The paper ad wasn’t just to advertise the truck, but also to promote the television ad that showed the vehicle and plow in actual motion.
Also, trucks had two doors, meaning the rear seat had to be climbed into via folding the front seat forward and diving in headfirst. They eventually got better and better, with headroom, legroom, and one or two extra doors. After that, the cabs got bigger, and longer, meaning the beds got shorter in most cases. All of a sudden, leather interiors started to show up. Leather came in so fast and hard that it began to feel surprising to get into a truck without it. Some seats were heated, some were heated and cooled, and some steering wheels also got the heat treatment. I think even the rear seats have it now. Remember the days of the AM radio with the single four-by-ten speaker off-centred in the dashboard, or worse yet, those little paper four-by-six units in the b-pillar right by your ear? How could you forget, I’m sure there’s a class-action lawsuit out there somewhere, filled with people willing to settle for hearing aids. Not to worry now, new trucks have something ridiculous like ten speakers, a separate subwoofer, and a trusted aftermarket brand name tied to it all. There’s a touch-screen radio that doubles as a navigation unit, runs the heating controls, and displays the view from the backup camera in the tailgate. The 1976 Chevy ¾ ton 4x4 didn’t have a tailgate camera, as they weren’t invented back then, and they didn’t need them anyway. When you’re hooked onto a four-bottom John Deere plow, you know it’s there.
Nowadays, truck companies are bragging about creature comforts and fuel economy. They still mention payload and towing, but they don’t brag about it as much, as people tend to just assume it’s up to the task. This ad for the 1976 Chevy ¾ ton 4x4 is exactly why people assume trucks can do truck things, as this truck took it one step further and proved it could do tractor things. Equipped with a four-hundred cubic inch V8 that was backed by an automatic transmission and a Positraction rear end packed with 4.10 gears, this truck was built to do truck stuff. Engine and transmission oil coolers were added, along with a heavy-duty radiator and heavy-duty shocks. Big chewy off-road tires were mounted, and the bed was filled to the maximum capacity. How did the Chevy do? It turned over six acres in three hours and fifteen minutes. Having never plowed anything in my entire life, I can’t say if that’s good or bad, but considering Chevy essentially brought a knife to a gunfight when they used a truck as a tractor, I’d say it did pretty good. Also, it probably had a seat and a radio, but the ad fails to mention either.
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