Fact Check

Meteorite Strikes a Pickup Truck in the Desert!

A video clip showing a pickup being oblierated by a meteorite in the desert is merely an excerpt from a Toyota truck commercial.

Published Nov. 15, 2005

Claim:
A video clip shows a meteorite striking a pickup truck in the desert.

A group of recreationists videotaping their desert outing suddenly spot something unusual in the sky above. It's a meteor! The flaming ball smashes directly into the ground around a passing pickup truck, the blast sending the cameraman and his companions reeling. Amazing! Even more amazingly, the truck is apparently unscathed by the impact, promptly starting up again and driving off to the accompaniment of cheers from the onlookers.

Astounding real-life footage? No, another case of an edited television commercial presented out of context. This clip was taken from a 2005 TV commercial advertising the Toyota Tacoma, produced for the automaker by Method Studios.

The full clip plainly displays the Toyota name and logo at the end:

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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