GM Trucks Didn't Win Any Category At Texas Truck Rodeo - Why?

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
10-13-2016

At this year's Texas Auto Writer's Association Truck Rodeo, GM trucks didn't win a single category. In many contests like this GM does quite well, so why didn't GM win anything? Because to win, you have to attend.

 

The TAWA truck Rodeo is a two-day on and off-road testing event. Over 70 media professionals fly in and drive in from all points on the compass. Despite its name, TAWA accepts members from all over the world and has active members from as far away as Ohio and New Hampshire. These journalists travel to the event at their own expense because they are able to test over 80 trucks, crossovers, and SUVs in one place at one time. The manufacturers like the event because they can get 70-plus writers into the vehicles they bring during the event, which generates an enormous amount of press. This year, Buick, Cadillac and Chevy all skipped the event entirely. GMC sent two trucks, the Canyon Denali and the Sierra HD All-Terrain X.

 

Contrast this with Toyota, which had three of its just announced Tacoma TRD Pro Tacaomas on hand. That may be all of the 2017 TRD Pro Tacomas in existence. Jeep sent every trim of multiple different models. Ford had a huge fleet at the event.

 

So our story has two observations. First, don't put too much faith in vehicle awards. For all you know, the vehicle you favor may not have been considered in the contest. Second, something is up at GM if they opted not to send vehicles to a truck testing event like this. The return on investment is huge. Here is the full list of winners by category:

 

The 2017 award categories and winning vehicles were:

Truck of Texas: 2017 Ford Super Duty

SUV of Texas: 2017 Nissan Armada

CUV of Texas: 2017 Volvo XC90

Truck line of Texas: Ford Motor Co.

Heavy duty pickup truck: 2017 Ford Super Duty

Best commercial vehicle: 2017 Nissan Titan XD Single Cab

Luxury pickup truck: 2017 RAM 1500

Off-road pickup: 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon

Full-size pickup: 2017 Nissan Titan

Midsize pickup: 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

Best technology: Honda In-bed audio system

Best connectivity: FCA Uconnect Access

Best powertrain: 2017 Ford F-150 with 3.5 EcoBoost V-6 engine

Off-road utility vehicle: 2017 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Full-size luxury SUV: 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS

Mid-size luxury SUV: 2017 Jaguar F-Pace

Full-size SUV: 2017 Nissan Armada

Mid-size SUV: 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Compact SUV: 2017 Jeep Cherokee

Full-size CUV: 2016 Mazda CX-9

Mid-size CUV: 2016 Nissan Murano

Compact CUV: 2016 Jeep Renegade

Luxury CUV: 2017 Volvo XC90

 

Author note: The author is not a member of TAWA. Two members who attended were interviewed to obtain the facts in this story.

[O_J_Simpson]

Exactly what category did you expect GM to win? Don't get me wrong. GM makes a great truck but it is an older design in need of interior and technology refreshments. The front end enhancements for 2016 did not do the GM twins any favors. Beside the headlight updates, it has not been too big of a hit on the sales floor over the 2015 look. Not like a really care about awards anyways.

[Gorehamj]

Setting aside the pickup trucks, the Cadillac XT5 and Buick Envision are both entirely new vehicles that might have take their category. Both are in important, high-profit, medium volume categories in need of some positive press. Chevy might also have won with its all-new Equinox. The current Equinox has seen sales drop by half, and a win may have put the new vehicle in the spotlight for some buyers. That is the single largest non-pickup category in terms of sales in America. Had GM brought out their newest vehicles they may have had a good showing. The Escalade may have beaten the Mercedes in its category. Lots of fans of that vehicle in the Texas area given its local roots.

[Colossus]

Eh. Texas truck rodeo... whoopie. *Yawn* Oh wait! You are serious! This show actually means something!?

[MikeNH]

Honestly why is this even a surprise? The "of the year" stuff pretty much exclusively goes to stuff that is new, regardless of how good it may be. It's a worthless award that just lets the automakers flaunt something in a key market.

 

 

And to prove my point- Nissan Murano as best midsize CUV? Did they not drive anything else? Nissan CVTs are absolute trash, this cannot be debated. They use them solely for fuel economy and the driving experience is terrible because of it. Some aspects of the GM trucks are dated but there are still plenty of areas where GM trucks are best in class.

[barry G]

my dad and I just today, checking out the whited ford lot, as seen from I-395, bangor maine... king ranch, the 6.7L powerstroke ford (impressive).. and ended up at varney GMC , hogan road..also bangor maine.

he signed a lease for a 2016, brand new. 5.3L, the old 4x4 lever on the floor.

 

I am in my 40s, started off in the 1970s realm of trucks.

I have had a bit of everything..

even a 400 pontiac in chevy 1 ton flatbed (bad idea)

 

The ford really does deserve heavy duty awards..the framing is impressive. the new lifter and big think on the powerstoke is going to permeate the planet as a standard to catch,

When it came time to come down to earth and a dirt driveway in your own yard..

 

the gmc will be found 20 years from now.

 

it may have a patch from a harbor freight welder, the beds need to stay perfect to keep the frame.

the divorced water pump won't be squeaking to an alternator or a/c change...

 

change.

maybe that is the keyword. Change only what you have to...

 

Someone had to be bigger than another , glad it is happening. I do not believe ford, gm or dodge have ever been this split off into their own personas.

I love it.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Exactly what category did you expect GM to win? Don't get me wrong. GM makes a great truck but it is an older design in need of interior and technology refreshments. The front end enhancements for 2016 did not do the GM twins any favors. Beside the headlight updates, it has not been too big of a hit on the sales floor over the 2015 look. Not like a really care about awards anyways.

The post below yours makes some excellent points, but he dropped one: the current Equinox proves you don't have to have a vehicle that is new is any way except Model Year, or great in any quality, to get huge sales. It's so old it's not nearly the best at anything(outside of the 3.6, but they don't sell many of those), and couldn't hope to be. I test drove one before we bought the CX5 and my brain nearly melted down trying to figure out how they sell as many as they do, I was actually ready to buy it before we drove it. Im not saying it's the worst choice, but It does NOT have: the most room, the best warranty, the lowest cost of ownership, the best tech, the best interior materials quality, the best efficiency, the best resale value(not even close) and the 4 cylinder ride quality and NVH was rough on a 1 year old model we drove. But they sold them in crazy amounts. You can't even blame rental sales, that's what the Captiva was for.

 

Another example was the last gen Civic. It was a extremely cautious evolution of its previous model, and while it's sales dropped enough Honda rushed the next one, it still was in the top of sales charts.