Cadillac Commercial

[REDDYK]

I am convinced that most people involved in car-train crashes are simply expecting the train to slow to accomodate their self-important needs. Haven't you ever seen a driver pull out in front of your car/truck, knowing that you will slow down to avoid a collision? Trouble is, the train CAN'T STOP even if they have time to try. Back to the original question, I think it is gross negligence for an advertiser to show a train slowing for their product. It will kill some people, and THEY won't be buying a Caddy.

[Anonymous]

Operation Lifesaver has been quite sucessful in getting similar ads pulled off the air, I don't understand the nincompoops who think this kind of thing is going to help sell vehicles, And I don't know why they haven"t learned the error of their ways yet either. Yes, I'm sure that some drunks and probably some kids will attempt this stunt, and we all know what the results will probably be.
I think that the "common sense factor" is sadly lacking in todays society, but that's a whole different story.

[Anonymous]

The railroad was stupid for letting GM make the commercial anyway.Remember the one about the Ford truck entering a tunnel and a Santa Fe F unit leading a train entering the other end.

[Soo2610]

I may never know but the experience sure left a lasting impression.

[Anonymous]

Mike,

I wi***hey would make those idiots pay for the damage they cause to the RR after one of those. In my opinion, they should take that guys drivers license away until he can write out long hand the calculations to show the stopping distance for a train, the economic analysis of requiring trains to be subservient (sp?) to passenger cars and a paper on the psychological effects on a worker who has to endure the vision of an idiot throwing their life away under their piece of heavy equipment. Clearly, most would never get their license back in 'my world'.

I have never seen a train vs auto collision but one happened within three miles of my house. A NS mixed freight was comming from the West across a road. The road was protected by flashing lights. The engineer was blowing the horn. Cars were stopped three or four deep already at the crossing. A lady with a three year old in the back wedged her way between two lanes of the waiting cars and gunned the engine to cross before the train. The train caught her back bumper, tore it off and spun the car around. I guess she was unable to leave the scene. When the police arrived she said 'I didn't hear the train, I guess I was playing the radio too loud and my window was up.' Makes me sick!

Ed

[sooblue]

Could be that's the why. Some people may never know why, probably because they really don't care about it or think about it. How ever could some things be explained though?

[Soo2610]

I can relate to that from personel experience. Just haven't figured out the why yet. Maybe it has to do with raising some wonderful children.

[sooblue]

Personally,
I belive in God. That guy and the guy from my memory probably were saved for some reason as we probably are all saved at one time or another.
some people can point to a time and others miss it.

[Soo2610]

mike... reminds me of the time when I was a kid and the SOO still ran the passenger train up to Minneapolis twice a day from Chicago. We were at a friends house when there was a big clanging bang outside. Looked out to see the front half of a car from the back of the drivers seat forward beside the tracks with a very stunned driver still gripping the steering wheel unhurt but in an obvious state of shock. The back half of his car was a quarter mile down the track wrapped around the cowcather of the steam locomotive. I will never understand how this idiots car was completely sheared in half from the back of his head rearward and he was completely unhurt but maybe a little wiser.

[sooblue]

Hi Ed,
I grew up 200' away from that SOO intersection in MPLS. One time I saw a red VW bug try to beat out a east bound frieght coming out of Shoreham.
the train was being helped up the hill by two pushers but it wasn't going slow by any means.
the bug almost made it by, the fa unit just clipped the back of the bug and it went end over end for 100' roughly. The driver didn't even get scrached. In fact he climbed out of his upside down car through a window and ran towards the train shakeing his fist at it. The train didn't stop for, I don't know, maybe 1/4 mile.
That driver was SOO lucky and all he could think of was shakeing his fist because he didn't make it and got hit. You know, I lived there for 19 years and I can't remember any other accidents at that intersection even though Central has always been a buisy street.
Mike

[Anonymous]

My British friend would often remark, 'Natural Selection at Work.' when he observed something remarkably stupid as a car trying to beat a train.

Regards. - Ed

[sooblue]

I've seen that add in real life. It wasn't for a caddy though it was for a string of fire engines and the crossing was at Central ave. in NE Mpls. and the rail road was the SOO LINE. I've also seen the SOO break apart trains more than once at that intersection. Some days those trains would roar in and out of Shorham, other times It would take twenty min. to get a train past.
I saw that commercial last night I thought it kind of classy and diffrent. If anyone is influenced by that commercial to try to beat out a train DO WE REALY WANT THAT PERSON ON THE ROAD, let him be a bug spot on the front of an engine.
I'll be willing to provide a rubber stamp to the engineers so they can mark the side of thier engines. Oh I know it's harmfull to the psyches of the engineers to nail a car so I propose that they are trained to handle that situation and that they have a handy supply of Prosac for thier continued well being.

[Soo2610]

Unfortunately, I think they realize that a good percentage of morons think anything they see on tv is gospel truth. I have never seen a train stop to look at a car unless the car is wedged under the cowcatcher.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised that thr FRA wanted to use their clout for something a trivial as that. Even though the comercial drives us up a wall, 99.9% of America probably doesn't know the difference. It is a stupid ad for all the reasons given above.

Ed

[Soo2610]

So am I which means I can only look. Apparently the FRA thinks the ad is pretty stupid too. Saw an article in the transportation section of the paper last week stating that they have contacted GM and requested that the ad be pulled.

[Anonymous]

Len,

Better looking than a Caddy or a MU group of GMs?

I'm married so I'm not allowed to look. - Ed

[Soo2610]

At least she is better looking!

[corwinda]

The commercial is still running - saw it yesterday (Sun) on either Fox News or The History Channel.

I think they did intend to porteay the trains waiting for the Caillac but totally blew the effect. (Stopped with couplers sticking out into the road? Trains going twenty miles an hour a few carlengths past the crossing!)

[Anonymous]

It looked to me as if the trains were waiting on the Caddy for their own safety in contrast to reality where we wait on trains for our safety. It's just one of those exagerations typical of an ad agency intended to leave an impression on the public. I think it is effective in that most people remember they saw a comercial for a Caddy. I think it is kinda stupid, but I'd never buy a Caddy anyway.

Is it any dumber than Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

[Anonymous]

I didn't see the comercial but I wish I did. Can any one tell me what type of power and paint scheme was used? Lets face it,most commercials are silly or phony and some are stupid and unreal. I believe most people already know this. I don't think a silly commercial will make people think they can drive on the tracks and be able to stop a train. Most everyone is aware of the power and force of a train. We see it on the news quite often. Yet every day all across this county people try to beat the train only because of their own ignorance and not because they saw a silly commercial.

[Anonymous]

You ARE A Locomotive engineer have you ever hit a M60 TANK.Somebody said it would derail it and the tank would keep on going.

[Anonymous]

The commercial is beyond dumb! In fact inensitive and stupid can not adequately describe it. This past Saturday I went to my Cadilac and cancelled my order for the last car that I planned on purchasing before I pull the pin on this mortal earth. When I told the saleman why he almost had a accident ( :-) )I He asked what he could do to make things right. I told him to tell his General Manager to contact the GM advertising department and pass on my rather profane comments.

[Anonymous]

Yes, very stupid--think about how many people woll get killed or seriously injured because of GM (EMD!!)'s crazy ideas to sell Caddys--I wonder what GM was thinking--Show off that their locomotives have no gumption?? or show that Cadillacs are that agile??--I'll stick with a Lincoln, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Cheaper how.What does a superliner cost compaired to a automobile.

[Anonymous]

Stupid idea for a commercial.All we need are more cars trying to beat the trains going through a crossing.This is the highest mortality rate involved with the roads.This commercial should be pulled from the air.That`s it! No new Caddilac for me,even if I could afford one.Trains are a little cheaper! horailfan

[Anonymous]

I didn't see the commercial, but I have to agree.
It seems, of late, GM designers have their head..
..... definetly not in the studio working. They
got more ugly things besides Caddy's.

[BRAKIE]

Ok! So now folks will think a train will stop to watch a Caddy go by! I think not! More bloody ties in the making.

[Soo2610]

Sounds like something from a typical tinsel town commercial. Head in the clouds floating around in la-la land. As if the engineers will have time to stop the train and watch the ugly caddy go by. Probably driven by two blind people too.

[paulbach]

I did see it and I think the intent was that the engineers stopped their trains at the crossing to wait for the Caddy to cross so they could watch it. The engineers were sitting in the cab, looking out the window, looking at their watches; then after the car goes by, they blow their air horns and fire up the locos.