Texas is, by far, the biggest and most important pickup market in the nation.
258,729: The number of new full-sized pickup trucks registered in Texas last year. This year, through April: 97,686.
3-1: Ratio by which Texas outsold California, the No. 2 pickup market, in 2012.
16%: Texas' share of overall new pickup registrations in 2012. California's share was 5.8%.
No. 5: Where the Houston metro area would rank this year among pickup markets if it were a separate state. Dallas would be No. 7. Excluding both cities, Texas would still be No. 1.
39%: Ford's share of the Texas pickup market this year through April. GM's brands trail at 34.2%; Chrysler has 18.4%.
Chevrolet launched a grassroots promotional romp through Texas last week, the start of its marketing campaign for the redesigned 2014 Silverado. Chevy's glitzy displays will hit all the well-trodden stops: baseball games, big rodeos, the state fair.
