| Blues great Blind Boy Fuller most likely never imagined that his breezy concept of “Trucking Your Blues Away” could ultimately evolve into the show-stopping “Serious Bizness” unveiled with a flourish Friday at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas.
Serious Bizness is a camo-colored tricked-out 2005 International CXT 4 x 4 commissioned by wheel manufacturer Accuride Corp. The vehicle, provided by Navistar, was redone by the Chrome Shop Mafia crew at 4 State Trucks, Inc., a family-owned and operated trucker-chrome-and-accessories customhouse and retail “superstore” in Joplin, Mo. – a town made famous for getting its kicks along Route 66.
Rolling on Accuride’s Duplex aluminum commercial truck wheels along with Bridgestone’s new L315 tires, which were introduced by the tire maker in January, “this is a great example of how our products can be retrofit onto a vehicle to offer a truly custom look,” says Rick Schomer, Accuride’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Immediately following the exposition in Dallas, Serious Bizness will hit the road for a 15-month Accuride publicity tour with stops at the industry’s major trucking and trade shows. Afterwards it will be auctioned-off for charity.
“I think Serious Bizness is going to generate some serious excitement and will ultimately provide a great benefit for a charitable organization,” notes Randy Oetting, Navistar Truck Group’s director of pricing and product strategy.
In addition to highlighting the application dexterity of Accuride’s Duplex wheels, viewers filing by the display will no doubt notice the L315’s mounted in a unique fitment: They are designed for axles carrying extra-heavy loads, such as front-discharge cement mixers with front-wheel or all-wheel drive.
Serious Bizness indeed. According to Bridgestone, “this new wide base tire is also ideal in job situations where superior traction is required, such as on dump trucks, specialty oil-field equipment and other on/off-highway construction vehicles. The L315’s lug tread and open shoulder design provide hundreds of biting edges to dig into soft surfaces, promoting superior drive traction in mud and on gravel.” (The size affixed to the showcase vehicle is 445/65/R22.5.)
“It’s quite a unit,” says 4-State co-owner Brice Martin, describing the work that went into the Accuride-ordered project. “They came to us, they wanted the truck built, and we built it.”
The vehicle boasts a custom exterior clad with custom camouflage paint, roof rack, lights and side steps, plus a diamond plate interior graced by a booming 4,500-watt sound system and Accuride Bostrom seats bearing the Chrome Shop Mafia logo.
“We had a lot of fun working on Serious Bizness,” reports co-owner Bryan Martin, who was actually being besieged by trucking industry attendee autograph-seekers as the vehicle made its Dallas debut. (Even Brice Martin expresses admiration – or perhaps shock – at this turn of events: “Can you believe it?”)
“The truck came off looking powerful, aggressive, and is a real off-roader’s dream,” Bryan Martin observes.
“We greatly appreciate the generosity of Navistar and the creativity and skills of Chrome Shop Mafia,” says Schomer at Accuride, which dates back to 1905 when Firestone Steel Products was established as the first spinoff emanating from Harvey Firestone’s original Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.
Aside from its line of wheels, Accuride’s product mix includes wheel-end components and assemblies, truck body and chassis parts, seating assemblies and other commercial vehicle components under the brand names of Gunite, Imperial, Bostrom, Fabco and Brillion.
For more information, visit www.accuridecorp.com, www.chromeshopmafia.com and www.Navistar.com. |
