Truck News kicks off with the Ford Bronco Philson collaboration, spotlighting SAS Squatch-style off-road hardware like 35s, front and rear locking diffs, and Fox shocks, plus a twin-turbo 3.0L drivetrain. The hosts then compare the Bronco Philson’s quieter cabin tech and standout convenience features, and shift to GM’s GMC Hummer concepts with detailed approach/departure geometry. Mitsubishi’s return to midsize pickups lands on the Nissan Frontier platform, followed by EV towing/range talk and Honda Ridgeline production pause, then recall updates and quick news items.
This is a special Ford Bronco edition made in a collaboration with Philson. It’s meant to look and function more like an outdoors/off-road setup than a standard Bronco.
04:09
Term
SAS Squatch package
The SAS Squatch package is an off-road option bundle for the Bronco. It’s basically a set of upgrades that make the truck more capable on rough trails.
04:15
Term
front and rear locking diffs
A locking diff helps the truck keep power going to both wheels on an axle. It’s especially useful when one wheel is spinning because it’s on slippery ground.
04:15
Term
35s
“35s” refers to 35-inch tires, a common off-road sizing shorthand. Larger tires increase ground clearance and help with traction over rocks, ruts, and uneven terrain.
04:15
Term
Fox shocks
Fox shocks are special suspension parts that help the truck stay controlled over bumps. They’re designed to work well on off-road trails.
04:19
Term
twin turbo 3L
“Twin turbo” means there are two turbochargers helping the engine make more power. “3L” means the engine is around 3.0 liters, and turbocharging helps it pull harder.
The Ford F-150 is a large pickup truck. It’s built for hauling and towing, but it’s also used for everyday driving. The podcast mentions it when talking about how much power the engine makes and how it’s matched to the transmission.
The Ford Bronco Raptor is the Bronco model tuned for serious off-roading. It’s described here as having a lot of power and torque, and it uses a 10-speed automatic gearbox.
04:31
Term
10-speed automatic
A 10-speed automatic is an automatic gearbox with ten different gear ratios. It helps the engine stay in the right “sweet spot” for acceleration or smooth cruising.
04:35
Term
selectable performance exhaust
Selectable performance exhaust means the car can change its exhaust behavior, usually between a quieter mode and a louder, more aggressive one. This model is said to skip that feature for a more luxury-oriented setup.
04:51
Term
acoustic glass
Acoustic glass is special glass that’s built to cut down noise. It helps make the cabin quieter by reducing how much outside sound gets through.
05:22
Term
power retractable steps
Power retractable steps are motorized steps that come out to help you get in and out, then fold back away. They’re meant to make a taller vehicle easier to use.
05:22
Term
digital rear view mirror with washer
A digital rear view mirror is a screen-based mirror that shows what’s behind you using a camera. The washer is there to clean the camera so the view stays clear.
The Ford Bronco Philson is a luxury version of the Bronco. It’s aimed at a quieter, more upscale feel, with comfort features like heated/ventilated seats and convenience items like power retractable steps.
05:27
Term
ventilated and heated front seats
Heated seats warm you up, and ventilated seats blow air to help you stay cooler. Having both makes the car more comfortable in hot and cold weather.
Have you heard? It's Truck News!
No way, Jose.
What's up and welcome back to another edition of the Truck Show Podcast. Have you heard?
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Well, our first story for this episode is Ford recently announced a vehicle collaboration with
Seattle-based outdoor outfitter, Philson. The Bronco Philson, it's an interesting mix,
both of unique features and some part spin pieces that have been used in new ways.
But it looks pretty good. So, for example, the basic vehicle, think, Ford or Bronco,
SAS Squatch package standard with 35s on unique Philson edition wheels, front and rear locking
diffs, Fox shocks. But what's kind of cool is on the drivetrain, it gets the same twin turbo 3L
that makes 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque in the Bronco Raptor, which is paired with
the 10-speed automatic. However, it lacks the selectable performance exhaust due to the luxury
intent of this model and has its own tune, so power may be slightly different. The visual
Philson upgrades include things like unique front grille and finish, painted mirror caps,
wheel arches. Inside, it's said to be the quietest Bronco yet. Ford says they've improved airflow,
they've added acoustic glass, enhanced the seals, and it's reduced wind and road noise.
Ford says there's nearly 20% less perceived wind noise in the Philson compared to the 2021
launch year Bronco. And inside the cabin, the Bronco also comes with materials informed by
Philson's pallets and textures. That includes quilted leather seats with woven fabric, trim,
a leather wrapped dash and brass accents on the steering wheel and goat dial. Other touches,
as you would expect, include Philson inspired detachable storage bags that are integrated into
the doors. And there are optional ones for the cargo area. Bronco Philson is the first Bronco
that gets power retractable steps and a digital rear view mirror with washer. And it continues
to lean into luxury with ventilated and heated front seats, also a first on Bronco,
and then other standard features like heated rear seats and upgraded B&O audio system.
Ford is also launching a Bronco Philson first edition, which will feature the exclusive color
iron sands copper metallic other Bronco Philson models can also be had in a unique field green
metallic paint. And that one will come with unique fender badging, the cargo area storage bags and
serialized console badging. And if you remember AV did this back with the JK and brute, I don't know,
probably 10 years ago, those Philson editions are really collectible today and hard to find. So it
will be interesting to see how the market responds to the Ford version of a Bronco Philson tie up.
As far as getting one, the order books will open up this fall and then you should expect to see
Philson editions beginning to arrive in the showroom Q1 of next year. Ford hasn't provided
any pricing information yet. But my guess is this is a test for a top of the line Bronco model that
will sit up there with Bronco Raptor. So you'll either choose performance or you'll choose luxury.
And my guess is it's going to be on par with a Bronco Raptor. So thinking somewhere in the
75 to $85,000 range, that would be my guess for this special edition.
Did you guys see the new GMC Hummer concept? It looks like a drivable Legos,
is the best way to describe it. They surprised the automotive community by putting together
an unveiling of two GMC Hummer X vehicles. So one's a pickup truck, one's an SUV.
And GM says they're just concepts, but they are mid-sized vehicles rolling on 37s.
So it's a step down from the Hummer SUV size of today and right in line with where the market's
going. And it's interesting because it has like exposed, I don't, it's not bodywork. It's just
like the way it looks is like there's minimal amount of color panels for like the hood and the doors
and the rest is like this sort of exoskeleton looking thing. It's very futuristic looking
and very cool. And it's a concept vehicle that uses GM's, what they're calling a flex
fab manufacturing technique. And it came out of their advanced design studio in Pasadena.
SUV on 37s looks great. The mid-sized version of the concept is on 35s. Still looks great.
Big wheels, but again, it just, it looks super futuristic. And it's the type of design that
you'd expect to be a hot wheel or a model truck or something like that. And it's just 0.7 inches
shorter than the current Chevy Colorado GMC Canyon on wheelbase. And it's got some pretty awesome
approach and departure angles. Like the pickup truck has an approach of 41.5, departure of 29.7
and break over of 24.9. Ground clearance is 12.5 inches. So that's better than a Gladiator Rubicon.
It's better than a Toyota Tacoma TRD. And when you look at the SUV, they get even better approach
angle of 44 degrees, departure angle of 46 degrees, break over 30.9, ground clearance 13.2 inches.
Again, that's on 37s. And it's really close to a Bronco Raptor. So it sounds like they kind of
said, we want to be like this in the truck space and like this in the SUV space. And they went
after it. So knowing that there's a bunch of different vehicles that are coming, we've got
Hyundai and their pickup truck in SUV, you've got XTERRA, you've got the Scouts,
the both the SUV and the pickup, you've got the new Rivian R2. It sounds like GM is hinting that
they want to be in that mix. And of course, GM's saying the Hummer X concept vehicles are not
meant to go into production. But I think it's a tease at the future. So features, design language,
things like that. You look at it and you get what they're trying to accomplish here. And it looks,
it just looks so futuristic. I dig it. News from Mitsubishi says that it's going to be developing
a new pickup truck for the North American market and it will be on the Nissan Frontier platform.
So if you guys remember the Mighty Max, which was a pretty good truck in its own right, and the
overseas Triton, which continues to do well for Mitsubishi, even though Mitsubishi here in the
States has really become sort of a noncontender, if you will. The last time that there was a Mitsubishi
here was the Mitsubishi Raider, which was built on the last generation or final generation Dakota
platform. So it'll be interesting to see what they do here. They want to get back into the North
American market and they know that they need to be here with the midsize trucks. So they're going
to do it in collaboration with Nissan to save some money. And Mitsubishi just keeps coming with the
announcements. They recently said, hey, the Peugeot SUV is coming back to the market, which I'm not
sure if it's going to be here in the US, but that's the one we knew was Montero. And they're adding
more off-road vehicles and this truck is going to be part of that scheme. So if you look at the new
model product roadmap, there are going to be 13 new models from Mitsubishi. So maybe they'll become
a contender again, but they have been not even second or third fiddle. I mean, they went from
being a pretty good car company with a lot of clout to being almost nothing here in the United
States. And so what do you think? Does a new Mitsubishi pickup truck excite you? Would you be
happy to get one if it's on a Nissan Frontier platform? And would you just go to Nissan to
get one? Or would you actually shop Mitsubishi? I'd be curious what your thoughts are.
Truck Show podcast at gmail.com or you can give us a call in the 5-star hotline 657-205-6105.
So Ford seems to be admitting something that we've been saying here in the Truck Show podcast
for a long time and that's that full-size EV trucks don't make sense. And I've said it here before
that I think that mid-sized Rivian truck, that is sort of the maximum place where the weight of
the vehicle and batteries and the capability kind of come together. And beyond that, you get a point
of diminishing returns because with batteries to do all the stuff you need to use for trucks,
just get bigger and heavier. And unlike a fuel tank that gets lighter as you drive,
the electrons don't weigh anything. So you're always carrying the mass of that battery pack
no matter what your existing range left. So it sounds like Alan Clark, Ford's Executive Director
of Advanced EV Development said on a recent appearance on Edmunds podcast, quote unquote,
big trucks are a tougher market than small trucks. He says that towing is a tough use case to electric
vehicles because of the negative impacts they have on range. And talked about the midsize
truck being a much better use case for pure EVs because they're generally lighter and don't
have the same loads as a full size truck, which I think is all stuff that we've talked about and
have known. He's also the person who's leading the development of the new midsize EV pickup. So
he may have some skin in the game and production for that's supposed to start in 2027. So do you
agree? Do you think that full size trucks are not right for pure EV? I mean, you can look at
GM still has theirs, but Ford has dropped the full EV version of lighting saying it's going to come
back as an e-rev and Ram dropped their Bev as well, saying that the electrified Ram will also
come back as e-rev only. So it sounds like most of the companies are in agreement with each other,
but where does GM go? And I wonder what they get out of this EV development by staying in the game.
It's interesting to me to see their strategy and I want to see how long they last as the only full
size EV pickup truck manufacturer left. And for those of you out there who are Honda Ridgeline
fans, we're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service at this time. No, that's not true.
I know for sure there's Ridgeline fans out there. If you were thinking about picking up a Ridgeline,
you should do it sooner than later because it sounds like Honda might be pushing the pause button
on the Ridgeline production for about 18 months or so. And that is because the current single
overhead cam 3.5 liter v6 that has the IV tech on it no longer hits the emission goals. And it
sounds like Honda may be doing a couple of things with Ridgeline giving it a freshening and a fresh
drivetrain. Now if you're thinking, Holman, wait a minute, how does the Ridgeline not pass emissions,
but the Odyssey does and it's got the same engine? No, it doesn't. It actually had the engine
changed to the dual overhead cam non V tech engine. So the Ridgeline has the J35 y6 engine,
the new engines that meet emissions are the J35 y8 engines. And so that's why the Odyssey and I
believe pilot and passport are still good to go. So what is the Ridgeline going to come back with?
Some reports are saying it'll come back as a hybrid. Some are saying it'll come back with
the same engine as the pilot, passport and Odyssey. But either way, it sounds like it's
definitely going to be on pause, but it's not going away because I think Honda realizes it needs
that truck in the market and they may just be reevaluating how to position it, especially when
they have such an amazing response to the trail sport version of the new passport. So
stay tuned on that. And if you want to get your Ridgeline, do it while you can.
All right. I realized that there are a lot of stories that we do that don't really require a
whole lot of talking. They're just kind of like quick hits. So here's a new jingle and a new segment
on Have You Heard?
Jeep appears to be getting ready for the return of a Hellcat powered Grand Cherokee trackhawk.
And pilot production is said to begin next month at the
plant, which is sort of the precursor to making sure that it's a vehicle that can be built on
the production line. The 2027 Ford Expedition gets a windshield upgrade to laminated glass,
which will be standard on all trims as a no cost feature. And this is in addition to the
laminated side glass introduced on the side windows for 2026. Ram says it'll offer the
non e-torque Hemi across more trims than just Rumblebee. And the 5.7 liter V8 Hemi will not
return to the Grand Cherokee, but a Hurricane Six is a possibility. Let's check in on some recalls.
So we'll start off with Jeep Stellantis is recalling approximately 419,035 vehicles,
including 22 to 26 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2023 to 25 Jeep Grand Cherokee L models. That's the WL74
and WL75. Due to a software issue with the ORC module or Occupant Restraint Controller,
so the software defect could delay deployment of side airbags during a crash, resulting in the
vehicle failing to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 214 for side impact
protection. So according to Stellantis, there's generally no warning signs before the condition
occurs. However, once the fault is present, the airbag warning light does remain illuminated in
the instrument cluster and a chime will sound during each ignition cycle. The breakdown is
140,130 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 278,905 Jeep Grand Cherokee L models built between
May 16, 2022 and October 9, 2025. And Stellantis identified those vehicles through
supplier and production records and vehicles built outside that production time have a door
impact pressure sensor from a different supplier. So if you think your vehicle is impacted, then
you want to give Chrysler customer service call 1-800-853-1403 and then the reference number
is recalled number 01D. Of course, you can check in and have your dealer run your VIN as well.
And while we have some other recall news from other manufacturers, we'll just stick with
Stellantis on this one and apparently there's 12,000 RAM heavy duty trucks that are being
recalled because their tire speed rating does not match their speed limiter. So RAM accidentally
set the speed limiter too high on some of its HD pickups and that allows them to go faster than
their tires are rated for. So obviously that's a big deal. RAM is recalling 12,736-2500 HD pickups
built between June 21, 2022 and April 14, 2026. For this, they all wear R rated tires. So that's
a 106 mile an hour limit and RAM typically limits their trucks to 105 miles per hour to stay under
that but apparently these trucks have one that's higher. So you'll want to call up your local dealer
or again call that Chrysler number, the manufacturer recall number on this one's 43D and then there's
a NHTSA recall number 26V288 as well. But there's no accidents, no injuries that RAM's aware of from
this and it's as simple as doing a quick software update and you'll be back on the road and back
in compliance. So that'll do it for this episode of the Truck Show Podcast. Have you heard?
Thank you for listening and please follow us on social at Truck Show Podcast or at Sean P. Holman
and don't forget you can always email us at truckshowpodcast.gmail.com or give us a call in
the 5-star Holly in 657-205-6105. Thank you, AMSOIL and don't forget to spend $100 or more by June
16th and get yourself a free 10 millimeter emergency socket set by using the code SOCKET626.
Thank you, Kershaw Knives and OVR Magazine and glad you came back and listen. Let's do it again real
soon. The Truck Show Podcast is a production of Truck Famous LLC. This podcast was created by Sean
Holman and Jay Tillis, hosted by Sean Holman and uses production elements by DJ Omar Khan and Jay
Tillis. If you like what you've heard, please open your Apple Podcast or Spotify app and leave
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A twisting force that causes rotation. More torque = quicker acceleration.
Horsepower
Power output
Rev limiter
Engine protection
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