There’s a state flag, a state bird and, believe it or not, a state folk dance (square dancing outshines the chicken dance, surprisingly). So, what about a state truck? Well, the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) has named the 2012 Ford F-150 the Truck of Texas!

At the 2011 TAWA Truck Rodeo, not only did the F-150 nab the top award, but Ford also grabbed the title Best Vehicle Feature, thanks to the EcoBoost® engine technology, while Crossover of Texas and Best Midsize CUV of Texas went to the 2012 Edge. In fact, Ford trucks were named Truck Line of Texas, making that the 12th consecutive year for that nod. Honors also went to the 2012 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty for Heavy-Duty Pickup Truck and the 2012 F-10 SVT Raptor for Full-Size Pickup Truck. And don’t mistakenly think that Texans only like their trucks down and dirty; the 2012 F-150 Platinum EcoBoost was named Luxury Pickup Truck.

“Texan consumers put their trust in TAWA’s automotive journalists. After lining up vehicles from major auto manufacturers, our members determined Ford simply had the best trucks and crossover,” said Mike Herzing, president of TAWA. “But the real winners here are Texas’ truck buyers. Ford delivers the trucks that fit their lifestyles.”

A total of 48 vehicles were entered in the rodeo and evaluated by the 57 registered TAWA members. TAWA is one of the largest associations of auto writers in the U.S.

And it’s not just Texas that loves the EcoBoost – engine sales have accounted for more than 40 percent of F-150 retail sales volume each of the past six months. Additionally, F-150s with EcoBoost had their best-ever sales month in September. The V6 engines continue to outsell V8s among F-150s, with the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost and 3.7-liter V6 engines representing 57 percent of F-150 retail sales in September.

Can we get a yeehaw?!