powered by BCT Publishing
Automotive Traveler Magazine: Vol 2 Iss 1 Page 100

Although the event has moved locations through the years, it's been held recently at the Knibbe Ranch north of San Antonio. The ranch offers a great, real-world preview of the kind of life a pickup truck will live in Texas.

Sure, it's set up to accommodate corporate events, but its network of dusty ranch roads, creek crossings, steep and rocky 4x4 trails, slippery river rocks, and curious cattle perfectly showcase the type of hunting, camping, and ranching terrain that most trucks will encounter here.

On my early-morning pre-run of the trail network, I scared up several whitetail deer plus a few axis deer. Others reported seeing normally skittish wild turkeys cruise through the ranch. Bordered on one side by the Guadalupe River, it's a real gem of a property.

But you want to know about the winners, right? Even for this event, it was a very Texas-centric year. The 2011 Ram Laramie Longhorn edition pickup won the Truck of Texas title.

Festooned as it is with rodeo belt-buckle imagery, western filigree detailing, and enough interior leather to make about 57 pairs of cowboy boots, the Laramie Longhorn edition seemed custom made for this event.

But don't let the surface detail fool you. Underneath, the Ram pickup has made tremendous strides over the last several years. The ride and handling are superior, the engines are powerful, and nobody needs to make excuses for the interior any longer.

On the SUV front, it shouldn't come as much of a shock that the Jeep Grand Cherokee won the SUV of Texas category. Jeep has done an outstanding job reinventing the venerable SUV, and its interior (especially the Overland model) and suspension have vaulted to world-class status.

A newcomer snuck in and took the Crossover of Texas (CUV) prize. Nissan's aggressively styled Juke earned fans with its combination of low price, sporty turbo zing, and normal/sport/eco settings that actually seemed to affect the personality of the vehicle.

Ford has won many trophies at this event over the years, and this year took home the Truck Line of Texas award, which celebrates a manufacturer's entire line-up. Ford also secured the Outstanding Feature award for MyFord Touch, the Blue Oval's latest driver-connect technology.

There are other regional motor press associations across the country, each with their own driving events and awards, so TAWA is not unique in this regard. Yet being named "Truck of Texas" carries consider- able weight, considering the gigantic market share that pickup trucks command in Texas.

Within seconds of the vote tally, Kimberly Shults, communications manager for Chrysler's Southwest Region, was tapping out messages at light speed, sending the good news to HQ. Within hours, the press releases were heading to media outlets. Dodge dealers will doubtless be incorporating the Truck of Texas angle into their advertising campaigns in coming months.

Looks like some stereotypes still have value in our hypersensitive world. Yee-ha, y'all.

×