Frank Oresnik’s Million Mile Chevy Silverado for Sale on eBay

Back in February, I wrote a post about Frank Oresnick and his 1991 Chevy Silverado that had over 1 million miles on it.  The million mile Chevy Silverado is now up for auction on eBay, and the current bid right now is just under $24,000 with one day left for bidding!

Back in February when I first wrote about Frank and his million mile truck, I mentioned that it’s this type of customer that companies should reward as the ultimate consumer brand champions.  Read Frank’s eBay auction page to see what I mean.  Here are a few quotes to demonstrate my point:

“In my business of selling seafood, I pile up the miles, to the tune of about 85-90,000 per year, but through it all this truck’s engine  continues to amaze everyone with her trouble-free performance. It truly stands as a tribute to American quality and workmanship!”

“This truck’s engine was assembled “spot on” at the Flint, Michigan plant. Those workers are to be commended and deservedly so. She has served me faithfully through the  years, moreover she has never left me in a lurch .she is deserving of a retirement in the lap of luxury that I could never provide her. The individual who acquires her will, i believe, be someone who remembers what it was like in the 50s,60s, and 70s, when America built the best  in the world, and everyone knew it.”

“I’m asked repeatedly what I attribute my million mile engine to. First off, you start with a great engine, that’s obvious of course.  For me, that means American.  Americans have a high degree of expectations from American firms, in terms of quality of product and accountability after the sale is made.  Competition SHOULD make for better products, and for greater responsiveness  to buyers AFTER the sale is made. So it starts there for me.” 

Don’t these message from Frank represent a great marketing message that Chevrolet could leverage to differentiate its products from the competition?  American made cars are typically thought of these days as being of a poorer quality than foreign manufacturer’s cars.  What if Chevy launched a campaign saying, “We used to be thought of like this….. and we’re going to do it again.”  The campaign could be supported with social media marketing, viral marketing (imagine a video contest – “share a video of your beloved Chevy”), print, radio, TV, and so much more.  Imagine an ongoing campaign leading to a relaunch of Chevy products and brands. 

Of course, for this scenario to work, actual changes have to be made from within Chevrolet for the quality to live up to the new brand promise, but if those internal changes can be made, and products equal in quality to Toyota and Honda can be manufactured, then the stage is set for a rebirth of American automakers.  Am I being too optimistic? 

The main point to this rambling post is this – loyal consumers are critical to a brand’s success.  Recognize them and leverage them as influencers who can drive business.  The power of word-of-mouth marketing is staggering.  Find the influencers then let them talk!

Image: used with permission by Frank Oresnik