Stacy94PGT

Ford plans Texas football tie-in
It'll sponsor high school player awards

BY MICHAEL ELLIS

DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

It's no secret that Texans love football and love their pickup trucks.

With that in mind, Ford Motor Co. plans to announce tonight that it will sponsor the Texas high school football player of the week awards.

With General Motors Corp. on the brink of revealing its new full-size pickups and Toyota Motor Corp. about to begin production at a new San Antonio truck plant, Ford is emphasizing its own ties to the large and loyal Texas truck market.

"Nearly one out of every five F-Series trucks we build is sold in Texas, so it's important for us to keep giving back to the community, as we have for more than 100 years," said David Mondragon, Ford General Manager for Texas.

Ford has the best-selling line of pickup trucks in the state -- selling about 180,000 a year -- but GM and Toyota are readying new threats to lure away buyers.

GM will unveil its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups on Wednesday at its proving grounds in Milford. They'll go on sale this fall.

Toyota is becoming a bigger threat to U.S. dominance of the pickup market. Also, it owns the naming rights to the Houston Rockets pro basketball team's home court.

But high school football in Texas is extremely popular -- as seen in the movie "Friday Night Lights." On any given autumn Friday, about one in 15 Texans is involved in a game.

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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.

My next Ford.....