The all-new, aluminum-intensive 2017 Ford Super Duty was named the Truck of Texas by the Texas Auto Writers Association after a grueling two-day evaluation of every new or heavily refreshed pickup on the market at the 2016 Truck Rodeo. The competition included offerings from Ram, GMC, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.
Automotive journalists from around the country, including your truly, converge in Texas every October for this event that concludes with numerous awards covering everything from crossovers to off-road pickups. The Truck of Texas award is the highest honor and is given to the truck that shows the most improvement in its segment while embodying the spirit of Texas truck culture.
Doug Scott, Ford’s Truck Group Marketing Manager, said, “We are honored to win the ‘Truck of Texas’ award as it underscores how the all-new 2017 Ford Super Duty lineup is the toughest, smartest, and most capable truck we’ve ever built.”
Furthermore, the Super Duty also won the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck segment, beating out the 2017 Ram 2500 Limited and 2017 Ram 2500 Longhorn editions. Ram didn’t leave empty handed, however. The 2017 Power Wagon took home the Off-Road Pickup Truck category, beating out the 2017 Nissan Titan PRO-4X Crew Cab. The category also included the 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X and 2017 Ford F-250 4x4 Crew Cab King Ranch.
Ram also snagged the Luxury Pickup Truck category with its 2017 Ram 1500 Longhorn edition. The Full-Size Pickup Truck category was awarded to the 2017 Nissan Titan Texas Edition SL Crew Cab, with the 2017 F-150 4x4 Supercrew Lariat coming in second.
In total, more than 71 vehicles worth roughly $4 million competed in the Truck Rodeo. Approximately 70 journalists were in attendance. Last year’s winner was the 2016 Nissan Titan XD.
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Why It Matters
Texans love their trucks, so it’s no surprise that winning the Truck of Texas title is a big deal. For an automaker, it means bragging rights for a year and the ability to include the award in advertising. Ford still has the continuing task of educating the public on the 2017 Super Duty’s new features, so the recognition by TAWA will undoubtedly be helpful.
Representatives for Ford were quick to point out the 2017 Super Duty is the first full redesign of the pickup since its model’s introduction for 1999. Technically, the 2017 model begins the Super Duty’s fourth generation, but not one part besides some powertrain components carry over unchanged. The truck rides on a new, fully boxed high-strength steel frame and now shares its cab section with the F-150. And like the F-150, its skin is made from lightweight aluminum.
Powertrain changes center around the 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel. It retains the basic architecture from last year, but it now includes upgrades that push horsepower to 440 and torque to a class-leading 925 pound-feet. The engine comes backed by the familiar TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission. The 6.2-liter V-8 gas engine is the standard mill for the Super Duty. It continues to offer 385 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. It shares the TorqShift transmission in all but the F-250, which gets the TorqShift G six-speed auto.
Ford has kept pricing competitive in the heavy duty segment. The base F-250 starts at $32,535. The popular crew cab configuration matched with the volume-leading XLT trim level starts at $41,235. Of course, prices can get hefty when checking every box. The F-450 in the Platinum trim starts at $77,125 and can grow past $85,000 with all the available options.
Read our full review of the 2017 Ford Super Duty here.