Pickup Trucks

First introduced back in 1995, the Toyota Tacoma is currently in its third generation. With nearly a quarter century of history behind it, the Tacoma nameplate is well-established as one of the most unbreakably rugged and reliable vehicles on the planet, and now this mid-size pickup is headed for a refresh for the 2020 model year. The latest Tacoma is framed as the “best-equipped ever,” and in TRD guise, it looks to mate its traditional off-roading chops in the rough stuff with newfound comfort and tech appointment in the cabin. However, considering the latest third-generation made its debut back in 2015, as well as a major influx of competition throughout the segment, does the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD still manage to keep pace?

Elon Musk is crazy. Elon Musk has no chill. Elon Musk is a frickin’ genius! While the whole world was eagerly watching the Tesla Model Y’s unveil, no one realized that the Model Y actually had company. Musk finally had to pull the bird out of the cage on his own. Elon Musk revealed that when the credits were rolling after the webcast was over, Tesla sneakily pushed in a teaser image of the long-awaited Tesla pickup truck. Did you grab a look of it? Neither did we, until now.

Despite being the world’s largest automobile manufacturing company, Volkswagen has left the truck segment untapped. Although the European markets will benefit from the Volkswagen-Ford alliance and receive Ranger-based Amarok pickup trucks, the same has not been announced for the U.S. markets. However, we have learned that Volkswagen is keen on entering one of the hottest growing segments in the U.S. So, will the company go solo here, or will it choose to ally with Ford and base its trucks on the Blue Oval’s offerings?

Wait, what? It’s barely been a year since the fourth-generation Ranger, that marks the nameplate’s return to the North American market, was shown at the Detroit Auto Show and now we get to see the next one? Apparently, this is actually true, and you are looking at a car that you shouldn’t have seen for at least two more years, the fifth-generation Ranger that will share its platform with the upcoming Amarok, both models destined for the European and African markets.

When manufacturers are preparing to launch a new vehicle, they go about their business in a tried and tested way. They either try to take the test mules out on the road either in more secluded areas where there’s less of a likelihood that someone with a camera, hiding in a bush, might be tracking down their movements or, when city testing or highway testing are on order, they wrap the vehicle in question in as odd a camouflage pattern as possible. The point of the camo is to deter those that try to pick out the new model’s key aesthetic features that differentiate it from the older one or, in case of brand-new standalone models, to make it hard for folks to figure out whether or not that model is bringing with it a new design language or not. Basically, most often, it’s a game of hiding your hand in plain sight.

This time, though, it seems like an Australian automotive outlet got its hands on some leaked images. We know that the T6 generation of the Ranger built for international markets (although it did debut in the U.S. as well in 2018) was conceived by Ford Australia and, most probably, the engineers Down Under are now working on the upcoming international model because the T6 has been around since 2011 although it received a facelift in 2015. Obviously, with the T6 Ranger arriving in the U.S. last year and selling well, don’t expect what you see in these pictures to spot rolling down American roads pretty soon.

The 2020 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition is the second pickup truck from the Blue Oval company inspired by the iconic motorcycle brand. The Harley-Davidson Edition returns after eight years as an appearance package, but it also comes with a few chassis updates. The big difference now, except the fact that it’s based on the latest F-250, is that it’s no longer built by Ford. Instead, the truck is assembled and sold by Tuscany Motor Company.

Marketed as an "Official Harley-Davidson truck," this F-250 features an impressive amount of exclusive features, including a monochromatic paint scheme, loads of "Harley-Davidson" badges and logos, unique wheels, and a bespoke interior. Unlike its predecessor, this Harley-Davidson Edition rides on a special suspension designed by BDS for the motorcycle company. Let’s see what it offers.

Four years after dropping jaws on the floor of the North American International Auto Show, we learn the Hyundai Santa Cruz Concept could finally come to our lives in the next few years. Just don’t expect the production version to look anything like the concept that caused a ruckus in Detroit back in 2015. Time is the biggest culprit behind this shift. It’s been four years since Hyundai unveiled the Santa Cruz, and a lot has changed within Hyundai during that time. The company’s new decision-makers are taking a different approach from the regime that championed the concept’s production back then. It remains to be seen how the different stylistic approach affects the production model’s appeal, but that’s also just one of many questions that Hyundai needs to answer before the production pickup arrives.

Heavy-duty truck wars are well underway. Although the Ram HD and Ford Super Duty are rather well geared for it, it seems that the new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD just beat them to the punch in some segments. This is an all-new truck and is a huge improvement over the outgoing model. As such, I’ve compiled a list of facts that will shed some light on the new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD. They will teach you why the new HD is a behemoth that sits at the very top of the truck segment.

Toyota launched the 2020 Tacoma model at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. Although its sibling, the Sequoia TRD Pro, stole its thunder at the, one cannot sideline the Tacoma. After all, it is the best-selling mid-size pickup truck currently on the market. The 2020 Toyota Tacoma does not bring a lot of changes to the table; mechanically or cosmetically. Do you think there is enough to differentiate it from the 2019 model and keep up with the rising competition?

The 2019 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty by Mopar is a concept truck that showcases Mopar’s new line of accessories for FCA’s latest heavy-duty workhorse. Unveiled at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, it previews already available and upcoming accessories from this iconic customization brand.

The Ram 2500 Heavy Duty is a brand-new truck for the 2020 model year. Unveiled at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, it arrived just a month ahead of the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado HD and the facelifted Ford F-Series Super Duty. For the time being, the Ram Heavy Duty is the only truck of its kind offered with factory-installed accessories, a valuable advantage until Chevy and Ford roll out their out features.

Chevrolet has teamed up with LEGO to create a full-sized brick version of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss. The LEGO Group’s Model Shop in Enfield, Connecticut is responsible for the design and assembly of the monstrous LEGO Silverado. It’s made up of 334,544 LEGO pieces and weighs 3,307 pounds. Needless to say, completing this massive 20-foot build took some time and a lot of manpower. In total, 18 builders helped complete the life-sized truck, and more than 2,000 hours were consumed in the endeavor. The LEGO Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss isn’t just for show, either. It was built in collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as part of the latter’s marketing blitz to promote the new LEGO movie, “The LEGO Movie 2: Second Part.” The movie is now in theaters in the U.S.

Did you ever look at the existing pickup bed caps and bemoan the fact that they don’t make trucks more aerodynamic? Michigan Vehicle Solutions thought it’s time for something new on the market of bed caps, so they’ve looked at the louvered rear windows of ’60s and ’70s Mustangs and came up with the Aero X fiberglass cap that makes the Ford F-150 attract more eyes than ever before.

Your first reaction may be, ’Why?’, followed by a typical, ’Who are these people?’ Well, this company, based in Southgate, Michigan, "works and performs testing & services in conjunction with the OEMs in the testing & custom vehicle build arena," according to its own website. You’ll get why they thought sticking a sloping 260-pound cap in the back of Ford’s F-150 is a good idea when you’ll see the crazy renders of a Dodge Charger Daytona-esque body kit for the Dodge Challenger on the About Us page. This, then, looks mundane in comparison.

At the Nissan USA stand at the Chicago Motor Show we had the chance to see a rather surprising and intimidating truck called the Nissan Titan K2 Rocky Ridge Concept. It is a lifted Titan truck, engineered by Rocky Ridge, specialists in “making big bad lifted trucks” with more than 30 years of experience. Although revealed in concept guise, let me tell you that the Rocky Ridge Titan K2 is ready to pounce. The Georgia-based truck magicians made sure of it with a comprehensive set of additions that made this Titan K2 Rocky Ridge Concept as tough and as terrifying as possible. This is what we learned about it at the Show.

These days, custom pickup trucks are everywhere, with interested buyers offered a plethora of choices both from the aftermarket and straight from the factory. However, 40 years ago, it was far less common to get a bespoke aesthetic direct from the manufacturer. In that sense, the original Warlock pickup broke the mold, and now Ram is taking the nameplate off the shelf for a fresh special edition iteration of the 1500.

After more than 30 years on the shelves, the almighty Jeep Gladiator returned to the auto scene at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Less than a few months later, we now have one of the first custom jobs for the Gladiator courtesy of a company known for making some of the best leather products for car interiors in the market. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Katzkin Leather’s interpretation of the Jeep Gladiator, and it’s an absolute doozy. Comprised mostly of upgrades to the truck’s interior, Katzkin Leather’s work on the Gladiator’s cabin is a visual showcase of the company’s new products. The upholstery package is one of the many options that Katzkin is offering through Mopar, complementing the menu of accessories and options that are already available for Jeep’s returning conqueror. Katzkin’s show of force on the Gladiator was on full display at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show.

It’s the dawn of a new age for pickup trucks these days as the RAM 1500 and the GMC Sierra square of in a battle of wits involving their respective…tailgates. Unlike in the past where pickups are usually compared by the amount of power they produce or the amount of weight they can carry or tow, we’re entering a new frontier where the term “trick tailgate” is about to become one of the most important elements of a pickup, if it isn’t there already. GMC was the first to showcase its six-function MultiPro tailgate in 2018 on the Sierra truck. It took some time, but RAM has responded with its own trick tailgate, known as the MultiFunction tailgate, at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. So, now that we’ve seen both tailgates and tinkered with them on separate occasions, which of these two is better? For that, we look at the Tale of the Trick Tailgates.