The Texas automotive press gathered once again at the Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth to evaluate the latest cars and decide which ones are best. The annual TAWA Texas Auto Roundup is like an auto show where you can drive the display models — and put them through their paces on the road and racetrack.
This year, the competition was particularly tough, and the voting amongst the journalists particularly close.
Mercedes-Benz and their performance division AMG brought multiple-time champion driving ace Tommy Kendall to take passengers on scorching quick laps in the super exclusive Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 Coupe Black Series (Tommy also happens to personally own one), but it wasn't quite enough to take the supercar title away from the sexy 2013 SRT Viper GTS Coupe, making its much-awaited return to production.
But it's not all about supercars, of course. The Ford Fusion took home the prize for Family Car of Texas and Mid-size Car of Texas, and the Cadillac ATS won the Performance Sedan category.
A great addition this year was a fully-functioning electric car charge station by eVgo, to support the growing number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles like the 2013 Ford C-Max, Smart Electric Drive and Chevrolet Volt.
Here is the full breakdown of the Texas Auto Roundup voting results:
Sub-Compact Car
2013 Fiat 500 Turbo - the tamer version of the ridiculously cool 500 Abarth we named our 2012 Hot Hatch of the Year
Compact Car
2013 Buick Verano Turbo
Performance Compact
2013 Scion FR-S - which we named our 2012 Performance Car of the Year and fully featured on CultureMap
Mid-Size Car
2013 Ford Fusion Titanium - the Hybrid version we named 2012 Smart Energy Car of the Year
Full-Size Car
2014 Chevrolet Impala
Mid-Size Luxury Car
2013 Lexus GS 350 F Sport
Full-Size Luxury Car
2013 Cadillac XTS Platinum Collection AWD
Performance Coupe
2013 Dodge Challenger SRT 392
Performance Sedan
2013 Cadillac ATS - our pick for 2012 CultureMap Car of the Year
Minivan
2013 Chrysler Town & Country Limited
Activity Vehicle
2013 Dodge Journey Crew
Performance Utility
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT
Supercar
2013 SRT Viper GTS Coupe
Green Vehicle
2013 Chevrolet Volt
Best New Feature
Ford: Hands-Free Lift Gate
Best New Interior
2013 Chrysler 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition
Best Value
2013 Ford Focus ST
Family Car of Texas
2013 Ford Fusion
Car of Texas
SRT Viper GTS Coupe
The new beer garden will be similar to Katy Beer Garden.
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