A round up of brief pickup, SUV and automotive news items of note from the week ending March 13, 2026. ICE wastes millions on ICE-branded vehicles + more.
We see a lot of news stories cross our desks in the course of a week. Not all of them are big enough to warrant a full writeup by your tireless Pickup Truck+SUV Talk staff, so we’re bringing you this weekly round up of all the little stories we thought you might want to know about.
ICE Move, Genius
Madison Sheahan, the former No. 2 at ICE, made a bit of a “whoopsie” before she quit the job (which she had held for less than a year…) to run for Congress — she dropped a few million on highly distinctive, heavily branded ICE vehicles. And ICE? Well, ICE refuse to use the damn things, seeing as the “secret” part of your “secret police” formula usually implies that you don’t drive around in a car marked “Secret Police Here!”
Word is she only wasted a teensy-tiny ~$3 million or so on this boondoggle — positively cheap in the grand scheme of government waste! Still, we’re sure that, given the opportunity (say, if she’s actually elected to Congress) she can scale this kind of insightful decision-making up to where she’ll waste billions.
Some 2026 Hyundai Palisade Sales Halted, Recall Incoming
Hyundai released an urgent bulletin announcing a stop to sales of 2026 Hyundai Palisade Limited and Calligraphy trims in the U.S. and Canada due to an issue with the second and third-row power seats. The short version is they don’t register the presence of people when they should, thus failing to engage the proper safety features. There’s an official recall in the works with the NHTSA; in the meantime, Hyundai is encouraging people to be aware of the issue and take precautions.
America Is No. 1 … In Driving Fatalities
Data shows that almost 40,000 Americans died in traffic-related fatalities in 2024, which is about twice the per-capita death rate of peer nations like Israel, South Korea, and Australia. Apparently, we’re so much of an outlier that the organization that collects and distributes that data offers datasets with and without the US, so as not to skew the averages for everyone else. It’s not all bad, we suppose — it’s nice to find a category that America still tops in this day and age. We’re number one! USA! WOOO!
Destination Fees Continue to Climb
You know the drill — you’re eyeing up the surprisingly low (but still expensive) sticker on that new truck, itching to bring it home, but then you remember not only are you going to have to add a bunch of upgrades and options that’ll drive up the price, but there’s always that mysterious (and obnoxious!) “destination fee” they tack on for the privilege of actually allowing you to spend $40K on a new truck. And if you thought, “Gee, these seem to be getting larger by the day!” you aren’t imagining things. A recent report shows the fees are up to record highs, with many approaching $3000!
Spare Tire Deployment System Kickstarts
If you’ve ever found yourself on the side of the road with a flat tire, swearing, sweating, and wrestling with a spare that doesn’t want to come out of the tiny, cramped compartment it’s been wedged into since the last time this happened, this may be the answer to your prayers. A Kickstarter campaign has launched that aims to release a convenient, push-button solution to the problem.
The post PUTT News Extra: Secret Police Waste Millions on Branded Trucks appeared first on Pickup Truck +SUV Talk.
