News & Politics - Truck maker unveils a monster pickup

JW77 · 09-18-2004, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Navistar's 14,500-pound vehicle gets 7 miles a gallon

The Associated Press
Updated: 12:18 p.m. ET Sept. 17, 2004

DALLAS - This one could make the Hummer look like a girlie car.

International Truck and Engine Corp. is producing what it calls the world's biggest production pickup, a 14,500-pound monster capable of towing 20 tons.

"It's a super head-turner," said Ken Wallace, an International dealer in Fort Myers, Fla., who has been driving one for about two weeks. "Other motorists hang out of their cars to take pictures of it."

But does anybody really need a vehicle that is nine feet tall, eight feet wide, 21 1/2 feet long and gets about seven miles on a gallon of diesel?

Rob Swim, International's marketing director, said the 5-passenger CXT will appeal to image-conscious contractors, roofers, landscapers and other small-business owners who can use the towing power but also want to draw attention to themselves.

"This truck is for businesses that want to make a bold statement," Swim said. "It's for business people that want to promote as much as perform."

International, the operating division of Warrenville, Ill.-based Navistar International Corp., makes the CXT at its Garland plant. The mayor and many of the plant's 700 employees attended an official CXT unveiling Thursday, although the truck has been in production for several weeks.

International makes about 85,000 commercial vehicles a year, from dump trucks to school buses. But it hasn't made a full-size pickup since the 1970s.

From the front, the CXT looks identical to International's other heavy trucks. International added a pickup bed to its truck chassis and dressed up the cab. One interior package includes leather seats, wood grain trim, a drop-down DVD player, satellite radio and a rear-mounted camera.

But without question, the most noteworthy thing about the CXT is its size. It weighs nearly twice as much as the Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup and is more than two feet taller. It dwarfs full-size sport-utility vehicles.

International says the CXT is the heaviest production pickup out there and boasts the most towing capacity. It comes with all-wheel drive, air brakes, a 70-gallon fuel tank and a bed that tilts back like a dump truck.

The price is also big — $93,000, but options can boost that to $115,000. Some other large pickups cost under $30,000.

Company officials say they expect to sell nearly 100 this year and 500 next year.

Swim said the company isn't marketing the CXT as a consumer vehicle, although he added that drivers don't need a commercial license to get behind the wheel.

"Anybody can lease a Hummer now for $500 a month. Soccer moms are driving them," he said. "This is not a soccer mom's vehicle."

I'm Not Your Boy Toy · 09-22-2004, 12:11 AM

my morning show was talkin about this last week. i guess they were doin some sort of testing near the detroit area? i dont anticipate this bein a big seller especially with gas/diesal prices bein so high. who knows ive been wrong before

i hate those people who drive hummers around the block and are afraid to get it dirty. the thing can climb mountains people it isnt to go to the grocery store and back!

alli balli · 09-22-2004, 01:34 AM

That's so ****ing ridiculous.

I hate Hummers, and this is even worse.

WalkingOnSunshine · 09-22-2004, 02:20 AM

I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal the other day. The promo pic of the truck looks like a semi truck! Should be interesting to see how it retails. I suppose those that want it and the money to spare for it don't mind. High gas prices aren't going to keep people away. I know I got an SUV last winter when prices for gas were high but the incentives at the dealerships for SUVS outweighed that. My dad recently bought a Hummer over the summer and they were knocking thousands of dollars off the orginial price. In regards to this mini mack truck lol, I think if the incentives are enough - you might just see soccer moms errr dads in them.

Katis · 09-22-2004, 12:49 PM

Why? God, why? I hate Hummers and people who drive them. You do not need a flipping Hummer if you live in a metropolitan area, you don't need one unless you are in a war or something. Who cares if you have 50 kids? Get a minivan! Ugh, I hate Hummers and SUVs, hate them. Grrr. I'm going to egg these things when I see them.

mh67511 · 09-22-2004, 05:15 PM

What scares me is if one of those things lost control and crashed into...forget it, you're done for!

capesidefan · 09-22-2004, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mh67511
What scares me is if one of those things lost control and crashed into...forget it, you're done for!

For sure, it would just run over and crush a low riding car....... I talked to a nurse about this, in oregon state they wanted to raise the speed limit for trucks to 70 miles per hour, they see a lot of people from crashes in ER, and said it wouldn't be pretty from they see now, compared to if they raised it...

Couldn't imagine how much of a gas guzzler this car will be....

WalkingOnSunshine · 09-26-2004, 02:10 AM

Picture of the model CXT:

Hmmm...

**Evie** · 09-26-2004, 12:34 PM

Jeez, that's ridiculous.


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