial. You asked why I thought is was a commercial, so I posted the commercial. Now I'm crusty and downplaying the emotion ?? Lot's of commercials touched me, and trust me, this one did too, regardless if the car was original or restored..