Ford trucks are the top choice at the 2007 Texas Auto Writers Truck Rodeo

Just recently, reports have come out that Ford trucks and crossover have once again gain recognition as it earned gold at the 2007 Texas Auto Writers Truck Rodeo.

Ford vehicles such as the Lincoln, Mercury and the Ford Harley-Davidson F-250 Super Duty, which was dubbed as "Truck of Texas" and best Heavy Duty Pickup Truck, were given special honors.

"It is a tremendous honor to have the Texas Auto Writers Association recognize a Ford F-Series truck as 'Truck of Texas' for a fifth straight year and a Super Duty for the last three years," said Mike Crowley, Ford truck and SUV group marketing manager. "It's clear that Ford F-Series trucks are king in Texas."

For Harold Gunn, president of Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA), this award is very significant since Texas is known to be the largest truck market. "We use trucks a lot, and we drive a lot of miles in them, and it's clear that Ford 'gets' that," said Gunn.

As one of the largest associations of auto writers in the U.S, TAWA was able to attract 66 vehicles in the rodeo and be judged by 48 registered TAWA media.

Meanwhile, the Lincoln Mark LT was awarded as the best Luxury Pickup Truck while the Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD being the Compact Sport Utility class. The Ford Edge, on the other hand, won in TAWA’s classes for Compact Utility Crossover and the Lincoln MKX won their classes for Luxury Crossover Utility.

Aside from the vehicle themselves, Ford innovations were also recognized in the event. These are the tailgate step on the F-250 and the Ford SYNC, which is the voice-activated, hands-free, in-car connectivity system for mobile phones and digital media players.

Winners were judged on a course specifically designed for suspension testing, at the Oak Hill M/X Raceway in Decatur, Texas.

"We were going over hills, moguls, ruts, washboards, everything you could come across in regular truck driving," said Gunn. "You should be pretty happy with how you did."

Source: http://www.carbuyersnotebook.com/archives/2007/11/ford_trucks_take_gold_at.htm