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Ad Will Show Toyota Truck Hauling Endeavour, Will Shoot During Transport
The schematic showing the Tundra hauling the Endeavour (Image courtesy Toyota)
Toyota wants potential truck buyers to know their Tundra is crazy strong. Like, strong enough to tow a five-story, 170,000-pound space shuttle. So when Endeavour hits the road next Friday to move from Los Angeles International Airport to its forever home at the California Science Center, there's going to be a TV commercial shoot included on the way.
The question is, where on the route will the filming take place? From the L.A. Times:
Numerous automobile websites have reported that the Toyota pickup will ferry the shuttle the last quarter mile of its journey to the science center. But a law enforcement source said there were tentative plans as of Tuesday for the commercial shoot of the shuttle as it crosses the 405 Freeway on Manchester Boulevard near the iconic Randy's Donuts shop. The precise time and place for the shuttle's Hollywood close-up is yet to be announced. Calls to Toyota were not immediately returned.
Tested extensively prior to the announcement, the 2012 Tundra is slated to safely tow the 300,000* pound historic artifact down Bill Robertson Lane in Exposition Park, near downtown Los Angeles, on the final leg of its journey. Endeavour will be towed using a stock 2012 Tundra CrewMax 1/2-ton pickup, identical to models currently found in Toyota dealerships, with no additional modifications made to increase towing capacity or generate more power.
Transporting Endeavour from LAX to the CSC is no small feat. The 12-mile journey requires the cutting down of hundreds of trees, raising of power lines, and removal of traffic signals.
The Los Angeles Police Department are already prepping Angelenos for big crowds on the city streets for the historic October 12 transport.
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*This is a rounding up of the estimated weight of the shuttle plus all the hauling gear; NASA says the following of Endeavour's weight: "Empty Weight was 151,205 lbs at rollout and 172,000 lbs with main engines installed."
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