The U.S. has been celebrating its 250th birthday all summer long, and thus, it has been celebrating all things American. And while I’ve got my qualms with our dear country, even I got in on the celebrating. It’s why I put a 5,700-pound seven-seat truck-based SUV — on this case, the 2026 Ford Expedition Tremor — on my calendar for per week of testing. If ya cannot beat ’em, join ’em, ?
The Expedition is a quintessentially American vehicle, built right in the center of the U.S., and making it much more American is the incontrovertible fact that it has a bona fide gun locker in the middle console. No, it is not an aftermarket add-on. It is a from-the-factory accessory you’ll be able to order directly from Ford. God bless America.
Ford
Technically, this is not a Ford-made part. It’s built by an organization called “Console Vault,” however it is an official licensed partner of the Blue Oval, and it’s available as a $360 add-on for each trim of the Expedition… unless you get one with a black roof for whatever reason. It specifically says that on Ford’s configurator. In any case, Console Vault doesn’t explicitly say it is a gun protected, however it’s difficult to consider what else this is able to be used for.
Full Disclosure: Ford lent me a 2026 Expedition Tremor with a full tank of gas to do with as I pleased for per week.
To your stuff and things
Nowhere on Ford’s website — or Console Vault’s specific page for the Expedition for that matter — does it mention a gun. Nevertheless, the remaining of the corporate’s website mentions guns-o-plenty. It talks about its in-vehicle protected as being an “in-car gun solution,” and there are pictures of guns everywhere in the assorted cars the corporate makes kits for. Hell, the user reviews for the vault even show a gun in the console vault. It’s the precise shape and size of a small handgun. Yeah, you could possibly put your phone and wallet in there, however the Expedition already has a locking glove box. That is clearly not what the Console Vault is for.
While it does cover a slew of automakers, Ford is certainly essentially the most outstanding, with available kits for the Bronco, Bronco Sport, Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-Series, Mach-E (lol are you able to imagine), Maverick, and Ranger. A lot of them are also available as accessories on Ford’s website.
It’s definitely fun to dunk on a built-in in-car gun protected as American excess, but I suppose I can see the way it’s a net positive. Hoss and the boys are going to do road rage and crimes regardless. Perhaps it’s higher in the event that they’ve got an additional few seconds of getting to recollect what the code to their gun protected is after holding down the button to the slow-moving electrically sliding center console to maneuver it out of the best way. In fact, they’re probably going to get much more upset when Blue Cruise starts beeping at them for not taking note of the road in front of them — something I can really empathize with.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
In any case, gun safety is vital, even in an $86,000 family hauler. I mean, you could possibly be like Chevy, which, for years, would fairly you only put your gun behind the infotainment screen — revealed with the only touch of a button.
Those few seconds of getting to think concerning the code could possibly be enough to get the driving force to reconsider the goofus-ass decision they’re about to make, or that code could possibly be what stops a child from getting their grubby little hands on a firearm. We’re not going to ever give you the option to take these people’s guns away, so we may as well try to seek out a method to dummy-proof the world around them.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
