Truck of Texas is 2013 Ram 1500; Ram Brand is Truck Line of Texas

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chrysler has, for the second time in three years, proven that it may have the potential to be a giant killer in the truck market.  More than 50 automotive journalists – members of the Texas Auto Writers Association – have named the Ram 1500 pickup truck as the Truck of Texas, and, in what was seen as something of an upset, named the Ram lineup (1500, 2500, 3500) as the Truck Line of Texas.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee was again the Sport Utility Vehicle of Texas.  A perennial winner in the category, it was represented by both the luxury Overland Summit and Trailhawk editions. 

In a very crowded field, the Buick Enclave was judged Crossover Utility Vehicle of Texas.  The popular seven-passenger vehicle captured enough points to win an enormously competitive category.

Participating vehicle makers include Audi, Buick, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz; Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and VW.  Many races were very close this year with less than 10 points separating a winner from second place.

"All vehicles entered into the annual competition were 2013 models, and are in this annual shootout at a time when they are just getting delivered to dealer showrooms," said Linda Water Nelson , sport vehicle editor for Texas Fish & Game magazine and its blog, editorial director of INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks and contributor to other print and online sites.

Individual category winners were:

SUVs -- Full-Size: Jeep Grand Cherokee; Mid-Size: Jeep Wrangler; Compact: Ford Escape; Full-Size Luxury: Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit: Mid-Size Luxury: Ford Explorer Sport

Crossovers – Full-Size: GMC Acadia; Full-Size Luxury: Buick Enclave; Mid-Size: GMC Terrain; Mid-Size Luxury: Cadillac SRX; Compact: Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

Pickup trucks – Full-Size: Ram 1500; Luxury: Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn; Heavy-duty: Ford F-250 Super Duty; Off-road: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

"Next year's competition will again be held at the Knibbe Ranch which boasts challenging off-road courses and access to roads and highways so everything gets a real workout.  I suspect there will undoubtedly be a major pickup grudge match between Ram and Ford.  GM will have new 2014 Silverado and GMC trucks; and there is strong word of new 2014 San Antonio-built Tundra. SUV and Crossover categories will again be very hot.  I can't wait," said the auto journalist.

Contact:
Linda Nelson
901-326-7887
waternelso@aol.com

SOURCE INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks