There’s only so much binge-watching you can do to alleviate boredom. This F-150 owner tried something different – and way more fun.
There’s a good chance you’ve been spending a lot of time indoors lately. Perhaps you’ve been watching “Tiger King” (in simultaneous states of fascination and horror), perfecting your banana bread recipe or practicing on the new ukulele you bought in hopes of staving off boredom. However you’ve been passing the seemingly endless hours at home, you probably relish the time you’re on the road, even if you just spend it going to the grocery store and back. One Ford F-150 owner recently made the most of their time outside of the house by turning a massive puddle into a one-person waterpark.
Back in the 1990s, Ford made a monochromatic version of the Ranger that it called the “Splash.” Consider this customized 2019 F-150 a sort of spiritual successor to that.
It belongs to an Instagram user who goes by the name of John Cue (and the screenname djjohncue). Like many Ford truck owners, he had it modified. Now Cue’s rig rides on a six-inch lift and a set of aftermarket wheels wrapped in 35-inch tires.
With that kind of setup, Cue can clear a lot of different obstacles – chunks of rock, tree stumps, Smart cars, etc. Standing water is no match for Cue’s hoss hauler. That doesn’t stop him from attacking a lake-sized puddle in a parking lot at full force, though. For good reason, no one’s parked in it, leaving it ripe for wet and wild action.
Cue charges into it, sending up a cinema-quality bow wave, which we get to savor and watch expand in slow motion. The further Cue goes into nature’s surprisingly entertaining gift, the more it looks as if he’s turned his truck into a fountain on four wheels.
The water goes so high that from a certain angle, it’s impossible to see Cue’s F-150. But we don’t have to see it to wager that he’s probably smiling. Even if he isn’t, he sure as hell isn’t bored.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
