This highly sought after award is extremely important to the automotive industry, since Texans account for the largest percentage of truck buyers in North America. With these statistics in mind, the 2008 Texas Truck Rodeo featured 55 vehicles and drew over 80 industry representatives.
Texas Ford Motors was also named the Truck Line of Texas, while the Ford Flex and Ford Expedition King Ranch received top honors as Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) and SUV of Texas, respectively. Sweeping all four vehicle-centered top honors, Ford emerged the clear winner at this year’s TAWA Texas Truck Rodeo.
“This is high praise, especially the coveted ‘Truck of Texas’ top prize,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas. “Texas Auto Writers are the toughest truck critics because they know firsthand and truly appreciate how core truck customers really use their pickups. We’re honored that TAWA recognizes that the new F-150 offers consumers class-leading capability, unsurpassed fuel economy, and durability that shows how closely we’ve been listening to our customers for the 31 years Ford trucks have been America’s favorite,” he added.
Harold Gunn, President of TAWA, said this year’s competition was tighter than ever because all of the manufacturers are delivering outstanding trucks. ‘The Truck of Texas is really the most important award of its type in the industry,” said Gunn. “We love trucks down here, and we really use these vehicles every day. And since we spend so much time in our vehicles, for us it’s not just about how the horse feels being towed, but how your butt feels sitting in the truck, too.”
On sale now, the new F-150 offers improved fuel economy as a result of engineering enhancements. The fuel economy gains reach as high as 12 percent versus the prior model year on F-150 models equipped with the high-volume three-valve, 5.4-liter V-8 engine. At the same time, the new F-150 delivers class-leading towing capability of 11,300 pounds and hauling capacity of 3,030 pounds.
Best Luxury Pickup: 2009 Ford F-150 King Ranch
Best Full-Size CUV: 2009 Ford Flex
Best Mid-Size CUV: 2009 Mazda CX9
Best Luxury CUV: 2009 Lincoln MKX
Best Mid-Size SUV: 2009 Ford Explorer
Best Heavy Duty Pickup: 2009 Ford F-350 Super Duty Cabela’s Edition
Full-size Pickup Truck – 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie 4X4
Mid-size Pickup Truck – 2009 Toyota Tacoma D-Cab 4X4
Full-size Sport Utility Vehicle – 2009 GMC 2WD Yukon Hybrid
Compact Sport Utility Vehicle – 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara Xsport
Full-size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle – 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
Mid-size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle – 2009 Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC
Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle – 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5X
Awarded outstanding feature or innovation was the 2009 Dodge Ram Box.
TAWA will present the Truck of Texas and other manufacturer’s awards at their Truck Rodeo Awards Banquet Friday, November 14 at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas. For more information about the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) please visit www.texasautowriters.org .
Jo Ann Holt is a journalist and car writer and a member of Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) who admits she’s still black and blue from all the off-road driving last weekend.
