2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, Trail Edition get more off-road goodness
Standing taller
There’s no shortage of off-road focused Toyota Tacoma trims, and two of them are getting even more capability. The 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Tacoma Trail Edition each feature a number of updates that make them more ready for dirt and rocks than before.
The TRD Pro is the ultimate Tacoma off-roader, and its updates come with the suspension. The suspension lift has increased by about half an inch over last year. Compared with a regular Tacoma, it sits 1.5 inches higher up front and half an inch higher at the back. It also gets special forged-aluminum upper control arms at the front to keep the suspension geometry correct with the increased suspension travel. The added height improves approach, breakover and depature angles, which are 36.4, 26.6 and 24.7 degrees respectively. The TRD Pro naturally gets some carryover upgrades, too, such as custom skid plates, Fox 2.5-inch internal bypass shocks, a cat-back exhaust and LED headlights and fog lights.
Besides suspension changes, the TRD Pro also gets some appearance changes. Most prominent is this year’s exclusive color, Electric Lime Metallic (though less eye-searing hues are available, including Super White, Magnetic Gray and Midnight Black). It has new hood graphics, badging and new TRD Pro stampings in the bed sides. Newly designed black wheels are also included and wrapped in all-terrain tires.
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Ford is reportedly working on a twin-turbo 7.3-liter ‘Godzilla’ V8
Don’t expect it to appear outside of a Super Duty truck… yet
The V8 may be a dying breed, but Ford is reportedly doubling down on its 7.3-liter “Godzilla” truck engine with a new, twin-turbocharged (Get it? Doubling?) prototype being tested in its Super Duty pickups.
In its most basic, likely highly under-stressed form, Ford’s big workhorse V8 makes a respectable 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. With two snails bolted to it, well, there’s going to be some serious headroom, especially in the torque department. Thanks to its iron block, it should be able to handle a ton of twist down low — perhaps even enough to push emissions-troubled diesel models into the periphery of the heavy-duty pickup market.
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Ford Maverick name confirmed, and its reveal is just days away
We’ve talked about the Maverick for months, and now Ford’s talking about it too
Maverick is official, Ford announced Thursday. The nameplate will return on a compact pickup — the very same one we’ve seen repeatedly in the wild over the course of the past year — and we’ll get to see it officially revealed in a matter of days. Ford included a pair of teaser photos of the truck’s celebrity ambassador, Gabrielle Union.