General Motors had a turbulent week in the news.
Jobs were lost, plants were idled, cars were canceled, and amid the ignominy, a 2019 Silverado Trail Boss broke down on the ice during the second intermission of a Detroit Red Wings home game last week. Except, according to those in the know at Chevrolet, the Silverado didn’t actually break at all.
Let’s recap the scene: prior to the ice resurfacing during last Wednesday’s contest against the visiting St.Louis Blues a 2019 Silverado Trail Boss pulled out onto the ice as part of promotional activities tied the Chevrolet’s status as the official vehicle of Little Ceasers Area. However, instead of driving off the ice before the Zambonis emerged as it should have, there it sat, stranded at the blue line, most definitely in the way.
Several fans in attendance, including one senior Ford communications officer, took to Twitter to mock the stricken pickup, claiming that it hilariously broke mid-job. A Chevrolet spokesperson reached out to GMAuthority over the weekend in order to clarify some of the confusion and hopefully clear the Silverado’s name. Apparently, the truck didn’t actually break down at all, as per the arena’s internal protocol the Trail Boss was purposely turned off during the on-ice activation in order to protect the ice surface from heat.
Once the branded activity was complete, the driver jumped back into the truck and upon attempting to start the 5.3-liter V8, a software update made itself available and was accidentally accepted. This resulted in the truck remaining parked for a couple of minutes as the update downloaded and installed itself. Once complete, the truck started with no issues and drove off the ice under its own power.
Aside from the Ford PR man, no one really believed a brand new 2019 Silverado Trail Boss legitimately suffered a mechanical failure on the ice at Little Ceasars Arena, and Chevrolet’s proposed scenario is more than plausible in this day and age of connected vehicles and over-the-air updates. But unfortunately the damage has already been done, the Tweets have been sent, jokes made, and articles were written.
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Can't think of a real world scenario where having to wait for a download before driving might be an issue. Actually, yes, I can.
True or not, any of us who have worked with GM or GM customer service knows that GM is a true leader in one respect. MAKING AN EXCUSE !!
Seems like reporters might have reached out to GM or the staff involved for a response before saying emphatically that the truck "broke down." That obviously wasn't the case. GMA's own article remains uncorrected. Why?
I guess "accidental application of over-the-air software update causes delay in moving Silverado from ice" doesn't have quite the same comedic ring to it.
On a related note, where are all the Tesla fans who've been complaining for years that GM doesn't do OTA software updates? It would be interesting to compare the steps required to update MyLink/App Shop apps and Tesla's apps. How many "the vehicle can't be driven until it's finished" warnings pop up, at what point can the updates be cancelled, etc.
Should be no different than not being able to use radio controls while in reverse, or add devices while in drive. THOSE safeguards make sense, and do not keep you from using your ride as a mode of transportation. Not being able to drive for 5 minutes while the system updates on the other hand is asinine, no matter the brand.
Wonder if any real owners can duplicate this to confirm whether this is true? GM is admitting a poorly thought out system here.
Then they wouldn't have had click bait.
With increasing reliance on technology, does a software malfunction not count as a breakdown?
So it has to be mechanical, or it doesn’t count?
The incident was unfortunate (esp last week) - but it seems like any malfunction (mechanical, software, tech-related) would count as a breakdown.
Not a good moment for a 2019 Trail Boss, in any event.
From Police Tech & Gear
with Tim Dees Jan 21, 2014
'A UK-based company called e2v has developed a system that will “confuse” the electronics of another vehicle enough that the car will stop functioning. The device works from as far as 50 meters (164 feet) away.
The product is called RF Safe-Stop. It uses a pulse of L Band (1 to 2 GHz) and S Band (2 to 4 GHz) microwave energy to disrupt the electronics of the target vehicle’s components.'
You can damn well bet that Ford "Communications Officer" had something to do with this!!! Dearborn will stop at nothing to keep their #1 truck status.
78caprice
Of course, this is a conspiracy. Another Trump supporter?
Link to it, or you're making up junk.
While this may be true it sounds like the old days like when Art Arfons blew a tire at over 600 mph and Firestone claimed he hit a screw in the middle of the salt flats.
You know there are just tons of screws out there.
The truth the cars weight and down force was too much for the tire.
It is true. I just bought a 2019 GMC Terrain and it was not driveable for about 15 minutes is what it said. But I went into the store and came back out and it was ready to go. It will after the first update do them when ever connected to you home wifi or other wifi from now on its own. I think it will also do them with onstar over the air also.
One word
Embarrassing
i hate chevy the way they look everything so i think that was chevys exuse for there truck breaking down
Back in the day this woulda been called vapor lock but now it's more like vaporware lock... You can quote me on that one.
No one is going to quote you on that one.