This commercial has the most eclectic collection of vehicles

Kamil Kaluski

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It was mid-football season when I saw this commercial during one of the many games that my beloved New York Giants lost. I had no idea what the commercial was for but I was immediately intrigued by it. It wasn’t particularly heartwarming, fun, or even catchy but I was captivated by the wide selection of vehicles that were shown in it.

The first one to catch my eye was the Ikarus 260 city bus. It’s a bus that I used to ride in my childhood, in Poland. And it was surrounded by Crown Vics, rickshaws, tractors, what I think are Citroen taxis, and modern delivery vans. And Dodge Charger police cars. That left me puzzled and confused for a minute. And then I wondered where this magical place was because I want to go there, badly.

The funny thing is that until just now I had no idea what time commercial was for, so I couldn’t find it on the interwebs. Our former contributor, now a big-ish-shot at Autoweek, Jay Ramey managed find the commercial on the tubes of you. See what else you can find in this video that is interesting. And perhaps explain to me what the commercial is for, because I still don’t know – maybe I need it?

About

Kamil Kaluski

Kamil Kaluski

East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: 4Runner, Integra, Regal, Lada

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9 responses to “This commercial has the most eclectic collection of vehicles”

  1. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    I have actually been working with the software of a Norwegian competitor to these guys: GPS-measured positions of pipes, drains, manholes etc., putting them into a digital map for our water and sewage administration. It’s a lot of work – some might even say a sh!tload of work – but once it’s done, there’s a true productivity bonus in it. Most important though, you can have more and different people fixing leaks etc., because you’re not as dependent on the knowledge and memory of a few workers.

    Reply
    1. Kamil K Avatar
      Kamil K

      That sounds neat!

      Reply
  2. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    I had, in the days before Google Maps, a copy of ESRI ArcView GIS (Geographic Information System) map making software that my marine geophysicist friend had used to map the outflow of the Hudson River as an undergrad. She was a beta-tester for the software.

    It’s pretty cool, there were (for about a decade after 9/11) troves and troves of publicly available, government generated GIS “data layers” (Street centerlines, topographic lines, labels for lakes & streams) and I could assemble a map of my bicycle commute and calculate altitude gain, or shade steep and flat areas on a gradient (literally.)

    I’m sure it’s gotten more user friendly since the Windows 95 days (it wasn’t available for Apple machines back then), but at the time it was still a cartographer’s software. There were perplexing intricacies about file formats, geocoding and something called “rubber sheeting”. It was like trying to learn AutoCad 14 if you weren’t a draftsman, or Adobe Illustrator if you weren’t already a graphic designer. Like when Greg Hammond tried to drive that F1 car. Steep learning curve.

    EDIT: ESRI the company is a mom & pop operation out of Redlands, California that’s been around for 50 years. For some reason I love that; every square inch of the globe has been mapped by Mr. & Mrs. Dangermond in the suburbs of San Bernardino.

    Reply
    1. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      I used it professionally for a few years- as a cartographer. Very powerful software. Glad I had a couple college classes on it, even then I felt like I was only scratching the surface of its abilities.

      Reply
    2. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      I used it professionally for a few years- as a cartographer. Very powerful software. Glad I had a couple college classes on it, even then I felt like I was only scratching the surface of its abilities.

      Reply
    3. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      The cartographer aspect is so important with this. QMS and WMS and quadribases…powerful software that can do whatever you ask of it, if you get a black belt in [insert any GIS software]. Never tried ESRI, but have had a look at Gemini…which is much more user friendly than the intricate, error prone software that I won’t name here.

      Reply
  3. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    ArcGIS is still heavily used by our traffic engineering clients along with some more specialized stuff for simulation, intersection design and lighting design. .
    To add to the vehicle list, I see a Vespa or Bajaj scooter, Tuk Tuks, some 80s Chevy taxis, what looks like an Isuzu NPR, and an NYFD style Mack fire engine followed by a row of British style Sprinter ambulances.

    Reply
    1. Monkey10is Avatar
      Monkey10is

      The Euro-compact taxis look to be Opel Corsas rather than Kamil’s guess of Citroens. There are numerous red Dodge Caravans, a Fuso truck cab with a cherry picker, a series of blue courier step vans with a generic ‘Global’ logo and — of course — all those John Deere tractors.

      Reply
  4. ptschett Avatar
    ptschett

    I’ve a new mental image for the traffic on the streets of Mote Prime the next time I re-read Niven/Pournelle’s The Mote In God’s Eye.

    Reply