Ford's new F-150 snags a welcome honor.
The Ford F-150 scooped up the first of what the company’s executives hope will be several awards over the weekend as it was named Truck of Texas at the 2014 Texas Auto Writers Association Truck Rodeo.
That’s particularly good news for Ford considering the growing concerns about whether the maker can pull off a smooth launch for the “aluminum-intensive” remake of what has long been the country’s best-selling motor vehicle.
Ford actually got a triple-dose of good news from the Lone Star State’s automotive scribes who named the 2015 Lincoln MKC the crossover of Texas, while Ford also was named the Truck Line of Texas. But the Detroit carmaker couldn’t pull off a clean sweep, the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee capturing the SUV of Texas title for the fifth straight year.
“This is a significant honor, one of the three big ones along with the Motor Trend and North American Truck of the year awards,” noted Doug Scott, the executive in charge of Ford’s truck marketing effort.
(Mazda2 named Japanese Car of the Year. Click Here for that story.)
The Jeep Grand Cherokee won Texas SUV of the Year honors for the fifth consecutive time.
Winning the Texas trophies is more than just a pat on the corporate back. Texas is the single largest truck market in the U.S., which makes the annual awards a big win for any manufacturer – and particularly for domestics Ford, General Motors and the Chrysler Group, which depend on trucks for the lion’s share of their profits.
Winning the Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) title was the 2015 Honda CR-V Touring; the 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium was named the Midsize CUV; the 2015 Kia Sedona SX was named Full-size CUV of the Year and the 2015 Lincoln MKC was named Luxury CUV.
Also taking home TAWA honors was the 2015 Ford Transit, named Commercial Vehicle of Texas.
Nine of the last twelve Truck of Texas honorees have been Ford F-Series Trucks.
(Green Truck of the Year finalists announced. Click Here for the list.)
The 2015 F-150 has drawn an enormous amount of attention because Ford engineers have reduced its weight by as much as 700 pounds by switching from a traditional steel body to one made almost entirely out of high-strength, military-grade aluminum alloy. While Ford has yet to release specific numbers, the new pickup also is expected to yield significant improvements in fuel economy.
Honda's CR-V was named Compact Crossover of the Year by Texas autowriters.
But Ford’s shift doesn’t guarantee it success. In fact, the maker’s stock has been hammered lately, at least in part due to concerns about potential snags in the roll-out of the new F-150. Ford has said the launch is on target – but it has also stressed that quality will trump speed as it ramps up production in the coming months.
Ford wasn’t the only automaker heading home with an armful of trophies. The Jeep brand won all five categories entered.
“We are extremely delighted and proud that for the fifth consecutive year, the respected and influential Texas auto writers have named the Jeep Grand Cherokee the SUV of Texas,” said Mike Manley, President and CEO of the Jeep Brand.
“With Jeep sales up 45% so far this year, Texas remains a tremendously important SUV market,” Manley added. “Over the past five years, we’ve proven that winning these TAWA awards increases Jeep showroom traffic and sales,” he added.
(Click Here to see the semi-finalists for North American Car and Truck of the Year.)
Chrysler’s Ram brand also had reason to celebrate, its 2015 Ram 2500 and Ram Power Wagon earnings honors, while the maker’s 3.0-liter EcoDiesel was named the Best Powertrain and its U-Connect system was honored for offering the best connectivity.