Andy Kalmowitz/JalopnikThe 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 — in this case, the 2026 Ford Expedition Tremor — on my calendar for a week of testing. If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em, you know? The Expedition is a quintessentially American vehicle, built right in the heart of the U.S., and making it even more American is the fact that it has a bona fide gun locker in the center console. No, it's not an aftermarket add-on. This is a from-the-factory accessory you can order directly from Ford. God bless America.FordTechnically, this isn't a Ford-made part. It's built by a company called "Console Vault," but it is an official licensed partner of the Blue Oval, and it's available as a $360 add-on for every 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 this is a gun safe, but it's difficult to think of what else this would be used for.AdvertisementAdvertisementFull Disclosure:Ford lent me a 2026 Expedition Tremor with a full tank of gas to do with as I pleased for a week.Read more: The Ten Dumbest Automotive Design MistakesFor your stuff and thingsAndy Kalmowitz/JalopnikNowhere on Ford's website — or Console Vault's specific page for the Expedition for that matter — does it mention a gun. However, the rest of the company's website mentions guns-o-plenty. It talks about its in-vehicle safe as being an "in-car gun solution," and there are pictures of guns all over the place in the various cars the company makes kits for. Hell, the user reviews for the vault even show a gun in the console vault. It's the exact shape and size of a small handgun. Yeah, you could put your phone and wallet in there, but the Expedition already has a locking glove box. That's clearly not what the Console Vault is for.While it does cover a slew of automakers, Ford is definitely the most prominent, with available kits for the Bronco, Bronco Sport, Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-Series, Mach-E (lol can you imagine), Maverick, and Ranger. Many of them are also available as accessories on Ford's website.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's certainly fun to dunk on a built-in in-car gun safe as American excess, but I guess I can see how it's a net positive. Hoss and the boys are going to do road rage and crimes regardless. Perhaps it's better if they've got an extra few seconds of having to remember what the code to their gun safe is after holding down the button to the slow-moving electrically sliding center console to move it out of the way. Of course, they're probably going to get even more upset when Blue Cruise starts beeping at them for not paying attention to the road in front of them — something I can really empathize with. Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikAfter all, gun safety is important, even in an $86,000 family hauler. I mean, you could be like Chevy, which, for years, would rather you just put your gun behind the infotainment screen — revealed with the single touch of a button.Those few seconds of having to think about the code could be enough to get the driver to reconsider the goofus-ass decision they're about to make, or that code could be what stops a kid from getting their grubby little hands on a firearm. We're not going to ever be able to take these people's guns away, so we may as well try to find a way to dummy-proof the world around them.Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
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