Polish up your Ford pride – Ford has been named the “Truck of Texas” by the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) for the seventh consecutive time.

Additionally, F-150 SVT Raptor was named best “Full-size Pickup Truck.” But wait, that’s not all, folks! Ford trucks also took the “Truck Line of Texas,” a distinguished honor recognizing the best-in-class capability and durability of Ford’s lineup, and “Outstanding Feature,” for Ford Work Solutions,™ a suite of productivity technologies developed for the commercial truck owner. In total, Ford won eight of 18 awards, including Lincoln MKX as “Mid-size CUV,” Ford Flex as “Full-size CUV,” Ford F-150 King Ranch^® as “Luxury Pick-up Truck” and Ford Expedition as “Full-size SUV.”

“Winning the ‘Truck of Texas’ is a distinct honor,” said Mark Fields, President, The Americas, Ford Motor Company. “Texans know their trucks, and this award is further proof of why the F-Series remains America’s number-one-selling pickup. We built F-150 SVT Raptor for truck enthusiasts. And we’re gratified it’s gaining recognition for both its unequaled off-road performance and confidence-inspiring on-road demeanor.”

Ford F-150 delivers class-leading towing capability of 11,300 pounds and hauling capacity of 3,030 pounds – a combination no other competitor can match.

With the launch of the all-new 2009 model, the truck improved its fuel economy by an average of 8 percent across the entire lineup, thanks to a wide range of engineering enhancements. The fuel economy gains reach as high as 12 percent versus the prior model year on F-150 models equipped with the high-volume three-valve, 5.4-liter V8 engine. Plus, the F-150’s SFE package – which is available on highest-volume XL and XLT series – delivers fuel economy of 15 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, EPA estimated.

Ford F-150 is also leading market-share . Ford F-Series market-share for September was 40.6 percent, outselling the Chevrolet Silverado by more than 14,000 units and outselling the Silverado and GMC Sierra combined by more than 7,000 units. Overall, F-150 leads by more than 66,000 units versus the industry. Calendar year-to-date F-Series share of 35.6 percent is up almost 5 percentage points year over year. With those numbers in the books, Ford F-Series is three-quarters of the way to becoming America’s best-selling truck for the 33rd consecutive year and America’s best-selling vehicle for the 28th consecutive year.

This summer, Ford introduced the 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor, designed as a purpose-built, high-speed off-road truck ready for adventure. Raptor also is versatile enough to handle the daily commute. To test the capability and durability of Raptor, Ford took a modified preproduction Raptor to the grueling 41st Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in November 2008. The early-build Raptor not only survived Baja, it earned a podium finish in its class.

Key enablers to the Raptor’s impressive performance are functional design cues and impressive suspension technology. The Raptor is seven inches wider than a base F-150 to make room for the additional suspension components that give Raptor its off-road abilities. The wider stance also gives the truck an aggressive appearance.

Internal triple-bypass shocks by FOX Racing Shox – the first on a production truck – provide position-sensitive damping and extra suspension travel for extreme off-roading and a smooth ride on the road. In addition to the shocks, Raptor has unique cast-aluminum front control arms and SVT-tuned 35-inch BFGoodrich^® All-Terrain TA/KO 315/70-17 tires. These components give Raptor 11.2 inches of front suspension travel and 12.1 inches of rear suspension travel.

The F-150 SVT Raptor comes standard with the proven 5.4-liter SOHC V8 engine that produces up to 320 horsepower and 390 lbs.-ft. of torque. In early 2010 customers will have the option of an even more powerful new 6.2-liter V8 engine.

Customer anticipation has been extremely high, with 3,000 orders already received for the 5.4-liter F-150 SVT Raptor. In fact, initial dealer orders have the Dearborn Truck Plant building Raptors at maximum capacity, reflecting the strong demand for the first-ever factory high-speed off-road truck.

Ford Work Solutions offers an in-dash computer that connects with the home office; Tool Link which keeps track of costly tools and equipment; Cable Lock, which locks up tools in the open truck box; and Crew Chief,™ a telematics system, that gives the fleet manager more control of his/her fleet of vehicles.

We make it easy for you to share this story with your friends; simply click on the “share this” method of your choice at the top right corner of this page. You can also click here to sign up for updates from Ford Motor Company, and click here to add an RSS feed to your regular home page.