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Staff WriterMore articles: Trucks

Thom Taylor

Thom Taylor is a celebrated automotive journalist. He was awarded the Top 100 Most Influential People in Hot Rodding from Hot Rod Magazine, and was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame and the National Rod and Custom Hall of Fame. He’s a member of SEMA and the NHRA.

Thom has authored a number of books, including Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle and several guides for drawing vehicles like a pro, which pull from his distinguished ventures as an automotive illustrator.

Thom joined the MotorBiscuit team in 2019, and focuses his coverage on new vehicle releases, design, and the latest features and tech in the industry. His tenure of 25 years writing about the industry gives him a unique context for the auto news he covers, whether it’s part of the Rusty Monday series or the latest news from Chevy. Thom has built two complete cars from the ground up and driven vintage roadsters at the Indy 500.

3,669 posts From Author
2020 Nissan TITAN PRO-4X pickup truck parked on sandy road
Trucks & SUVs

Nissan Electric Pickups In Development

On the eve of Tesla’s electric pickup debut, Nissan has said it, too, will join in on the truck electrification parade. “Electrification will be key to trucks,” says Francois Bailly, head of Nissan’s Light Commercial Vehicles business. “Electric is fun to drive, it’s fantastic torque, acceleration, quietness, all that is great.”  Speaking at a press …
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Buying a Pickup Truck
Trucks & SUVs

Why Would You Buy A Lifestyle Pickup?

We used to call them “windshield cowboys.” You know, the type that looked like he or she was more comfortable driving a lifted 4 x 4 than riding a horse. In fact, they looked like they had never been on a horse. They’re called lifestyle pickups now. Former Mexico President Vicente Fox once said it …
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Ugly silverado pickups-002
Trucks & SUVs

UGLY: Those New Silverado Front Ends

The hate for Chevy’s Silverado and 2500 pickups over its front end design just doesn’t seem to stop. We’re over one year into the new design that GM had to get right, and it didn’t. How can this happen? Which part, the design or the hate? We’ll look into both. All of GM is killing …
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2016 Chevy truck advertising | GM
Trucks & SUVs

Switch To Aluminum Bodies Killed F-150 Sales-Not!

Remember when Ford switched to aluminum bodies for the best-selling vehicle in America? The F-150 pickup truck outsells every vehicle in the US. Many said Ford was sabotaging its cash cow, and that it was the beginning of the end of the F-150’s reign as the number one.  To say Ford took a risk when …
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futuristic trucks
Trucks & SUVs

Why Aren’t Trucks Built Like Cars?

It’s weird that pickup trucks aren’t built like cars. Most cars today are unibody. That means the body is engineered as one structure, without a frame. Trucks are built the way all vehicles used to be built, with a separate body on a frame. The thinking is that a body-on-frame truck is far superior to …
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GM Hamtramck Assembly Plant
Trucks & SUVs

All-Electric Sierra and Escalade Ready For 2023

GM has just announced four different electric pickups and vans will be built at its storied Hamtramck assembly plant in Poletown Detroit. They include an electric GMC Sierra pickup truck and Cadillac Escalade SUV. Production at Hamtramck will begin in 2021. Located in Detroit’s “Poletown” Polish community, Hamtramck was slated to stop vehicle assembly this …
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1939-Plymouth-Radial-Air-Truck-at-Jay-Leno-Garage-0
Trucks & SUVs

“Plymouth Radial Air” Pickup Smokes Leno’s Garage

Sometimes you do things because you can. When you’ve got a 1939 Plymouth pickup and a Jacobs seven-cylinder radial engine from a Cessna airplane sitting in the same wrecking yard, you do a mashup. Right?  Gary Corns has a Denver wrecking yard that’s been around since the 1950s. Wrecking yards accumulate all kinds of hunks …
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Bronco-Blazer-001
Trucks & SUVs

Bronco vs Blazer: First Gen SUV Shootout

The Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer are two of the most iconic vehicles each manufacturer has ever built. They represent the first effort to replicate the Jeep in their own interpretation. The Bronco vs Blazer battle continues today. Here’s how they match up. Except for drivetrain, the Bronco was a completely unique vehicle within Ford’s …
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GM Quadrasteer Pickup Trucks | GM-00
Trucks & SUVs

GM Quadrasteer: The Great Invention No One Wanted

Many don’t know that back in the early 2000s you could buy a Chevy or GMC pickup with four-wheel steering. Called “Quadrasteer” it was a $5,600 option that vastly aided maneuverability. The GM Quadrasteer system cut the turning radius down from 47-feet to 37-feet. That’s the turning radius of a Honda Accord. For a 20-foot-long …
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1989 Chevy PPG XT-2 Concept | PPG-00
Trucks & SUVs

Is Hyundai Santa Cruz A Tease Like Chevy XT-2?

Hearing how Hyundai seems so much closer to producing its Santa Cruz car/truck reminiscent of the Chevy El Camino/Ford Ranchero pickups of decades ago, we are reminded of when we were Camino-teased in the past. How concepts like the 1998 Chevy XT-2 meant Chevy was building more than exercises, it was signaling it saw a …
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A black and white photo of a Chevy S10 parked on the street.
Trucks & SUVs

I Need A Really Cheap Work Truck. What Can I Get?

So, you’ve decided you need a “beater” work truck. Something cheap and functional, but also presentable. How cheap can you go for the best pickup truck out there? Let’s establish some parameters and then dive into four random Craigslist cities to see what we can get. For a truck to be a cheap work truck …
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Chevy Suburban National Vehicle of Texas
Trucks & SUVs

Chevy Petitions Suburban Be “National Vehicle of Texas”

We’re not making this up. Chevy has launched a petition on change.org to make the Suburban the national vehicle of Texas. Celebrating 85 years of manufacturing the ubiquitous truck, Chevy wants to play up the Suburban’s Texas connections.  Those connections include being manufactured at the Arlington Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas. Of the top 10 …
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Ford Accessories F-150 Lariat Crew Cab with Black Appearance Package
Trucks & SUVs

I’ve Got $16,000 For An F-150 Pickup. What Can I Get?

I’ve only got $16,000 and want America’s best-selling pickup; a Ford F-150. What will $16,000 get me?  We took four random cities; Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, and Richmond, VA, and scoured each city’s Craigslist to get an idea of what is available. Condition, mileage, engines, and options all play a part in the decision. However, …
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Neuron EV Startup | Neuron-00
Trucks & SUVs

Neuron Is An EV Truck Startup With Cool Renderings

There are more all-electric pickup trucks coming. Neuron EV is a start-up EV manufacturer located in Irvine, California. It recently revealed both a futuristic-looking electric pickup truck dubbed T/ONE and also an electric semi-truck called TORQ. Both have a family resemblance, somewhat like the Tesla semi-truck The T/ONE looks like it could be built into …
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Fiat-Chrysler Tornado Engine | Mopar Insider
Trucks & SUVs

Future Straight-Six Engine Is Big Ram and Jeep News

Fiat-Chrysler is developing a straight-six cylinder engine for Jeep and Ram to replace the Hemi V8. That’s news in itself but there is a lot more going on. The rumor of a straight-six popped up on Allpar a few years ago. It is confirmed by various patents applied for as discovered by Mopar Insiders, and …
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Trucks & SUVs

Nissan’s 70% Profit Plunge Spotlights Old Pickups

News about Nissan keeps getting worse. Nissan just reported a 70% plunge in profit so far this quarter. The Japanese manufacturer says it is seeing more sales in the US but overall sales and profit are way down. Global sales fell 7.5% in the third quarter and overall income dropped by more than half to …
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Rivian R1T
Trucks & SUVs

The Rivian Vs Tesla Pickup Truck Wars

In the electric truck wars, there are currently only two players; Tesla and Rivian. Oh sure, there are others, but none with the cred of these two companies. Or as much to lose. Neither has produced anything, but right now Rivian has the advantage because it has shown its hand.  In just a few days …
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2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Z71 driving on country road
Trucks & SUVs

NBC Tests 2020 Silverado 2500: Good and Bad

While 2019 was the first year for the all-new Silverado 1500 Chevy chose to wait to apply the all-new platform to its heavy-duty 2500 series. For 2020 the 2500 shares its lighter sibling’s architecture, so it’s all-new. Unfortunately, according to NBC who tested it, the Silverado 2500 is not up to its competitor’s pickups. Let’s …
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2019 Toyota Tacoma Sport
Trucks & SUVs

2020 Tacoma Wins “Top Safety Pick” Rating

Even as it nears the end of its 15-year production run the 2020 Toyota Tacoma midsize pickup truck still wins accolades. This time it’s the IIHS “Top Safety Pick” award. This is only the third time a pickup truck has been given the rating. With its new-for-2020 LED headlights the upgrade has now moved it …
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A row of trucks for sale at a dealership.
Trucks & SUVs

Economy Comparison: Full-Size Pickup Trucks

If you want good gas mileage don’t buy a pickup truck. That said, just because you want one doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for the best economy numbers for the type of truck you’re interested in purchasing. But pickup mileage has a ton of variables because there are different bodies and engines, because of so many different …
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