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Here's why automakers roll out those Texas-themed pickup trucks

Every year, automakers with a full-size truck link make a big show of the Texas State Fair, usually involving a reveal of a new model. Sometimes they show a whole new truck, and other times a special edition centered on the Lone Star state. While some people might write this off as a quirk of the industry, others might be wondering, "What's the big deal with Texas?" As it turns out, part of the big deal with Texas is big truck sales. According to Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at AutoPacific, Texas buys more trucks than any other state in the country. It's not a small margin either. Edmunds.com, one in five trucks sold in the US are sold in Texas. The state also accounts for 15 percent of the country's large truck sales, which is more than twice that of California, the second largest truck market in America. Even when you break down sales only in Texas, trucks are a huge piece of the pie - Sullivan says that a quarter of new vehicle sales in Texas are trucks. One in five trucks sold in the US are sold in Texas. But it's not just sales that make truck builders give attention to Texas. As Sullivan explained, "Pickups are life in Texas." Both he and Hugh Milne, marketing and advertising manager for the Chevy Silverado line, said that trucks are key fixtures in Texas society, as both work trucks and luxury vehicles (or Texas Cadillacs as Milne called them). Milne said Texas is so important in the truck market that if you want to be successful in the rest of the country, "you've got to be successful in Texas." As for the State Fair, it has become a prime location for reveals in part because of the importance of the Texas market and because of how big the fair is. Milne also revealed that the State Fair also hosts its own auto show, so it's an ideal venue for a vehicle introduction. So there you have it. Why do truck builders obsess over Texas? It's because Texas obsesses over trucks. When you have one market that loves your product that much, you give it the attention it deserves. Related Video: Image Credit: Donovan Reese via Getty Images Auto News Marketing/Advertising Chevrolet Ford RAM Truck f-150 texas state fair

Ram 1500 wins Consumer Reports fullsize truck test

Vehicles that perform well in road tests by some of the most popular automotive publications, such as Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Automobile, don't always score well in in Consumer Reports' more regimented, practical test procedures, so the Ram 1500's climb to the top of CR's scoreboard is a boon for the well-received pickup truck, which CR also put on its "recommended" list.
To start off with, the freshened 2013 Ram 1500 has a lighter, stiffer chassis than before, and the four-wheel-drive Crew Cab that CR bought and tested performed flawlessly and achieved class-leading fuel economy (15 miles per gallon) with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 - the most popular engine choice for the 1500 - and the new eight-speed automatic transmission. The unique-in-its-class rear coil spring setup endowed the truck with "one of the best rides of any pickup," CR reports. That helped it earn its class-leading road-test score of 78, well ahead of the nearest competition still in production, the Toyota Tundra (69) and the Ford F-150 (68). It's worth noting, however, that the Chevrolet Avalanche outscores the 1500 by two points (80), but production of that vehicle ends after the current 2013 model year.
About the only things the publication could find wrong with the truck were a heavy tailgate and a high step up into the cabin. Get ready for the next round later this summer when CR is finished testing the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, which is doing well so far in the publication's tests.

2022 GMC Hummer EV No. 001 at Barrett-Jackson brings $2.5 million

This year's Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., played host to a bunch of the first examples of hot new cars: VIN No. 001 of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV, 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing, 2021 Ford Bronco, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and 2021 Ram 1500 TRX. Every single one of them sold for more than six figures, with all the proceeds of nearly $5 million going to charities, but the big winner was absolutely the Hummer with a hammer price of $2.5 million. The Bronco did nicely, too, with a selling price of $1,075,000. You can see the list of the sale prices from highest to lowest of these first examples below. GMC Hummer EV: $2,500,000 Ford Bronco: $1,075,000 Ford Mustang Mach 1: $500,000 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition: $410,000 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing: $265,000 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing: $165,000 Despite the Hummer going for $2.5 million, it wasn't the most expensive car to cross the block. That honor goes to a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake that was once owned by Carroll Shelby himself. It sold for $5.5 million, the same price it sold for back in 2007. Nearly as pricey as the Hummer was a restored, numbers-matching 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that went for $2,475,000. Related video: