Chevrolet Silverado Commercials Fail to Downplay the Aluminum Ford F-150

Before the ranting starts, we must highlight that aluminum alloys don’t only shed the curb weight of the light-duty F-Series, but also provide more rigidity and resistance to rust. A work truck such as the F-150 XLT is about $400 more if you compare it to the steel-made former-generation F-150 XLT. To boot, repairing an aluminum panel is insignificantly more costly than a steel panel, but this isn’t a detail to shout about.

Chevrolet disagrees though. In three commercials titled “Cages,” “New Superhero: Almighty Aluminum Man,” and “Silverado vs. F-150 Repair Costs and Time,” the golden bowtie makes a direct attack on the F-150's aluminum-laden construction. Based on the titles of the adjacent videos, we bet $10 you already guessed what’s going to happen next.

In a nutshell, the first commercial sees a bearded man talk with ten men about what type of cage they prefer as a safety precaution against a grizzly bear: one that’s made of steel or one that’s made of aluminum. Other than a wicked shot of a grizzly bear in the bed of a Silverado, a YouTube user had this to say about the Silverado vs. F-150 ad: “As a materials scientist the pseudo-science in this makes me cringe.”

Moving on to the second ad, the one with the Aluminum Man. Rallying a bunch of comic book enthusiasts with VIP tags and fake Ray Ban glasses isn’t exactly the best of test subjects in our opinion. We have to give it to Chevy that Iron Man or Man of Steel sounds way better than Aluminum Man, but how is the comparison relevant when it comes to the Silverado and F-150? Pickup trucks are tools, not superheroes.

Dear General Motors, how does Bail Out Boy sound to you?

This ad is even more out of touch with reality if you consider that GM is lining up aluminum-alloy suppliers for the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado. Then there’s the third and final advert, which sees a side of the Silverado and F-150 being struck by a metal barrier. With the resulting damage, the trucks are in the body shop for repairs. Now prepare for the biggest lie in pickup truck wars: to repair two doors and a door sill of the F-150 is, according to Chevy, “$1,755 more” expensive and it “took 34 more days” compared to the Silverado.

Yeah right. What’s your opinion on this, based on proper facts, not marketing attacks? On an ending note, keep in mind that the Silverado uses aluminum for the hood. PS: the entry-level 2016 Ford F-150 starts at $26,030 while the equivalent 2015 Chevrolet Silverado is $27,365. This is a 1 - 0 for the Ford crew.