Chevron Cars

This article is about the Chevron promotional animation, for the manufacturer of racing cars see Chevron Cars Ltd.

The Chevron Cars are part of an advertising campaign of the Chevron Corporation consisting of television spots, print ads, billboards, and toy cars available at Chevron retail locations.[1]

History

Their debut in television commercials in May 1995 featured talking cars done in clay animation, with a variety of car colors each with different personalities. The commercials themselves, done in a similar fashion to Creature Comforts, were crafted by Aardman Animations and used to promote Chevron with Techron. A year later, Chevron gas stations began selling the toy cars featured in the commercials. Chevron underestimated demand in 1997 and increased production to 700,000 on each of 4 or 5 new models at the time, compared to 500,000 in the previous year.[2]

Although originally designed for kids, Chevron executives were surprised that adults started collecting the toy plastic cars too. Older adults are among the most enthusiastic collectors of the Chevron Cars.

In October 2001, Chevron issued the limited edition Hope car to raise awareness about the fight for a cure for breast cancer and raised about $300,000 in donations. This has been followed by a new breast cancer awareness each October through 2007 with profits going to relevant charities.

In 2007, Chevron began limited production of cars in association with major commercial sports and university teams based on their Victor E. Van car.

In July 2011, Chevron announced that due to decreasing consumer demand, the production of the Chevron Cars would be terminated.[3] This brought to an end a period of fifteen years in which they were produced and sold.

Car # Car name Released Car info
1 Sam Sedan May 1996 A white sedan who always wants to stay shiny and clean and is watching the birds above.
2 Wendy Wagon May 1996 A turquoise station wagon who is always on the road from sunrise to sunset and is often known as the "winning wagon".
3 Tony Turbo May 1996 A red turbo car who zooms through the streets and sees everything.
4 Freddy 4-Wheeler December 1996 A green 4-wheeler that has mud splashes on his sides and two mountain bikes on his rack. He often goes out on mountain roads and loves getting dirty.
5 Patty Patrol June 1997 A black and white police car who remains on the alert of patrolling the streets.
6 Tyler Taxi June 1997 A yellow taxi cab with the traditional black and white checkerboard colors of older New York Taxis. He cruises everywhere in town and sees new things.
7 Pete Pick-up November 1997 A blue pick-up truck who works at the 10 Gallon Ranch, loading and unloading hay and horses from his trailer.
8 Horace n Trailer November 1997 A horse trailer that Pete Pick-Up often pulls. Horace is the name of the horse inside it.
9 Holly Hatchback November 1997 An orange hatchback car who works at stores around town.
10 Leslie LX June 1998 A creamy white LX, born in Beverly Hills, California, who contains fancy luxury designs.
11 Danni Driver June 1998 A pink student driver car who shows the learnings of driving.
12 Tina Turbo November 1998 A yellow turbo car who always likes to look and feel good. She also wants Tony Turbo to notice her, but has never succeeded.
13 Kelly Kompact November 1998 A green compact car who, like Leslie LX, was born in Beverly Hills, California and often gets into arguments with Leslie.
14 Cary Carrier November 1998 A blue and yellow car carrier who guides and delivers all Chevron cars to their performance needs.
15 Rudy Ragtop May 1999 A red VW ragtop car who came from Olden, Texas and despite being old, is still able to go everywhere.
16 Woody Wagon May 1999 A bright turquoise station wagon with the wooden design of vintage 1970s wagons and carrying a surfboard on his rack. He comes from San Diego, California and is into surfing.
17 CC Boat n Trailer May 1999 A trailer with a red wooden boat on it that is usually pulled by Woody Wagon.
18 Casey Coupe November 1999 A yellow coupe who came from Social Circle, Georgia and loves being in traffic.
19 Bailey Bouncer November 1999 The first young car produced, Bailey is yellow and came from Little Falls, Washington. She likes to bounce everywhere.
20 Brandon Bumper November 1999 The second young car produced, Brandon is green and also came from Little Falls. He wants everyone to bump into him.
21 Skyler Scamper November 1999 The third young car produced, Skyler is orange and also came from Little Falls. She likes to scamper through the sky.
22 Zachary Zoomer November 1999 The fourth young car produced, Zachary is purple and also came from Little Falls. He always wants to zoom through everything.
23 Nando May 2000 A red station wagon with a guitar case on his roof. He is always into music.
24 Frankie 4-Wheeler November 2000 A blue 4-wheeler with mud splashes on his sides, much like Freddy 4-Wheeler. Like Freddy, he loves going off-roading.
25 Leo Limo November 2000 A silver limosine who drives stars everywhere and contains more luxurious features than Leslie LX.
26 Hank Hotrod May 2001 A purple hot rod with flames painted on his front. Hank came from Hot Springs, Utah and loves getting hot stuff.
27 Della Deluxe May 2001 A light blue and white car who came from Grand Gulf, Mississippi and contains many grand features.
28 Sally Schoolbus August 2001 A yellow school bus who came from Bussey, Arizona, and always gets everyone to school.
29 Trevor Tow Truck November 2001 A yellow and blue tow truck who came from College Station, Texas and works at his own auto shop. He also loves music.
30 Pax Power November 2001 A purple car who came from Gasoline, Texas and has learned everything in his engine.
31 Charlie Chaser November 2002 The fifth young car produced, Charlie is blue and came from Little Falls like all the other young cars. He likes to chase everyone.
32 Dylan Dasher November 2002 The sixth young car produced, Dylan is pink and came from Little Falls. She likes to dash everywhere.
33 Chandler Chip May 2003 A green and white ice cream truck with an ice cream cone that rotates on his roof and plays "Pop Goes the Weasel". Chandler came from Chipley, Florida and he always keeps his ice cream chilled.
34 Summer Scoop May 2003 A brown and white ice cream truck who came from Roopville, Georgia and has the similar features of Chandler Chip, except playing "Turkey in the Straw" instead.
35 Riley Roadster November 2003 A red roadster with white on his hood. Riley came from New Roads, Louisiana and loves racing.
36 Maddie Mudster May 2004 A white car with big mud splashes and the words "Wash me" written on her sides. Maddie came from Mudville, Texas and likes getting muddy in the pigpen.
37 Payton Pizza July 2005 A red pizza delivery van with a pizza slice on his roof. Payton came from Pie Town, New Mexico and always wants to keep his pizzas hot when he delivers them.
38 Travis Tanker November 2005 A white tanker truck with the Chevron logo and a few cars painted on his tank. Travis came from Gasoline Alley, Arizona and carries all the fuel for the cars.
39 Maria Minivan June 2006 A blue minivan with luggage on her rack. Maria came from Santa Maria, California and loves travelling through different scenery.
40 Hap E Camper June 2006 A white and blue camper trailer that is pulled by Maria Minivan, Freddy 4-Wheeler, Frankie 4-Wheeler, Pete Pickup and Maddie Mudster.
41 Brent Blizzard November 2006 A red 4-wheeler with snow splashes on his side and snow boots on his rack. Brent came from Snowflake, Arizona and is the cousin of Freddy 4-Wheeler. He likes travelling off-road in the snow.
42 Fuller Fire Truck November 2008 A red fire engine who came from Rescue, California and is always on the scene of an emergency.
43 Moe Muscle November 2009 A blue car with white stripes that go over his roof. Moe came from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and likes to stay tough, fast and fit.
LE-1 Davey Driver June 1998 A green student driver car that has the same features as Danny Driver.
Numbered Series Icon Car December 1999 A red sports car who wants to be the icon of the Chevron car.
LE-2 Taylor Taxi September 2001 A golden taxi cab with the same checkboard stripes as on Tyler Taxi. Taylor came from Carefree, Arizona and likes going to different places.
OAK Victor E. Van: Oakland Athletics August 2007 A dark gray minivan with Oakland Athletics stickers.
SF Victor E. Van: San Francisco Giants August 2007 An orange minivan with San Francisco Giants stickers.
VEV-LA Victor E. Van: Los Angeles Lakers January 2008 A purple minivan with Los Angeles Lakers stickers.
VEV-SLC Victor E. Van: St. Louis Cardinals October 2008 A red minivan with St. Louis Cardinals stickers.
VEV-CA Victor E. Van: California Angels October 2008 A red minivan with California Angels stickers.
VEV-UT Victor E. Van: Jazz November 2008 A purple minivan with Utah Jazz stickers.
VEV-ASU Victor E. Van: ASU (Arizona State University) September 2007 A dark red minivan with Arizona State University stickers.
VEV-UA Victor E. Van: UA (University of Arizona) September 2007 A blue minivan with University of Arizona stickers.
VEV-UH Victor E. Van: UH (University of Hawaii) September 2007 A green minivan with University of Hawaii stickers.
VEV-UNLV Victor E. Van: UNLV (University of Las Vegas, Nevada) September 2007 A red minivan with University of Nevada, Las Vegas stickers.
VEV-USC Victor E. Van: USC (University of Southern California) September 2007 A red minivan with University of Southern California stickers.
VEV-SDSU Victor E. Van: SDSU (San Diego State University) September 2008 A bright red minivan with San Diego State University stickers.
VEV-PSU Victor E. Van: PSU (Portland State University) September 2008 A green minivan with Portland State University stickers.
VEV-TAMU Victor E. Van: Texas A&M University October 2008 A dark red minivan with Texas A&M University stickers.
VEV-BYU Victor E. Van: Brigham Young University October 2008 A dark blue minivan with BYU stickers.
VEV-PENN Victor E. Van: Penn State University October 2008 A black minivan with Penn State stickers.
VEV-ORE Victor E. Van: Oregon University October 2008 A green minivan with Oregon Ducks stickers.
VEV-WU Victor E. Van: Washington University October 2008 A purple minivan with Washington University stickers.
VEV-CAL Victor E. Van: California University at Berkeley October 2008 A yellow minivan with Cal stickers.
VEV-GU Victor E. Van: GU (Gonzaga University) November 2008 A violet minivan with Gonzaga University stickers.
SE-1 Hope 2001 October 2001 A pink car who came from Sisters, Oregon and knows what one needs.
SE-2 Hope 2002 October 2002 A pink car who came from the same town of Hope 2001 and knows the key to feeling good.
SE-3 Hope 2003 October 2003 A pink car with a silver stripe in the center. Hope 2003 has the same features as Hope 2001 and Hope 2002.
SE-4 Faith October 2004 A brown car who has the same features of Hope 2001, Hope 2002 and Hope 2003.
SE-5 Cherish October 2005 A red car who came from Friendship, Tennessee and is always into friendship.
SE-6 Promise October 2006 A pink and white car who came from Devotion, North Carolina and has similar features of Cherish.
SE-7 Courage October 2007 A darker pink car who came from Challenge, California and contains the same features of other Limited Edition cars.
SE-8 Spirit October 2008 A lighter pink car who came from Spirit Lake, Idaho and has many of the same features of the other Limited Edition cars.
SE-9 Devotion October 2009 A pink car who came from Niceville, Florida and is always devoted to the big picture.
SE-10 Harmonee October 2010 A light pink minivan who came from Harmony, California and loves harmoinous things.
Autopia-1 Classic June 2000 The yellow autopia car who is proud of being the oldest one in Disneyland.
Autopia-2 Dusty June 2000 The gray autopia car who likes to go off-roading which has made him a cousin of Freddy and Frankie 4-Wheelers.
Autopia-3 Suzy June 2000 The red autopia car who likes to get upbeat around town.
Autopia-4 Sparky June 2000 The purple autopia car who always wants to do his best on the track.
Autopia-5 Gold Dusty June 2000 A golden version Dusty that was produced to commemorate the re-opening of the Chevron sponsored Autopia in Disneyland.

Credits

The television ads were designed by advertising agency Young and Rubicam. The internet strategy, digital brand extension and the ecommerce component was created and managed by San Francisco web developer ISL Consulting, now part of ClearMetrics, Inc. ISL Consulting also developed the original Chevron.com corporate website as well as numerous other web-based initiatives for the various Chevron operating companies.

Pop culture

The Chevron Cars television ads have been parodied in several television shows, including Robot Chicken, the animated comedy Family Guy (episode "Deep Throats"), and a MADtv sketch in which one of the cars gets fitted with a bomb and explodes after asking questions about the ticking.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.chevroncars.com/wocc/abt/?mediaUrl=pages/index.html
  2. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/1997/12/22/story2.html
  3. ↑ http://www.chevronwithtechron.com/car-list.aspx

External links