BOULDER, Colo. — There's not much more American than the pickup truck, and a group of Boulder friends have built a career reviewing them for millions of people online.
You're in good company this week with TFL Studios, which stands for "The Fast Lane."
Founder Roman Mica has taken a lifelong passion and turned it into a business. He and his pals are the go-to guys for everything automotive.
"We've got seven YouTube channels," Mica said. "About 15 million people per month watch our videos. And we have four websites, two podcasts, a TikTok channel. And so it's just always — it's like shoot, edit, publish, rinse, repeat."
Their contents consists of car, truck, and off-road vehicle news and opinions.
They were reviewing a 2021 Ford Bronco and Ram TRX pickup truck the day Denver7 was there.
"This truck is everything we hoped it would be. I think it's lived up to all the hype," Mica said about the Bronco.
And he and his team cover everything in between.
"I think it's fair to say that I've driven every new truck and car that's been introduced in America in the last ten years," Mica said.
Their following has given them so much clout in the automotive industry, they're now invited to test drives nationwide.
"People no longer get their information from Car and Driver [magazine] or the local newspaper, right?" he said. "They get it from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, right?"
They put vehicles through the ringer, challenging their towing and off-road capabilities in Colorado's abundant terrain.
"One of the things that we think that our job is is kinda — hold their feet to the fire," Mica said about the car manufacturers. "You say it's good off-road? Well, we're going to find out. And, we're going to do it in Colorado fashion."
Their towing test is called the "Ike Gauntlet."
"We run a truck loaded from Silverthorne up to the Eisenhower Tunnel, and we measure how long it takes to get to the top doing the speed limit," he said.
They also test the braking capacity on the downhill side.
Their reviews don't always appeal to the automakers, and that's OK with them because in the end, their audience is you and other car enthusiasts who just want to know what they're getting into.
"So, this review that we just did with the TRX and the Bronco — those are the most popular cars in America," Mica said. "So, those are videos that hopefully enthusiasts will watch."
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