Ford and Chrysler Get Top Honors at Texas Truck Rodeo
SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) hosts its annual Truck Rodeo every year. This year, the Detroit Three came away with a number of awards.
SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) hosts its annual Truck Rodeo every year.
Some of the notable wins include TAWA naming Ford’s F-150 the “Truck of Texas.” Ford also won top honors in seven other categories. TAWA named Ford’s EcoBoost engine technology the best vehicle feature. TAWA also named Ford as having the Truck Line of Texas for the 12th consecutive year.
TAWA named Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee the SUV of Texas. The association named the Dodge Durango the Full-size SUV of Texas. In addition, the association named the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit the Luxury SUV of Texas.
A total of 48 vehicles were entered in the rodeo. The 57 registered members of TAWA evaluated the vehicles. TAWA is one of the largest associations of auto writers in the U.S.
The list of winners is shown below:
Truck of Texas: 2012 Ford F-150.
Truck Line of Texas: 2012 Ford lineup of trucks.
Full-size Pickup Truck: First, 2012 Ford F-150; second, 2012 Ram 1500; third, Chevrolet 1500.
Heavy-Duty Pickup Truck: First, 2012 Ford F-250 King Ranch; second, 2012 Ram 2500 HD Power Wagon; third, 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD.
Mid-size Pickup Truck: First, Nissan Frontier; second, 2012 Toyota Tacoma.
Luxury Pickup Truck: First, 2012 Ford F-150 Platinum; second, 2012 Ram 2500 HD Mega Cab Laramie Longhorn; third, 2012 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD.
Outstanding Feature of Texas: Ford EcoBoost engine technology.
SUV of Texas: Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Mid-size SUV: First, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited; second, Toyota 4Runner; third, Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Full-size SUV: First, Dodge Durango; second, Jeep Grand Cherokee; third, Chevrolet Tahoe.
Compact Vehicle of Texas: Ford Edge.
Compact SUV: First, Nissan Xterra; second, Jeep Compass; third, VW Tiguan.
More Operations

Fleet Has a Talent Pipeline Problem. What Comes Next? | AF News Recap
Where will fleet’s next generation of leaders come from? This week, we’re looking at the industry’s talent pipeline, what certification can add to a fleet career, how to build an award-worthy track record, and the return of Automotive Fleet’s Personal Use Survey.
Read More →
Smith System Launches Driver Risk Management Program
Fleets have more driver data than ever, but identifying risky behavior doesn't necessarily correct it. Smith System's new Driver Risk Management program combines monitoring, training, and follow-up coaching to help fleets connect risk signals with driver intervention.
Read More →
Automotive Fleet Opens 2026 Personal Use Survey for Commercial Fleet Managers
Less than two weeks left! Commercial and corporate fleet managers are invited to share how their organizations handle company vehicle personal-use policies, charges, and driver eligibility.
Read More →
From AI Prompts to AI-Generated Safety Songs | AF News Recap
Can better prompts make AI more useful for fleet managers? This week, we’re breaking down smarter fleet analysis, an AI-assisted experiment that turned safety training into music, and what happened to fuel prices in August.
Read More →
How to Write Better AI Prompts for Fleet Analysis
Include these six elements in your fleet prompts to generate more relevant analysis and accurate answers.
Read More →
Fleet Meets: Eric Kilgore
This edition of the Fleet Meets series features one of the industry's best leaders driving multi-market and national operations.
Read More →
Why Reactive Fleet Management Is Becoming Too Expensive to Sustain
Research highlights a growing need for proactive management strategies to address rising costs in fleet operations effectively.
Read More →
What Your Fleet KPIs Aren’t Telling You
Tracking fleet metrics is only useful when the data leads to better decisions. This guide helps fleet leaders assess cost, utilization, and downtime more accurately, identify performance gaps, and prioritize the actions that can improve operational results.
Read More →
Hidden in Plain Sight: Fleet Compliance Risks
Fleet compliance isn't just about having policies — it's about consistently enforcing them. This practical guide reveals six hidden compliance risks common in public sector and shared fleet operations and outlines proven strategies to improve visibility, accountability, and audit readiness
Read More →
Turning Fleet Payment Data into Executive Insights
Does data alone drive results in operations?
Read More →