Special attention
has been paid to the beds of the Oakley trucks. Working with Snug Top
and Twins Custom Concepts, the smoothed surfaces are polished and embossed
with Oakley logos and stylized skulls and crossbones. "The beds have
powdercoated sheetmetal and aluminum flooring throughout. This provides
a clean but functional use for the beds" said Bowers. Cut into the
tailgate are wheel slots with integrated covers for two motorcycles. Towards
the rear of the cargo box you can see the large Oakley logo cut into the
sides. Street Concepts first pocketed the bedsides and then had an Oakley
Icon machined out of Billet Aluminum and bolted it to the bed.
Inside the
MX Silverados Kenwood sound systems and DVD navigation pump music into
cockpits. The seats were reskinned by Katzkin with a combination of leather
and Kevlar.
If you are
wondering about why Oakley didn't use the trademark Iridium coating found
on its sunglasses on the window surfaces of the MX, Bowers tell us, "The
coating process is too complicated to coat such a large surface. The surface
must also be completely free of any contaminants for the coating to adhere
correctly. Unfortunately, glass is too porous to allow it to be completely
dirt free."
The price
for all the modifications brings the completely outfitted trucks close
to $80,000 each and this brings up a question first raised by fans of
the Fox Cycle truck. Will they build it? Well, the Oakley MX Silverado
won't see production, even in limited numbers, but they will quite likely
have an impact on future trucks from Chevrolet and in cooperation with
Oakley. These trucks would be lower priced than the MX but still carry
a premium over other pickups in their price tag and features.
Some of the
innovations pioneered on the Oakley and Fox trucks will be seen in January
2003 on the Chevrolet Cheyenne concept truck. The Cheyenne will represent
Chevrolet's latest thinking about the full size pickup, going outside
of the box to take it to the next level.
Dean also
adds these comments about the MX trucks.
"Both
Oakley and Chevrolet are going to very closely watch the acceptance of
these trucks and the desire is for us to do something more. The hope is
that these trucks allow Oakley to move into things beyond traditional
eyewear, apparel and timing and become relevant in transportation, a category
that could become really strong for Oakley. Chevrolet in turn could learn
and grow from the knowledge that Oakley has in strong enthusiast markets."
"What
we'd love to hear is input back from folks of their perceptions of the
Oakley truck and how strongly would they desire to have an Oakley branded
and co-developed truck that targets enthusiasts. There are plans for something
we'd like to do beyond the MX trucks."
