Street Trucks March 2019

LET’S TALK TRUCKS! It’s looking as if the pickup truck sales figures for 2018 are going to exceed the numbers from the previous year, which can’t be said for the car guys. America’s love for a cab and bed is undeniable throughout every generation. Even if you and I think the prices of new trucks are out of control these days, the 2018 sales figures clearly tell a different story. The big three have record-breaking sales this year, and even the American import trucks have numbers to be proud of. The team here at “Street Trucks” can’t be excited enough about the future of the truck industry, and you should be, too! For three months in 2018, the Toyota Tacoma sales averaged 20,000 units per month. These numbers also mean…

DALE Earnhardt Jr. will find himself in a very familiar place at the 2019 Daytona 500: the front of the pack. Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Daytona 500 winner, will drive the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pace truck to lead the field to green for the 61st running of The Great American Race. This is the first time the Daytona 500 will be paced by a pickup truck. “I’ve had a lot of fun and a lot of success at Daytona over the years, and now I can’t wait to get out on that track in a Silverado,” said Earnhardt Jr. “Away from the track I’ve driven Chevy trucks all my life, and I’m excited to have this unique experience of pacing the Daytona 500 with the Silverado.” In addition to winning…

ELECTRIC vehicle manufacturer Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, recently tweeted a response to an electric pickup truck hopeful that the company may have something in the works, albeit in the not-so-near future. In response to @lgebman’s question to Musk of, “When can I order my pickup truck,” the Tesla CEO responded, “I’m dying to make a pickup truck so bad… We might have a prototype to unveil next year.” Will it happen? Well, we have no doubt that it will eventually, as Musk’s interest does not seem to be a fleeting thought. In June of 2018, he asked his Twitter followers, “What would you love to see in a Tesla pickup truck? I have a few things in mind, but what do you think are small, but important nuances & what…

THE 2019 Chevrolet Silverado has won a 2019 Wards 10 Best Engines Award. The award-winning 6.2L V-8 employs industry-leading Dynamic Fuel Management or DFM to save fuel without sacrificing performance. “General Motors’ thundering 420-horsepower V-8 in the Silverado exemplifies how engineers continue to find ways to improve efficiency without giving up something in return,” says Senior Content Director Drew Winter. “DFM determines 80 times per second exactly how many cylinders require fuel to meet power demands. And, incredibly, it uses as few as two cylinders to propel the full-size pickup down the highway. The truly amazing part is the cylinder deactivation is imperceptible, so seamless that the only thing the driver notices is fewer stops at the pump.” For the competition, WardsAuto editors evaluate every all-new or significantly improved engine…

PROTECTION IN BED-RETRACTABLE BED COVERS WHAT SETS ROLL-N-LOCK APART FROM ALL OTHER TONNEAU COVERS IS NOT JUST WHAT YOU CAN SEE—THE RICH APPEARANCE OF POWDER COATED ALUMINUM AND RUGGED BILAMINATE VINYL—BUT ALSO WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE: THE PATENTED DESIGN OF ITS SLATTED ALUMINUM SUBSTRATE. This extruded aluminum undercarriage provides ROLL-N-LOCK its tough and rugged hardcover characteristics and unmatched level of truck bed security. When you combine this blend of aesthetic refinement and structural integrity with ROLL-N-LOCK’s unmistakable retractable movement, you then come to understand and appreciate the ROLL-N-LOCK difference. ROLL-N-LOCK www.rollnlock.com 1 KEY SLOT COVER Providing an extra layer of weather protection, a key slot cover keeps ice out and prevents the lock from freezing in colder climates. 2 BUILT-IN TAILGATE LOCK Keep cargo safe with the integrated…

HISTORY. In the 15-year span that GM produced the square body pickup, many trim levels, options, special packages and graphics kits were launched. One of the rarest however, is the 1975 red, white and blue strobe pattern. Why is it so rare? Because only three were ever made. When Joe Yezzi of Squarebody Syndicate got his hands on the last survivor of the 1975 Indy Haulers, he quickly saw something special. Initial plans were to turn the 1975 GMC long bed into a modern-day hotrod; however, modifying such an important piece of square body and Indy 500 history didn’t feel right. So instead, Joe and the team began to document the truck and its features to create a truly one-of-a-kind tribute truck. A few different concepts floated around the shop,…