“Say hello to Ford, and General fuckin’ Motors!”

This line from David Webster in Band of Brothers, where he heckles a marching surrendered German convoy, reflects the sheer might of the American war machine during World War II. While the Wehrmacht was stuck walking on foot or relying on horse-drawn carriages, the Allies were rolling along in Willys, DUKWs, and other machinery. Even to this day, the quote is used when discussing the power of America’s most prominent auto manufacturers.

BC Customs is well aware of the rival companies and their capabilities, but is still up for the challenge of building the heavy variant of the Infantry Squad Vehicle.

Breaking Defense reported on Monday that GM Defense, Ford, and BC were awarded Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) contracts by the Army on June 30. They are to each produce three ISV-Heavy prototypes by March 30, 2027, which will then be reviewed by the Army Test and Evaluation Command.

As the name suggests, the ISV-Heavy is intended for heavy-duty operations. This includes a bigger payload, power sources that allow for relaying energy to command posts (such that The Wall Street Journal equated it to a “stealthy power bank on wheels”), and of course more seating for soldiers.

GM Defense figures it should have a leg up as the General Motors subsidiary was responsible for the base ISV. The original Infantry Service Vehicle was developed in partnership with NASCAR powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet off-road factory partner Hall Racing, the latter often tasked with testing GM products in desert races like the Mint 400.

Ford Motor Company, on the other hand, has not catered to the military since selling Ford Aerospace in 1990. The Blue Oval was one of the early Jeep producers under a license from Willys–Overland, then was responsible for several military technologies such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and M48 Chaparral during the Cold War. Founded in 1956, Ford Aerospace was put up for sale 34 years later as Ford planned to focus on the automotive industry.

As wars continue to rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, demand for automotive manufacturers to invest into defense has increased substantially. Like Ford, German automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have also started looking into resuming military production as part of Europe’s broader rearmament.

The Silverado HD 3500 will be GM’s platform for the ISV-Heavy, whereas Ford will present a truck from its F-Series.

Compared to the rivals, BC Customs is naturally the underdog. That doesn’t mean it stands no chance, of course.

Based in Utah, BC is the military arm of Ultra4 team SXOR Motorsports. It is run by the Johnson family, who applied their rock crawling experience when building vehicles like the Storm SRTV. The Search and Rescue Tactical Vehicle has been used by the Air Force since 2007 as part of the Guardian Angel program to rescue imperiled airmen in the field.

“BC Customs going up against the giants. BC Customs, Ford, and GM in a head-to head-competition,” wrote Brian Johnson on Tuesday. “While BCC has more experience in the field and more vehicle platforms in the DOW than any other manufacture, we’re still the wildcard according to AI lol… obviously we are, my hell the two biggest automakers in the US. Lucky for us, I’ve never been afraid of a fight no matter the size!!! We teamed with Raglan for the export power generation, the best at what they do.

“I’ll be watching Rocky every weekend for the next 9 months.”

Like GM with Hall, BC Customs has entered the SRTV in desert races such as the Mint 400 and King of the Hammers. Johnson, the VP of sales and design, drove the extended-cab SRTV-SXV-XL in the 2025 KOH’s Every Man Challenge and finished 26th overall; it was the first time a military vehicle completed a King of the Hammers race. The SRTV has also won the Modern Military category at the Mint.

Featured image credit: The Tire Ball Company