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Transportation Idle

Fighting Zombies? Chevrolet Reveals New "Black Ops" Concept Truck 220

Posted by samzenpus from the dead-man-walking dept.
cartechboy writes "Whether its the Mayan calendar, a rough economy, or a fear of zombies, there are people who are currently preparing for the end of the world, coming, like, soon. And they can attract some fringe elements. So maybe those elements are worth a little truck marketing. Yesterday at the Texas State Fair, Chevrolet unveiled a "Black Ops" concept truck that it says will "explore the extremes of preparedness." The truck comes with a vault storage unit, solar power pack, gas masks, gloves, a military first aid kit, a folding shovel, a generator and some rope. Twinkies apparently not included."
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Fighting Zombies? Chevrolet Reveals New "Black Ops" Concept Truck More

Fighting Zombies? Chevrolet Reveals New "Black Ops" Concept Truck

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  • Good grief. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Frosty Piss ( 770223 ) * on Sunday September 29, 2013 @11:43AM (#44985753)

    This is just a basic Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with a stupid paint job and a bunch of crap thrown in that and "prepper" already has. For Chevy's sake I hope this stays a "concept car" because the "concept" sucks and if this is a serious direction, Chevy is in serious trouble.

    This is posted at Slashdot why? Oh. Zombies.

    • Why do people want to survive the end of the world? So after the dust settles they can starve to death eating their own loneliness?

      • Re:Why do people want to survive the end of the wo (Score:5, Insightful)

        by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @01:34PM (#44986339)

        Why do people want to survive the end of the world? So after the dust settles they can starve to death eating their own loneliness?

        Because we don't expect to be lonely. We expect our friends and families to survive along with us. I live in California, so I am more concerned with a major earthquake than zombies. I am also concerned about a major contagious disease outbreak, or a weather anomaly that causes major crop failures (this happened in 535-536 [wikipedia.org], 1315-1317 [wikipedia.org], and in 1815 [wikipedia.org]). So I have about a year's worth of food for my family, basic tools and survival equipment, and (since I am an American) an assault rifle. Even if a crisis never comes, I am still saving money by buying food in bulk, and growing most of my own vegetables. I also have a some chickens for eggs. You may think that being prepared is kooky, but if you look back through history, there is at least a 30% chance of a major calamity occurring during your lifetime. By the time you see it coming, the store shelves will be bare, and it will be too late. So I think it is foolish to not be prepared. Some of my neighbors also have a stash of supplies, and we are prepared to work together to fight off the zombies.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by AK Marc ( 707885 )

          and (since I am an American) an assault rifle

          Isn't an "assault weapon" a scary looking rifle, and an "assault rifle" a fully-automatic military weapon?

        • Good, because my neighbors are stocking up on the incandescent (60W, 75W mostly) lightbulbs before companies stop making them and switch over to them 'green' energy-saving lightbulbs

    • just get a Supercat Coyote instead

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      There is an entire religion (Christianity) that is dedicated to worshipping a zombie, so that's not entirely surprising...

    • The only zombies would be the ones buying the truck.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pepty ( 1976012 )

      Actually this is an offshoot of the Canyonero.

      12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,

      65 tons of American Pride!

    • I am not buying one of these until they add-on a swivel mounted 50 caliber SAW and some reactive armor.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rts008 ( 812749 )

        ... a swivel mounted 50 caliber SAW...

        I could not ignore this mistake.

        A SAW is a Squad Automatic Weapon. It is meant to be carried and operated by one person, man-portable.

        A .50 cal M2 Browning MG (Machine Gun) is a crew served weapon, and classed as a Heavy Machine Gun. It takes a crew of people just to transport it, and setting it up, and keeping it in operation.

        The 'swivel mount' is known as a 'pintle mount'.

        Finally, you don't want reactive armor at your SAW, or HMG, unless the guns are remote operated. You DO NOT want to be near reactive

    • Posted on /. because there is absolutely no mention of zombie-time cupholders.

  • Thanks (Score:3)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @11:49AM (#44985777)

    I looked at TFA and saw the links to related articles on the right hand side. I found my preferred zombie apocalypse vehicle [motorauthority.com]. Not the Chevy.

    • Doesn't it worry you how much 'glass' there is in the front?

      Slow moving zombies, sure. But fast, angry zombies would punch a hole in that in no time.

  • "Black Ops," eh? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Daniel Dvorkin ( 106857 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @11:54AM (#44985809) Homepage Journal

    You keep using that phrase. I do not think it means what you think it means.

  • Totally Unprepared (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:01PM (#44985841)

    Unless it comes with an oil rig and refinery.

  • "In the bed is a (presumably) zombie-proof Truck Vault storage unit, containing a solar power pack, gas masks, gloves, a military First Aid kit, a folding shovel, and rope. Mounted atop the storage locker are a generator, fuel can, and food and water rations."

    Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

  • Snicker Snort. (Score:4, Informative)

    by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:09PM (#44985893) Homepage Journal

    Unless it's got a fully manual transmission and an engine that can run on when the electrical system goes away, it's crap. And guess what? This vehicle has neither. It's got a six-speed automatic and it's got a gasoline engine with full electronic control. Gasoline spoils rapidly and it's nontrivial to make more. Not impossible — you can use the ABE process, which is not exactly a new thing, to make Butanol. That's a 1:1 replacement.

    If you would like an actual apocalypsemobile, that's a Unimog (to get the seating capacity of this Silverado, a Doka) with an OM617.951 upgrade. It will cost you a pretty penny for a nice one with amenities like a heater, but it will go places that would make the Silverado weep and you can get one with hydraulics which can be used to run a winch that you would be hard-pressed to damage without ripping it out of the front of the truck. It will also continue running in the event of complete electrical failure, including your hydraulic winch.

    • Funny, in the "related articles" section on TFA, they had a blurb on exactly that.

      The problem with the Unimog is that any non paraplegic zombie can outrun one and, if something does break, you'll never find the parts. It's basically a tractor with four wheels.

    • What will appeal to red necks visiting a car show?
      Well, they like to think they are self sufficient and like the 'be prepared' excuse when buying their man toys. As weak in analytical skill and technical knowledge as they are with keeping down their beer guts. A cool food? Twinkies. Naturally. I couldn't see the beer but it must be in there.

      I'm surprised they didn't put in a place for a beer maker. This isn't made to attract nerds; it is made to draw in some potential truck buyers to their area (booth b

    • Re:Snicker Snort. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AK Marc ( 707885 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @02:10PM (#44986571)

      Gasoline spoils rapidly

      I stored a car for 5 years. "store" meant putting it on jacks to relieve the pressure on the tires, and disconnecting the battery from the car and putting on a trickle charger once a month for a few days.

      Hooked up the battery after 5 years, and it turned over first try. Smelled like crap when the dust and (presuambly) bugs that had ended up in the exhaust burned off, but ran without an issue on 5-year old "regular" gasoline. No stabilizer was added.

      And when I lived in Alaska, I had a summer car. It was in storage, un-run for 6-months of the year. One of my storage activities would be to fill the tank before parking it. 6-months storage, full tank, never spoiled the fuel.

      Given that I've been in a place to see it happen many times, and it never did, don't believe in it anymore. It was made up by the people who make fuel stabilizers, or started back when the fuel was of very poor quality.

      Add that to your irrational attack on automatic, and you look like an uninformed vehicle snob.

      • Here, I googled [lmgtfy.com] it for you. There are apparently many sites explaining how and why gasoline spoils. Your story is one anecdote, if true. Thanks for wasting your time telling it though. You sure showed that vehicle snob.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by AK Marc ( 707885 )
          Yup, lots of "it might oxidize" or "water might get in" responses. A good sealed tank should keep gasonline nearly indefinitely.

          In the old days, tanks weren't sealed (not the fuel tank in cars, and not the stations underground tanks). The gas could oxidize or become contaminated. If your car has a "whoosh" when you open the tank, then you have a pressurized and sealed tank. Your gas will keep indefinitely, presuming it wasn't already contaminated before storage.

  • Except for the vault and gas masks, I think I have all that stuff in my car right now. Plus rope and tools.

  • Thank's Chevy but if I go shopping for a zombie apocalypse vehicle I think I'll start with something like the Marauder [wikipedia.org]

  • Right.... And what are you going to do when this thing runs out of petrol 10 miles down the road...

  • If ready for zombies, ready for anything (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Antique Geekmeister ( 740220 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:31PM (#44985993)

    I had a fascinating talk last month with a man who lives near a flood plain. Not in it, but the dikes have been overwhelmed enough times in his lifetime that he's seen failures of basic transport and utilities for the area half a dozen times. He uses "surviving a zombie apocalypse" as his guideline for preparedness. So he keeps a plentiful supply of ammo, and practices with his weapons, and loads his own ammo: he also hunts with those and with a bow, and keeps a freezer full of venison. He also keeps quite a large amount of long-term stable food stores, some water and _water testing and purification_ tools. His vehicles are well built, maintained, and he has several small generators, one in the basement (for weather reasons) and one in a vehicle (for portable use).

    He's also doing backup fire and rescue duties for his county, and if there's a problem nearby, I want _him_ as one of my first responders.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

      keeps a freezer full of venison.

      Hope he has a generator dedicated solely to powering that freezer, otherwise things will go real bad in a hurry.

      • Really doesn't take too much power to keep a good freezer cold. If you run the generator an hour or so per day and don't leave the door open, you can freeze stuff for a long time.

        And if you do lose power, you invite the neighbors over and have a big almost-end-of-the-world party.

      • Wouldn't a typical top-loading/chest freezer handle this pretty well? They're well insulated, lose very little cold when opened, and are pretty standard among hunters and other folks of that sort that store meats for the long-term. Even if the power went out, a quick check through some survival-oriented forums seems to indicate that you can expect a packed one of those to stay frozen for at least three days, longer if you insulate it better or add dry ice.

        Not to mention that solar power is becoming a lot mo

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )
          All I know is, we had a traditional fridge/freezer in our garage with about 15-20lbs of venison in the freezer a few years ago, then the power went out for about a day. The stain on the garage floor is still there. Of course, I am pretty sure that fridge is about as old as I am, so...

  • Real horsepower (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nidi62 ( 1525137 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:37PM (#44986033)
    A better way to be prepared would be to own and be able to ride a horse. Only fuel it needs is grass, hay, and water(and if there isn't enough water for both you and a horse where you are, you are probably screwed anyway), and when it eventually breaks down at least you can eat it. Best option would be 2 horses that you can switch out to avoid tiring them out. Can go places vehicles can't (you can ride along comfortably on the median or shoulder of a road, right past all those people trapped in a traffic jam or out of gas), and, in the case of zombies, a canter or even a slow trot will easily get you past any somewhat mobile rotting corpses. Plus the skittish nature of horses would serve as a warning system to any dangers while traveling through the woods or camped out at night. It would be cheaper than this truck, more useful, and would certainly last a lot longer.

    • Hard to keep horses in the garage in the unlikely event of a (insert specifics here) apocalypse. Horses are a lifestyle - great if you can pull it off. Hay is getting incredibly expensive in a lot of places. Your neighbor might not want their lawn and garden clipped quite so close.

      Besides, if you're a real survivalist, you won't touch a horse. They're pretty high maintenance. You want a donkey. Or some goats.

      Me, I'll stick to my pickup truck for as long as I can.

    • A better way to be prepared would be to own and be able to ride a horse. Only fuel it needs is grass, hay, and water(and if there isn't enough water for both you and a horse where you are, you are probably screwed anyway), and when it eventually breaks down at least you can eat it.

      Not really - horses are very high maintenance, fairly delicate, and expensive to maintain. That's why, historically and today, they were/are in the main restricted to the upper classes and why the mounted arm of the cavalry was r

    • Re:Real horsepower (Score:4, Funny)

      by gonz ( 13914 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @01:24PM (#44986291)

      and, in the case of zombies, a canter or even a slow trot will easily get you past any somewhat mobile rotting corpses.

      ...until you encounter your first ZOMBIE HORSE!
      Nay, naaay!

    • A better way to be prepared would be to own and be able to ride a horse.

      Sadly, the truth is that you'd need to own several horses, and you'd also need grazing land for them. Most of the objections have been made already in this thread but the remedy hasn't even been discussed. It all highlights the fact that barring massive amounts of capital to work with, the only reasonable defense against zombies is a defense in depth involving an entire community. In a full community model, a stable makes sense.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Animats ( 122034 )

      A better way to be prepared would be to own and be able to ride a horse.

      Only if you have lots of grazing land that doesn't require irrigation, a water source that doesn't require power, and several horses. Most horses are high-maintenance. But there are horses used to living on their own. One of my friends has a wild mustang from the Bureau of Land Management, trained to be a good trail horse. She's ridden into town when the power went out and the road was flooded.

      I'm on horseback several times a week, but my present horse wouldn't be that useful in an emergency. He's kept in

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Tallahassee (Score:4, Funny)

    by wiredlogic ( 135348 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:40PM (#44986043)

    They should call it the Tallahassee.

  • a folding shovel... and some rope

    They left out the bottle of whiskey and the huge dildo [wikipedia.org]... :p

  • Single fuel type? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hawguy ( 1600213 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @12:52PM (#44986115)

    Gasoline is probably the worst fuel type to rely on after the Zombie apocalypse -- most gasoline sources will be in underground gas station tanks and you'll need to find a way to pump it out while fending off the zombies. Diesel can be found in above ground generator tanks in most large commercial buildings.

    They should have gone with a Multi-fuel [wikipedia.org] engine to broaden the potential fuel sources - adding diesel and jet fuel to your potential fuel sources gives you a lot of flexibility as you escape the zombie horde.

    • Ford tried some cars with Capstone turbines in 'em, but I haven't heard anything about that in a while. Problem is, turbine engines are delicate and finicky, not the kind of thing you want to be relying upon in the post-apocalypse.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      Absolutely, Diesel truck pulling a digester will be perfect. You kill zombies and stuff their bodies in the digester that turns them into a bio fuel.

  • Wrong car. There is only one... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    There is only one suitable car available to buy by everyone. The Paramount Marauder.

    Here is a pic next to a hummer : http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eNodvYO-1qs/T6rBLC-h1sI/AAAAAAAAAH0/lgJeiw3dxMA/s1600/Marauder+next+to+hummer.jpg

    The Maurauder can withstand 8kg of TNT under any wheel without sustaining any substantial damage.

    It's bullet proof (incl RPGs), is over-pressured to protect against biological and chemical attacks, has more torques than a HGV (it can pull real full size trucks; regardless if you put a fo

  • Toyota from Top Gear (Score:3)

    by microTodd ( 240390 ) on Sunday September 29, 2013 @02:07PM (#44986545) Homepage Journal

    I thought the guys at Top Gear figured out the best survivor-type pickup was the Toyota Hilux?

    http://topgear.wikia.com/wiki/Toyota_Hilux/ [wikia.com]

    This one was pretty awesome. I would want a truck that won't break down no matter what I do to it.

  • Compared to a Jeep decked out for the same thing. Problem is Chevy is built for roads, Jeep is built for dirt and rocks.

    They might as well built a Chevy Volt zombie edition.

  • 1. Feed the trolls
    2. Sell to trolls
    3. Profit

  • GM (Score:2)

    by LMariachi ( 86077 )

    Recipient of billions in government bailout money uses rugged individualist self-sufficiency as marketing tool. The irony is so thick you need a chainsaw attached to your arm stump to cut it.

  • Rather have a pre-1975 4x4 with solid axles, carburetor and points ignition. Ideally diesel. Can be had for under 3K: 1970's broncos, GMC K5's, Jeep CJ/5's, old school land rovers, WW2 dodge power wagons and 6x6 trucks.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • seriously, the zombies will seriously kill the owner of this truck in no time, simply break the windows!

    windows are the weakest point in this truck and they reinforce the side panels? the second that the window is broken, zombies will simply walk up to the door and take a bite out of anyone in that truck!

  • Does it also come with the sort of cheap windows that any zombie can smash with their hands just by slapping against them a few times? How about an ignition that never works in the presence of danger? I like the way the storage is all open on the back tray of the truck, so if I want to get that shovel I better be prepared for a jump shot zombie attack!

  • After the ZA has come and gone it's going to be Mad Max over here. I'll be cruising around with my bro in a 1973 Torana G-Pak (Canary Yellow with a thick black stripe) looking cool as fuck while you guys all drive around in your soccer mum crapboxes ;p We all know how zombie movies go - the hero drives the best looking ride - everyone else ends up dead.

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