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I’m pretty sure there’s more junk in the clothing industry than there is in the recycling biz. Watch one streaming documentary about it, and you’ll be thoroughly grossed out, too. (This is the one that radicalized me.) The situation is dire because there are far more clothes—especially cheap t-shirts—than there are people who could ever wear them. Budget chains like TJ Maxx aren’t helping that, and to make matters worse, they’re hawking cheap AI designs that besmirch Chevrolet‘s beautiful GMT800 pickup.
A feller named Cameron E. Schmidt stumbled across the graphic tee and posted it to a Chevy truck Facebook group I’m in. It shows three pickups labeled “regular cab,” “extended cab,” and “crew cab.” The problem is, every one of ’em has two doors, and the only difference between each truck is the length of the bed. Come on, print shop! You’ve got to be better than that!
For what it’s worth, the single-cab GMT800 Silverado was only available with two bed options. Cameron E. Schmidt
I’m pretty positive the captions underneath are also AI-generated. Chevy has trotted out plenty of legendary ad copy, and it’s hard to believe these blurbs came from the same geniuses as the “Like a Rock” campaign. At least they got the model years correct, as Chevy didn’t sell a crew-cab Silverado half-ton until ’04. I learned something new today!
Schmidt isn’t the only one to spy the crappy shirts, either. Another named Stephen Sutton posted his findings in the GMT800s With Threatening Auras V2 group a few weeks ago, and the earliest example I can find was shared in that same group on June 22. Some are beige, some are black, and they’re being sold as “officially licensed product” at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I’ve reached out to Chevy PR about these and will update this post with their response.
Really, this is more comical than anything. The only people who will buy these are well-meaning family members who know their son/brother/uncle loves Bowties, and people who are in on the joke. Giving more money to careless corporations kind of sucks, but to anyone who’s extremely online—which surely includes the GMT800 community—it just might be worth it.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
