This 1992 Chevy pickup has been hanging off a building for 30 years—and it all began with one employee’s misfortune
- This Chevy pickup can be found hanging off a wall in the Dominican Republic
- This ‘spider car’ has a bizarre but heartwarming history
- It is regularly restored so it looks its best
Published on Jan 24, 2025 at 6:27 PM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards
Last updated on Jan 24, 2025 at 6:27 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
In the Dominican Republic, there’s a building with a cherry red Chevy Pickup attached to the external wall five stories in the air.
Santo Domingo Motors is home to a genius marketing strategy and a cultural touchstone that people use to orientate themselves.
The 1992 Chevy pickup is removed, cleaned, repainted and restored every few years.
The bizarre but ultimately heartwarming story of the pickup’s origin was all down to one unlucky employee.
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How did the Chevy pickup get there?
Shockingly, the car is actually meant to be hanging off the wall of the building. It was installed by engineers and has become a bit of a legend throughout the Dominican Republic.
Every three years the car is removed and restored, including repainting it its iconic cherry red colour.
It is thoroughly cleaned and the birds that regularly move in to live in it are given a safer home rather than a car five stories in the air.
Locals use it as a point of navigation on maps and tours and it is surrounded in a thick veil of folklore.
The location of the car is about as surprising as this 1966 Chevrolet minivan.
So what’s the story?
The story allegedly goes that in 1993, a Santo Domingo Motors employee was using a dealership-owned Chevrolet Silverado to drive home.
Due to heavy rain, he lost control of the car and it span out and crashed, causing a lot of damage to a car that didn’t even belong to him.
He was luckily unharmed but he guiltily went back to work and presented them with the broken Chevy pickup.
Read about another Chevy pickup restoration that was surprisingly cheap.
Instead of punishing him like he was worried about, the dealership fixed the broken aesthetic parts of the car, repainted it cherry red and stuck it on the side of building.
They did this to thank the hard working employee for his honesty and hard work, and although the car didn’t work anymore, it became even more useful as a marketing tool than a drivable car.
Every cloud has a silver(ado) lining.
Daisy Edwards is a journalist who started her media career after graduating with a degree in History and Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London. A dissertation about EVs and five years of experience writing about literature, history and politics later, she now writes for Supercar Blondie. Outside of work, she has a passion for country music, dogs and all things tech.
