Yes, "Texas Edition" is a thing. But it does not mean that the truck was built in Texas. It is a special edition market-specific trim offered in, you guessed it, Texas. And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense to provide a special edition truck in Texas. After all, Texas has consistently been the largest market for trucks in the United States. How big is it? Think 1 in 6 full-size trucks sold in America are done so in Texas. The days of full-size pickup trucks could be numbered though, as America is getting
too woke for big pickup trucks.
Almost everyone does it. Not only do most American carmakers have a Texas Edition truck in its lineup, but some Japanese carmakers offer them in their pickups, too. Some prime examples of this option are Chevrolet Silverado Texas Edition; Dodge Ram 1500 Lone Star, 2500 Big Horn, and Laramie Longhorn editions; Ford F-150 and F-250 King Ranch models; and Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition. The Texas Edition isn't a standardized trim for trucks; each manufacturer has its own interpretation of what goes in a Texas Edition variant of its trucks.
Read more: The Best-Looking Pickup Trucks Ever Sold, According To Our Readers
The Usual Suspects
Texans love their trucks and for good reason. Texas is known as cattle country and is filled with ranchers and cowboys. It is also home to some of the biggest ranches in the United States. To get work done, you need a truck, and Texans sure do appreciate the practicality, ruggedness, performance, and towing capabilities that a full-size truck has to offer. There is also a definitive truck hierarchy. Not to forget, a fully loaded full-size truck is considered a status symbol in Texas. Texas edition trucks are often decked out, top-of-the-line models, but some carmakers pass off base model trucks with a few Texas-specific bells and whistles, as well. These special edition trucks typically have a few things in common, though.
For starters, a Texas Edition truck has lots of chrome. These manifest in the form of chrome bumpers, grilles, door handles, and mirror caps. The trucks usually get chrome wheels, often 20-inch ones. Then come the interiors. The keyword here is comfort, where your truck has to feel more like a daily driver than a workhorse. You likely get lots of leather inside (it's Texas after all), ventilated and powered seats, and special edition badges. There are practical bits, as well, like dual zone climate control to combat Texas's sweltering heat, power sliding rear windows, a bed liner, and bundled trailer/towing packages that include a trailering hitch, wiring connections, trailer guidance, and integrated trailer brake controller.
A Badge That Saves You Money
It's a bit of marketing genius. While Texas is a huge market for trucks, it is also a highly competitive one. To make their trucks more appealing, carmakers bundle the most popular in Texas trim options and features into a single truck, slap a Texas-specific badge onto it, and voila, you have a Texas Edition truck ready to go. Having a personalized truck that celebrates your region is a good way to increase its appeal and drive sales. Lest we forget, there is a certain joy in daily driving a bigass truck.
The genius lies in the way it's packaged. Instead of getting the order for a truck from the dealer, along with a ticked-out list of add-on trims and features and taking the time-consuming route to making each personalized truck, carmakers offer a personalized truck out of the box. A standardized package turns out to be cheaper to make. If a truck is tailor-made to a specific list of trims and packages from the factory, it saves the carmaker both time and money. It works for you, as well. Sometimes these savings are passed down to customers in the form of discounts or rebates. Also, these special edition trucks offer better resale values than standard variants. So the next time you see a Texas Edition truck, think of the marketing genius behind it, the carefully curated strategy that bundles the most popular features into a cheaper package, and adds on a shiny badge that's loved by all.
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