Matthew Skwarczek started blogging in 2015 and focuses his writing on motorcycles and engineering science. A graduate of Northwestern University, where he earned his Master’s in Chemical Engineering, Matthew served as an applications engineer for BASF before joining MotorBiscuit in 2019.
In Matthew’s words, the visceral nature of riding requires you to be in the moment. Combined with his fascination in the analytics surrounding the building and designing of cars and bikes, both modern and classic, you’ll find his voice blends functionality and phenomena. He rides motorcycles and bicycles often, photographing them as well.
Matthew has contributed to Oppositelock and is now an alumnus. He plays Dungeons & Dragons and reads sci-fi and fantasy in his spare time, and appreciates the works of Peter Egan, Sam Smith, Brandon Sanderson, and Alex Goy.
The Jeep Gladiator is getting a lot of love. People have been clamoring to buy it. Kelley Blue Book named it as one of their favorite cars for 2020. You can even mount a rooftop tent to it. Sadly, unlike many of its fellow FCA brethren, there’s no high-performance version. Yet. The Jeep Gladiator Hercules …
Tires are your truck’s shoes. You wouldn’t wear a dress shoe to go hiking, and you wouldn’t put a street tire to go off-roading. But between the truck tire extremes is a gray area. Can, or should, you put an off-road tire on a mostly urban-riding pickup? Do big tires actually do anything useful? YouTube …
‘Forbidden fruit’ goes both ways. American enthusiasts have to deal with that pesky 25-year import rule, but we have our own exclusive goodies. Especially when it comes to pickup trucks. Europeans especially are starting to buy more of them, but their choices stop at the mid-size segment. Outside of specialized importers, they can’t get trucks …
Overlanding represents some of the most romantic aspects of off-roading. Load your truck with whatever you need, drive to wherever you want, then sit back to watch the sunset. It’s not just appealing, it’s a lucrative business. But you can’t just sleep in any old tent, or inside your truck. You also can’t stick a …
Taste, especially in trucks, is intensely personal. My general policy is, as long as it’s not hurting anyone, go for it. But some trends are objectively bad. Bad because they take away from what the vehicle was supposed to do, and replace it with something worse. In that spirit, we present five truck trends that …
Diesel pickup trucks have a problem. Not with technology—Ram just announced their latest half-ton diesel options—but with image. Even before Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal, diesel engines were far from popular in the U.S. This is despite diesel engines’ better fuel efficiency and torque compared to gasoline engines. Diesels had a reputation for excessive noise. The …
Considering the wide range of activities pickup trucks are used for—towing, carrying motorcycles, hauling people—there’s no reason not to add ‘racing’ to the list. Why should sports car owners get all the fun in seeing their favorite brands duke it out on screen? And it’s not just professional factory teams out there, either. Some racing …
Despite the negative effects of Dieselgate, diesel engines remain popular in the pickup truck market. With a combination of improved fuel economy and more torque compared to gasoline engines, it’s easy to see the appeal. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was one of the first to offer such an option, in its full-size Ram line. And today, …
Today marks ten years to the day since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles decided to spin the Ram line of pickup trucks into its own brand, separate from Dodge. Since then Ram has gone on to become a celebrated maker of pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. Reid Bigland, the Head of Ram Brand, has credited this to …
Although FCA has installed the Hellcat 6.2-liter supercharged V8 in several of its vehicles, it’s never been put in a production pickup truck. That’s about to change. On its tenth anniversary as a separate brand, a press release confirmed that the Ram Rebel TRX, previously shown as a 2017 concept, is officially reaching production. 2017 …
The past few months haven’t gone well in the U.S. automotive market. UAW strikes at several GM plants are hitting both the company and Michigan hard, Ford’s stock status was recently downgraded to ‘junk’ despite CEO Jim Hackett’s best efforts, and U.S. car and truck sales as a whole have declined significantly. However, where trucks …
Honda’s Ridgeline pickup received several updates in 2019, enough to earn a place on Car and Driver’s 10Best Trucks of 2019. Riding on a platform shared with the Pilot SUV and Odyssey minivan, the Ridgeline stands out amongst other mid-size pickups. And, if a recent potential information leak is to be believed, there could be …
While cars dominate the list of most expensive vehicles ever sold at auction, pickup trucks haven’t been wallowing. Especially if they’re of a certain vintage; even CNN has taken notice of the rise in classic truck auction prices. In fact, in this list of the 6 most expensive trucks ever sold at auction, only one …
Like any other vehicle, pickup trucks are a reflection of their owners. And sometimes, owners want something unavailable from the factory. That’s where tuners and modifiers come in. Whether you’re after more horsepower or improved off-road ability, if you dream it, someone can build it. Here are five modified trucks you can buy right now. …
Sometimes, a job requires the big guns. A midsize or light-duty full-size pickup just isn’t enough truck. That’s when buyers turn to heavy-duty trucks, the kind that often have multiple rear wheels on each side. Going for maximum payload capacity, as with other trucks, does require smaller cabs. Lighter engines, too, which also affects maximum …
Sometimes a mid-size truck just isn’t enough. Especially in places like a construction site, circumstances may require a full-size truck. Setting up a truck for payload may mean giving up some passenger room (smaller cab = more bed room). But, if you’re hauling power tools, gravel, and a few trees, that seems a worthy sacrifice. …
Pickup trucks may have gotten more capable in recent years, but that increase in payload capacity has also come with an increase in size. A mid-size truck, on the other hand, is significantly easier to park and maneuver around a city. And with modern engines and transmissions, they can still haul around plenty of stuff. …
When it comes to off-road motorcycling, whether you prefer massive dirt jumps or scrambling over rocks, there’s a machine for everyone. Set up to handle a variety of obstacles and surfaces, this is an immensely popular motorcycle segment. Honda, which has a significant presence in the world of motocross and two-wheeled dirt riding, recently unveiled …
With the number of miles and the kinds of tasks pickup trucks see on a daily basis, it’s no wonder the market is incredibly competitive. Especially in the heavy-duty segment, where loads are high and consumers demand options such as WiFi and active safety features to keep up with the pace of the workday. At …
Once known as the ‘Standard of the World,’ Cadillac has slowly been re-establishing its reputation as an American luxury icon. These days, it’s easy to poke fun at its land yachts of the past, as well as its confusing naming system and low sales numbers. But if you drive its cars, Cadillac really can be …