Looking at the '03 Oakley/Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab 1500 HD Short Bed 4x4 truck makes one suddenly begin to question the well-being of civilization as we all know it. To say the truck makes a significant impact on its surroundings would be a severe understatement. After many months of planning and negotiating, Oakley and Chevrolet Trucks were able to form a coalition that signifies the goal and objective of both companies: to ignite the imagination through fusion of art and science.
"There's a common aim between our brands," commented Oakley's Sports Marketing Vice President Scott Bowers. "We both target for durability, comfort, performance, and dependability under extreme conditions. Oakley and Chevy also have a common history of supporting sports competitions, and this alliance is a way to leverage our combined visibility while showcasing the unconventional thinking behind our inventions."
The end result of the partnership are four customized Chevrolet Silverado 1500 HD trucks that will cater to specific sports marketing areas: a Super Cross series truck, a snowboarding and skate truck, a mountain bike series truck, and a show truck (featured). The customized rigs will be displayed at various auto shows and sporting events, such as the AMA National Motocross Series, NORBA Mountain Bike Series, ESPN's X-Games, Gravity Games, and many other prominent events throughout the country.
The science part of the deal was handled by Chevrolet Trucks for creating the incredible canvas for which Oakley's fusion would take over. In following Oakley's hard-core industrial image and no-holds-barred styling trends, Brian Takumi, Oakley's top-drawer graphics artist, was tasked with creating the blueprints for building the trucks. With the plans in hand, Street Concepts of Garden Grove, California, was awarded the contract to create the works of art.
The first truck to be completed was the show truck version, dubbed the War Wagon, that graces our pages. All four trucks are identical with the exception of their beds, which have been tailored to their respective sport. The first item needed to get the fusion started was enlisting the expertise of suspension specialists FabTech Motorsports of Fullerton, California. Before the crew at FabTech could install the new 8-inch 1500 HD series suspension kit, complete with 3-inch Fox Racing reservoir shocks onto the War Wagon, Orange County Powdercoating applied a custom finish to all of the suspension components.
Color-matched 18x9-inch Concept Neeper wheels with OMF simulated bead locks and 35x12.50x18 BFGoodrich Radial Mud Terrains establish the extreme tone of the rig and aid in completing the War Wagon's new altitude. Additional protection to the undercarriage was provided by Peters Precision Billet in Orange, California. Kodiak Side Steps assist passengers on their entry and exit from the vehicle, and when not in use, they fold away, never to be seen again until called upon.
As everyone is aware, one of the necessary items and main ingredients in the development of fusion is to demonstrate sustained reactions where substantial amounts of energy are produced. To provide this demonstration of sustained reaction of energy is the stock Chevrolet Vortech 6000 V-8 powerplant. While more than capable of exceeding 350 hp in its stock form, Street Concepts added a Vortech supercharger that increases the horsepower by another 175 ponies.
With that much power on tap, the need to expel the waste gasses efficiently, quickly, and with a serious battle cry was addressed by MagnaFlow Exhaust of Rancho Santa Margarita, California. MagnaFlow installed its new 4-inch after-cat exhaust system with 5-inch stainless steel tips. The factory four-speed automatic transmission with Overdrive and electronic transfer case were kept stock for durability purposes. With the energy demonstration completed, the exterior's metamorphosis began.
The factory truck bed was reworked with custom-designed and fabricated sheetmetal by Twins Custom Concepts of Orange. Twins Custom Concepts also provided the billet aluminum Oakley Icons that adorn the rig, while the billet aluminum grille inserts were fabricated by Wet Works Garage of Garden Grove.
Prior to the installation of the billet trim pieces and FabTech Desert Series front brushguard, Paint N Place in Placentia, California, applied the custom-mixed PPG Pearl Silver paint to the trucks skin. Once dried and cured, Paint N Place applied an industrial finish to the truck by placing large replicas of rivets at strategic areas throughout the body. The SnugTop tonneau fiberglass bed cover and APC rear roll pan were also treated to the same effects for a seamless transition.
Turning night into day is no issue for the War Wagon, given that the factory headlights were replaced with custom XeSighting Systems X2020 HID headlights and blinding PIAA 580 Series off-road lamps attached to the front brushguard. APC marker lamps add that subtle finishing touch to the exterior as well as the PIAA silicone windshield wiper blades and dark window tint care of The Tint Pros of Huntington Beach, California.
The cab of the War Wagon is as futuristic looking as it is functional. To carry the industrial theme into the interior, some of the industry's best interior tuners were called in to assist. Various interior dashboard and miscellaneous interior trim pieces were painted complementary colors by Wet Works Garage. The factory cloth interior was replaced by Katzkin of Montebello, California, leather and Oakley provided Kevlar seat covers. Adorning each seat and door panel are custom applied billet aluminum Oakley icon symbols. Further dash accents are provided by California Auto Design of Santa Ana, California. A Cadillac instrument gauge cluster replaced the factory unit.
The most futuristic aspect of the cockpit, if not the entire truck, is the Kenwood U.S.A. audio/video/navigation system. At the heart of the audio/video/navigation system is Kenwood's new KVT-911 DVD/CD/MP3 head unit with touch-screen monitor, its KNA-DV2100 navigation system, and its KDS-P901 surround sound processor. Providing power to the head unit and sound processor are two power amplifiers - one 300-watt KAC-X501F four-channel unit and one 300-watt KAC-401M mono subwoofer amp. Front and rear passengers each have a dedicated touch-screen monitor for their enjoyment.
The rear passengers are seated in front of LZ-701W 7-inch flat-panel monitors, while the front passenger eyes an LZ-800W 8-inch monitor. The system's voice consists of a pair of KFC-XR60P 6-1/2-inch separates installed in the factory front door locations, a pair of KFC-XR600 6-1/2-inch coaxials in the factory rear door locations, and a 10-inch KFC-XW10 sub-woofer. When DVDs are playing, the KSC-900CTR center channel speaker chimes in to complete the 5.1 digital surround sound.
"We've honed these rigs into war wagons for our marketing team, combat-ready for today's asphalt jungles and off-road badlands," Baden claims. After hearing that statement and seeing the combined efforts of these two industry leaders, competitors of these American Superpowers may choose to just turn and run fast, very fast, because when an Oakley War Wagon is seen on the horizon, there really is not much left to do but surrender to the cause.
After all, who else is going to provide you with the ultimate in thermonuclear protection?