2021 Ram 1500 Lassos Top Honor as 'Truck of Texas' for Third Consecutive Year and 2021 Dodge Durango Crowned 'SUV of Texas' by the Texas Auto Writers Association

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

• FCA brands take highest honors at Texas Truck Rodeo
• 2021 Ram 1500 wins top award as Truck of Texas for the third consecutive year, plus Full-Size Pickup Truck of Texas, Luxury Pickup Truck of Texas and Off-Road Pickup Truck of Texas
• 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat wins top award as SUV of Texas, as well as Full-Size SUV of Texas honors; Dodge Durango has won Full-size SUV of Texas six times in the past eight years
• 2021 Jeep® Wrangler wins Off-Road SUV of Texas for 11th consecutive year
• 2021 Jeep Gladiator wins Mid-Size Pickup Truck of Texas for second consecutive year
• 2020 Ram 2500 wins Heavy Duty Pickup Truck of Texas and Best Towing Technology with the Ram Heavy Duty 360-degree Surround View Camera
• Best Infotainment award presented to Uconnect featured in the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX and 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
• Best Powertrain awarded to the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® V-8 featured in the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX and 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
• FCA brands take home the most awards of any manufacturer at the annual competition

The 2021 Ram 1500 earned top honors for the third consecutive year as the Truck of Texas at the annual Texas Truck Rodeo, hosted by the Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA). The Ram 1500 also won Full-size Pickup Truck, Luxury Pickup Truck of Texas and Off-road Pickup Truck. The 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat won the top SUV award, crowned the SUV of Texas, as well as Full-size SUV of Texas – this is the sixth time the Durango has won the Full-size SUV category in the past eight years. For the 11th consecutive year, Jeep® Wrangler won Off-Road SUV of Texas, and Jeep Gladiator won Mid-size Pickup Truck of Texas for a second consecutive year. Collectively, FCA brands secured the most awards of any manufacturer at the event.

"The Ram, Dodge and Jeep brands from FCA impressed our TAWA members with an exceptional product lineup at the Texas Truck Rodeo," said Kristin Shaw, TAWA president. "The 702-hp 2021 Ram 1500 TRX thrilled our members with incredible performance both off-road and on-road at the event; it crawled over the articulation obstacles with ease. And what's not to love about the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat? With 710 horsepower, AWD, quicker 0-60 times than most sport cars, and 8,700 pounds of towing capability, the three-row Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat delivers unmatched performance that allows you to bring your entire family along for a roaring-fun ride."

This year's Rodeo had extensive COVID-19 safety protocols in place, including limited number of media, mask-wearing requirements, social distancing, outdoor meetings and meals, and vehicles disinfected between test drives. TAWA also invested significant time and effort in a new off-road course where the lineup of FCA vehicles particularly excelled.

Twenty-seven Texas auto writers attended the event. Members cast their votes after conducting both on- and off-road vehicle evaluations. Consideration is given to everything from exterior/interior styling and off-road capability to the entrant's overall utility, value and performance.

Ram, Dodge and Jeep vehicles with top honors include: 

Ram Brand
Truck of Texas: 2021 Ram 1500
Full-size Pickup Truck of Texas: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX
Heavy Duty Pickup Truck of Texas: 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie Night Edition
Luxury Pickup Truck of Texas: 2021 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 10th Anniversary Edition
Off-Road Pickup Truck of Texas: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX
Best Powertrain: supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8
Best Towing Technology: Ram Heavy Duty 360-degree Surround View Camera
Best Infotainment: Uconnect

Dodge Brand
SUV of Texas: 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
Full-Size SUV of Texas: 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
Best Powertrain: supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI Hellcat V-8
Best Infotainment: Uconnect

Jeep Brand
Off-Road SUV of Texas: 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Mid-size Pickup Truck of Texas: 2021 Jeep Gladiator Mojave

TAWA
The Texas Auto Writers Association, Inc. was founded in 1985 by automotive journalists who wanted to provide an avenue of professional growth, development and networking. These professionals sought to create an automotive event that was unique to Texas and the result was the TAWA Truck Rodeo. Since 1992, Truck Rodeos have been held in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury and Spring Branch, and now Dripping Springs. In 2003, TAWA created an event for sedans, sports cars, and other vehicles not eligible for the Truck Rodeo. The Texas Auto Roundup, as the event is called today, is also held annually. For more information, visit www.texasautowriters.org.

FCA
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automaker that designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of exciting brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep®, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people around the globe. For more details regarding FCA (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA), please visit www.fcagroup.com. 

For more information, please visit the FCA media site at http://media.fcanorthamerica.com.

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SOURCE FCA