S3, E78 - Have You Heard? Truck News!

Have you heard?

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and comments on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Have you heard? Welcome to Barnes and NOOOOOOO!

Well then, let me enlighten you with some news such as the new Chevy Stars and Steel Special Edition.

So Chevrolet has decided to get in on 250 years of America with a new trim level,

especially available this year on their line of trucks and the Corvette. This is the Stars and

Steel as in S-T-E-E-L trim level, and that'll be available on five models, including the Corvette,

the only car, Colorado Silverado 1500, Silverado HD, and Silverado EV. And the trucks will be

available in Summit White with black interiors. Corvette gets a little more fancy with red and

blue interiors. So across that lineup, you'll get American flag-inspired stripes and satin silver

or black, and then, of course, 250 graphics on the exterior. The breakdown is this. Colorado,

available on the Trail Boss screw cab, adds 20-inch gloss black wheels, convenience package

2, tech package, skid plate package, black exhaust tips, red tow hooks, black rocker protectors,

spray on bed liner, soft bed roll cover, and all-weather floor liners. The Silverado 1500

light duty is available on RST crew cab short box 4x4s. You get 22-inch gloss black wheels,

performance intake, Brembo brakes with red six-piston calipers, black exhaust tips,

six-inch rectangular steps, protection package with spray on bed liner,

and wheel arch liner, soft roll bed cover, and the convenience package 2 with sunroof.

Stepping up to the Silverado HD, you get the 6.6-liter Duramax diesel LTZ crew cab Trail Boss

4x4, and that gives you the Trail Boss package with the spray and bed liner 20-inch gloss black

wheels, Z71 off-road package, LTZ convenience package 2, LTZ Plus package, off-road high

clearance steps, power sunroof, max-trailering package, gooseneck, fifth wheel prep package,

soft roll bed cover, and floor liner. And on the Silverado EV, which is available on the RST

crew cab, which now this year for 26, is the only way you can get an RST as 24-inch gloss black

wheels with Brembo HD brakes that has six-piston calipers and 15.7 inches of front rotor. Whoo!

So if you're looking to celebrate America along with Chevrolet and have a cool vehicle with a

lot of nice add-ons, head on over to your local Chevy dealer where you can pick one out or order

one today. So a little while ago Ford announced that five affordable models will arrive by the

end of the decade, and that's on the new universal platform that they've been touting where the

pickup truck is going to be the first vehicle on that platform or something in the pickup

truck space, but they're saying there's some sort of different shape silhouette body style,

but it's going to be a pickup. Go figure. Don't know how different it'll be from a maverick,

but everybody is kind of holding their breath waiting to see what this is. But Ford intends to

launch five new models on this platform, including possibly a car. It's also going to expand gas,

hybrid, and e-rev options across the lineup instead of being all EV. So more details to come on that,

but we're definitely interested in the mid-size pickup truck because Ford says it'll be built

here in America at the Louisville Assembly Plant in 2027. So it'll be the first one of those five

to come with a targeted price tag around $30,000. And what's interesting about that is when you

look at Slate now without the incentives, Ford's not that far away from that with a full dealer

network and everything else. So it'll be really interesting to see what comes out and what type

of capability and amenities and features and all that you get for $30,000. I'm going to be impressed

to see if they hit that number and what that vehicle is, because it can encroach too far

into maverick. So it'll be, it'll be one to watch.

For all you Ram fans out there, the Ram truck brand has been named the best truck brand for

2026. And that's seven straight wins for Ram. And that came from US News and World Report.

For the seventh consecutive year, Ram has earned top honors thanks to its

quote unquote unbeatable mix of capability, comfort and refinement.

That's a pretty good streak for the brand that focuses only on trucks and isn't suede

and isn't distracted by having a car lineup or anything like that.

Quote unquote, Ram's trucks are known for impressive performance with an upscale look and feel.

This Delandis brand exclusively produces trucks and sticks to the basics with just the full

size Ram 1500 and heavy duty 2500. However, shoppers still have plenty of choices.

Ram trucks are available with a variety of powertrains, performance oriented trim levels,

such as the Rebel and RHO and top tier configurations that are so posh it's like

being in a luxury vehicle. US News and World Reports goes on to say the Ram 1500 is a class

leading full size truck that's been refreshed for 25 with updated styling and technology and

features building on its great performance and comfort and give it a 9.7 out of 10.

And on the Ram 2500, they say Ram's heavy duty offerings also get styling

and tech updates for this year, making this burly truck even more upscale compared to rivals and

give it a 9.4 out of 10. And you know, we're big fans here on the Truck Show podcast of both the

1500 lineup and the 2500, which was just updated for 25 and fantastic with the new Cummins.

We love the hurricane and we're glad to see that the Hemmys back. The other runner up finalist

was Ford and US News and World Report says Ford has a bigger range of trucks than most of the

automakers on the list. And its most popular truck model in the United States also happens to be one

of the best selling vehicles in the world. And they go on to rank the Ford F-150 9.5 out of 10,

the F-150 Lighting 9.5 out of 10, the F-250 Super Duty 9.4 out of 10, the Ford Maverick

8.9 out of 10, and the Ford Ranger 8.5 out of 10. Other truck brands bringing up the rear

behind Ford in this order, Rivian, Honda, Toyota, GMC, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Tesla, and Nissan.

And for you Ford fans that want Bronco Raptor like performance without the price tag,

you might want to wait till October of this year when the collaboration between Ford and RTR

brings the Ford Bronco RTR to your local dealer. The new Bronco RTR packs RTR design, styling,

engineering, and attitude, and gives you two levels of capability for high-speed off-road

performance at a better value than the Bronco Raptor. The Bronco RTR comes standard with a

wider track, high clearance suspension for improved confidence and stability, and the

available Sasquatch package unlocks maximum capability with the Fox shocks and 35-inch tires.

And it comes with what they're calling standard anti-lag turbo technology to go along with the

hyperlime accents. The new Bronco RTR performance and style is perfectly matched to fun-haver

vibes in high-speed desert off-road performance. So the Ford and RTR vehicle collaboration

continues, and this vehicle was developed and tested in Johnson Valley, and then we recently

did it right along with Von Gittin Jr., where he hinted at this vehicle coming in a vehicle very

similar to that. So the RTR comes standard with 33-inch tires, high-clearance suspension,

and that's the first time that you could get the high-clearance suspension with 33s. And so that

way you get improved standard capability, but you get a better, more aggressive stance. And if you

want to unlock the ultimate Bronco RTR high-speed off-road experience, then you can opt for the

Sasquatch package, which adds the 35-inch good years, and the Haas 3.0 system with the Fox

internal bypass shocks. Those are similar to the ones that were on the first generation F-150 Raptor,

and before the Haas 3.0 was exclusive to the Badlands series, but now you can get it on the RTR,

and it gives you the highest level of suspension performance without stepping up to a Bronco

Raptor. And pricing hasn't been announced yet, but this will be at a value pricing level compared

to Bronco Raptor. Von Gittin Jr. says, quote-unquote, Bronco RTR is built to dominate the dirt,

whether you're in Johnson Valley or a backwoods trail. We gave it the suspension tech to handle

the hits, but we also sweated the details that matter to drivers. We reinforced the steering,

added anti-lag turbo tech, and share high-power cooling fan hardware from the Bronco Raptor

to help keep the Bronco RTR cool during extended trail time and playing in sand.

And the Bronco RTR's race-derived anti-lag turbo technology keeps the turbo charger spooled up

so that the drivers get a sharper throttle response, and it's great to manage ever-changing

terrain and deep sand. So to help keep the engine performing under the grueling conditions,

the RTR gets the race-proven 1,000-watt cooling fan from the Bronco Raptor, and it also gets

new grille with signature lighting, and the RTR hyperlime detail accents. And that includes the

graphics and the rock rings of the 17-inch beadlock RTR Evo 6 wheels. And I believe it's

exclusively available with the 2.3-liter four-cylinder, which is quite an awesome and snappy

little motor. I was really impressed with it when I drove it recently. So,

anyway, again, that's going to be coming out sometime in October of this year. So stay tuned

if you want something with near-Bronco Raptor performance, but at a price that's a little

bit more affordable. Then you've got Hyundai, who's starting to get really serious about trucks.

In fact, they've been talking about their XRT lineup that it's going to be truly capable,

and it will mean something as an off-road performance label, not just a trim.

And if you've been paying attention, they've had some concepts and they've been kind of toying with

that. And of course, it's no secret, Hyundai wants to play in the same sandbox as Honda with their

Trail Sport, Subaru with their wilderness, and of course, Nissan with the upcoming body on frame,

XTERRA and Pathfinder. Everybody's moving into the off-road space. And if you've been really

paying close attention, you know that Hyundai has already said, hey, we're going to do our own

body on frame pickup truck. So as part of that, they're phasing out the Santa Cruz, according to

Automotive News, after just five years. It was well received, but it's already being killed

because the Maverick is kicking its butt and sales 155,051 to 25,499 last year. But the real

reason is Hyundai wants to concentrate on the body on frame pickup truck for the U.S. market.

Rumor has it it might share the Kia Tasman platform, but not the controversial styling.

And as a little side note, Stalantis announced that the company's EV misstep cost them $26.5

billion. Okay, explain to me exactly what I did wrong.

Well, I think you took away the vehicles your core and enthusiasts wanted and tried to shove

EVs down their throat rather than making a part of the tapestry. And you are paying for that now.

So, but on a good news, we'll get into the next have you heard I think into sales.

Stalantis had quite the recovery in Q4 of last year, and things are looking strong as they

get back to their core and start focusing on enthusiasts. So that is pretty exciting.

All right, before we go, we've got a recall.

Check engine light just went on, noise under the hood takes like a bomb. Recall covers,

metal glass, leather and plastic, door handle pulled off in my hand, just fantastic.

Ford Motor Company back in the recall news, they're recalling select units of the 25

F-150 Expedition Bronco Ranger and Lincoln Navigator, due to a vehicle power brake assist

system issue. The problem is the electronic brake booster in affected vehicles may enter

into a fault state during driving, resulting in a loss of brake boost until the EVB module,

as they call it, completes its sleep cycle. The next time the vehicle's turned off,

the fault state may occur while the driver is utilizing ADOS. So think of adaptive cruise

control, things like that. That happens the anti lock brake system, electronic stability control

and brake cluster telltale lights will illuminate company by informational messages and an audible

alert. So of course the hazard is if the EVB enters a fault state while the vehicle is in

motion, it can result in loss of brake boost power, increasing stopping distances and increasing the

risk of a crash. So Ford is aware of three warranty claims related to this concern. However,

they're not aware of any accidents or injuries, the affected vehicles again,

Navigator, Ranger, Bronco Expedition, F-150, all 25 models. And it's not that many vehicles, it's

679 total. So it's five units of the Nav, 79 of the Ranger, 102 of the Bronco, 17 of the Expedition

and 476 units of the Ford F-150. So the fix is to have the EVB replaced at no charge

and communications were sent out in the middle of December. For reference, the recall number

is 25SD4. And you can contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Well, that's going to do it for this episode of the Truck Show Podcast. Have you heard?

What? No.

I'm sorry, but we'll be back soon with another full length episode. But in the meantime,

don't forget to follow us on social at Truck Show Podcast at Sean P. Holman's

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The Truck Show Podcast is a production of Truck Famous LLC. This podcast was created by Sean

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S3, E78 - Have You Heard? Truck News!

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