https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL4OeiMjvtk
If you grew up during the 1970s or are even just a fan of vintage content in general, you probably know that a number of car commercials from that decade were pretty wild and over the top.
In this footage dug up from the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives, we get a look at one such outlandish commercial in this ad for the Chevy Cheyenne. To show off its capabilities, Chevrolet got a driver to haul 187 tons worth of logs on a level road.
Now, as the voiceover guy clarifies, this wasn't a stunt they were expecting the average Cheyenne owner to try at home. But, it's especially evident from the wide helicopter shot that they were really trying to dramatically sell the Cheyenne's capabilities. A classic car commercial technique.
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While they don't mention the date of the ad in the above footage, Motorious points out that it's most likely from the early '70s.
There's no date for this commercial included in the YouTube post, but we can pretty accurately guess it was from the early 1970s. After all, the Cheyenne was introduced as a trim package for the Chevrolet C/K in the 1971 lineup. It was a comfort-oriented package for the most part, adding more cabin insulation and better seat padding, plus some exterior cosmetic changes like chrome trim.
Now, Chevy's Cheyenne trim package shouldn't be confused with the Rambler Cheyenne concept station wagon, which was manufactured by American Motors Company and exhibited at the 1964 Chicago Auto Show. With full-time four-wheel drive and standard 350ci V8 engine, the Chevy Cheyenne was introduced in '71 and had a production end date of 1998.
While select Chevy dealers have reintroduced the Cheyenne badge in recent years, they haven't resorted to using the outlandish hauling feat that was used back in the day. At least not that I know of.