Everything Is Bigger In Texas, Including Its Automotive Press Awards

The Texas Auto Writers Association said Tuesday that the new, diesel-powered Nissan Titan XD was the 2015 Texas Truck of the Year and the Ford F-Series won Truck Line of Texas, alongside 22 other awards in a bi-annual affair held on non-consecutive Sundays until an eventual winner is crowned after a round-robin, double-elimination playoff.

The award for the Titan XD is the first for the truck, which will go on sale in December. Texas auto writers awarded the Ram 2500 with best heavy-duty pickup, Ram 1500 Rebel as the best full-size pickup and the new Toyota Tacoma as the best mid-size pickup.

According to the association, 69 writers voted on 24 awards.

Volvo’s XC90 won best luxury crossover and was awarded CUV of Texas.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles netted the most awards by any automaker with eight total awards including best mid-size SUV for the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel.

The Titan XD won best luxury pickup and best off-roading pickup, albeit in two different trims.

The Texas Auto Writers Association will meet again in March to hand out 19 more awards.

Hi all,

I’m sorry, but I need to say something about this.

There was a time when the TAWA Truck Rodeo was almost respectable. Now? TAWA has completely lost the plot when it comes to testing and awarding automakers for their efforts.

How is it that an organization with 69 voting members at an event can come up with 24 different awards?

Well, a lot of it comes down to many of those award segments only having two or three competitors.

Specifically, four categories — Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicles, Compact Luxury Sport Utility Vehicles, Mid-Size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicles and Off-Road Utility Vehicles — had only two competitors. For these, you could have easily given the award based on a coin flip.

An additional six categories — Full-Size Crossover Utility Vehicles, Compact Sport Utility Vehicles, Full-Size Sport Utility Vehicles, Full-Size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicles, Mid-Size Pickup Trucks and Heavy Duty Pickup Trucks — had just three competitors.

Not only that, but there are three awards that literally nobody will use to make a purchasing decision: Best Powertrain Award, Best Technology Award and Best Connectivity Award.

And Truck Line of Texas? How could this tidbit of information ever be used when making a purchasing decision?

What’s missing? Nothing about the most capable truck, nor one that’s best for towing, hauling, or just getting work done. Instead, the Truck Rodeo is now nothing but an exercise in bestowing automakers with jewelry they can later advertise over regional and national radio and television.

Not to take anything away from Nissan and their fine, fine, fine pickup — but Texas, you can do better than this.

— Mark