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Ford F-Series Super Duty earns Truck of Texas award

Texans love their pickup trucks, which you already knew. That means the Texas Auto Writers Association and its "Truck of Texas" award is a big deal. And the latest trophy goes to the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. The pickup truck managed to snag TAWA's award at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. The award marks the 13th time Ford's F-Series has been named the pickup king of the Lone Star State. Roughly 70 journalists converged outside at the Longhorn River Ranch, just outside of Austin, TX, for the 23rd annual Texas Truck Rodeo where a host of Ford's vehicles won awards. In addition to the F-Series Super Duty being named the "Truck of Texas," the 2017 Ford Super Duty won the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck award, while the 2017 Ford F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine won the Best Powertrain award. The journalists also awarded Ford for having the "Truck Line of Texas." Ford wasn't the only winner at the Texas Truck Rodeo, as Nissan brought home five awards, including one for the 2017 Titan in the fullsize pickup category and one for the Armada in the SUV segment. Ram also won a few accolades with its trucks. The 2017 Ram 1500 won for being the most luxurious pickup truck, while the 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon won the off-road pickup truck award. Last year, TAWA named the 2016 Nissan Titan XD the Truck of Texas, but Ford's all-new F-Series Super Duty managed to keep the Japanese automaker's full-size offering at bay. For the 2017 model, Ford placed aluminum body panels into the F-Series Super Duty's body, which not only shed weight, but also make the truck stronger. Scroll down to see the entire list of TAWA's winners from the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. 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.

WWII Jeep 'found in crate' set to cross Greenwich auction block

Fans of old military vehicles might want to pay extra close attention to the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance coming up this weekend. Crossing the Bonhams auction block on Sunday are a pair of seemingly flawless World War II Jeeps, which are both expected to fetch serious dollars.
Lot Number 305 at the auction is a 1945 Ford GPW Jeep that has been fully restored, which is expected to command between $35,000 and $45,000. Shortly after the Ford GPW, a potentially more interesting 1944 Willys MB (shown above) will be auctioned off, but Hemmings raises some red flags about this Jeep. First, it is claiming to have been "discovered in its original crate about 30 years ago," but there is no proof or documentation of any sort. Also, it is claiming to be all original, but it was given a paint job "shortly after it was discovered." Even with these questionable descriptions, this Willys could reach between $20,000 and $30,000. Head over to Bonhams' site and Hemmings for more information on both WW2-era Jeeps.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.