And here is one writers opinion,...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416569,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121Calling BS on Jeff Gordon 'Test Drive' Prank
This whole stunt was staged and news outlets should be ashamed for not spotting the deceit.
By John C. Dvorak March 13, 2013 CommentsGoogle 13 Share 280 Tweet 0 Submit 1 Share 0 Pin It 0 Email Print .
VIEW ALL PHOTOS IN GALLERY The latest video-gone-viral comes from Pepsi MAX and features NASCAR's Jeff Gordon taking a test drive at a car dealership. Gordon is in a disguise, so when he starts doing dangerous stunts, the salesman in the passenger seat fears for his life. Or does he?
The whole thing is clearly bogus—a publicity stunt for both Pepsi and Chevrolet. With liability laws it would be impossible.
No modern American company would undertake a "practical joke" like this, putting the passenger in danger of not only an accident, but also a heart attack. Can you image what Pepsi lawyers would have said if the company actually tried to swing this for real?
Try to spot all the anomalies in the video below.
Firstly it is no coincidence that this prank is pulled in a Chevy Camaro (Gordon drives a Chevy SS for NASCAR). At the beginning of the video, the car dealer is trying to sell a hot rod Camaro to a supposedly wimpy driver reluctant to even test the car. Yeah right.
Next, Gordon signs a waiver for some reason. I've test driven plenty of cars and never had to sign anything. When I get a loaner, I must. It seems like an awkward addition.
Then, Gordon jerks the vehicle out of the parking spot as if he can barely drive a clutch. Too bad the car is an automatic. Not to mention, the car was rigged. Gordon would never jump into any old car and do stunts. Cars flip at the kinds of speeds Gordon was driving if they are not specially equipped.
Did you notice that the test drive didn't navigate any sort of city streets? It was on a closed course in some abandoned warehouse area. This is odd, don't you think? He even drove on some loading ramp, which nobody would ever do if there were people around.
At 1:40 in the movie, it appears to be sunny and dry in the parking lot. You can see the shadows. Around 2:20, it is dreary out, suggesting the team had been shooting all day, or even all week. The roads were wet, as if they had watered the track for better spins. Or maybe it had actually rained. In film production this is called a continuity error.
Page Prank: The Best Online April Fools' Day Jokes VIEW ALL PHOTOS IN GALLERY
I'm also bugged by the fact that, had this been real, the car salesman could have panicked and tried to stop the car by grabbing the wheel or trying to kill the engine. He could have perhaps even managed to wreck the car in his panic. There is no way that Pepsi and the director would allow this possibility, so whether the car salesman was an actor or a real salesman, he was obviously coached and hammed it up. I mean, who wouldn't want to take a lap or two with Jeff Gordon?
What bothers me the most is not the obviously staged video, but how the media, as usual, are lapping it up as if it were a great gag rather than free promotion for Pepsi, Chevy, and Gordon. It's no wonder why the mass media and newspapers in general are dying—they are giving away free advertising as if it were actual news!
To make matters worse, this fakery will eventually become exposed and those who took the bait will look like the suckers they are. Who can trust media that act like this is reality?