HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-01-01, Page 88 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Ice truck attempts Guinness record on highway 84
)Three local companies help make
national television Commercial
Lynda Hillman-Rapley
Whitney South
QMI Agency
A truck, made predomi-
nantly of ice, driven down
the highway? Too much
eggnog, perhaps? No, really
says Bill Benson a freelance
auto writer.
"I've driven or sat in, and
written about cars, trucks
and motor cycles for 40
years. I have seen all kinds of
fast cars, SUVs , bubble cars,
limousines, economy cars
and saloons, but December
12, 2013 will go down as a
first for me - and apparently,
a few others were surprised,
too," says Benson.
"I watched a pick-up truck
predominantly made of ice
be driven down the highway
with police escort. It wasn't
exactly a high performance
gig and accelerating from
zero to speeding ticket in a
matter of seconds was not
on the cards. I guess at
15,000 pounds, the vehicle
was a little overweight for
real speed freaks and adren-
alin junkies. Lucky the road
was smooth too - an ice
truck does not handle pot-
holes and road repairs very
well and tight turns were
really not an option, either."
Despite the negatives, the
ice pick-up with driver and
passenger traveled down a
4 -kilometre stretch of High-
way 84 between Hensall and
Zurich in Huron County
under its own power, and as
such, will likely claim a spot
in the Guinness Book of
World Records.
Those at the helm say the
pick-up truck was an inte-
gral part of a new television
commercial for Canadian
Tire, promoting Motor Mas-
ter Eliminator Ultra batter-
ies. It will be aired in two
60 -second spots during the
annual open air Hockey
Classic, between the Toronto
Maple Leafs and the Detroit
Red Wings, on New Year's
Day. A number of 30- sec-
ond versions of the com-
mercial will follow until the
end of January.
"Many Canadians talk
about their cars and trucks
feeling cold as ice," said
Andrew Barrett, who works
in strategic marketing at
Canadian Tire. "So to put
our battery to the test, we
actually decided to do that
and make a truck out of ice."
Barett explained that
when the idea first came up,
a lot of people couldn't
believe anyone could make
a truck out of ice. Taking on
a seemly impossible task,
Exeter/Seaforth
Ringette Association
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Canadian Tire's partners set out to find
a company that could make it work
and discovered Iceculture. "Low and
behold, they could make a truck out of
ice, so that's how we ended up all the
way there," Barett laughed. "Cause
there's only one place in the world you
can make an ice truck and it's
Hensall."
Three local companies were involved
with the project - Bronson Line Auto-
motive Ltd, Zurich and Detailers, as
well as Iceculture.
Bronson Automotive is owned by
Andrew Steckle who, with his cohort
Richard Gingrich, bought the truck - a
CONTINUED > PAGE 9
QM! Agency Photo
Heidi Bayley of Iceculture checks out the truck during the construction process.
Whitney South QM' Agency
The IceCulture crew who were involved in this project on the truck, Driver — Andrew Barrett ( AVP (Associate Vice President),
Strategic Marketing, Canadian Tire Retail)
Back row left to right — Mike Gingerich, (Iceculture); Mike Gingrich (Bronson Automotive); Ben 'Buckets' McBride (Iceculture); Andrew
Steckle, (Bronson Automotive)
Front row left to right — Josh Hummel, (Iceculture); Gerald `Beezer Mason, (Iceculture); Heidi Bayley, (President of Iceculture).