Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.
People who drive regular-sized cars, and who already feel overwhelmed by the presence of supersized sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, should prepare to have their road anxiety stoked even more. USA Today reports that International, the heavy-truck company, is starting to market the world's largest production pickup. International's CXT (the acronym for commercial extreme truck) is twice as heavy, 2 feet taller and 4 1/2 feet longer than a Hummer -- and that's saying something. There won't be a huge number produced its first year -- as many as 60 -- but International is geared up to build thousands if the megatruck becomes popular. Public acceptance of this pickup truck would seem to be tough. The price is steep -- $105,000 for a fully equipped model with leather seats and DVD player. Fuel mileage isn't great either -- between 6 to 10 mpg. Neverthel ess, price and poor fuel mileage, while recently dampening some of the enthusiasm for other pickup trucks and for larger-si! zed SUVs, hasn't resulted in their demise. So it wouldn't shock us if the CXT becomes the trendy pickup truck for the affluent to buy -- even if it won't fit in a garage.
It is a shame, in an age where we're becoming more dependent on foreign sources of oil, that such fuel-guzzling behemoths get even larger. It's also troubling from a safety vantage point since these higher-profile vehicles can cause considerably more damage in accidents. But as long as the ego is such that says bigger is better, and the federal government takes a hands-off approach in the design of SUVs and pickup trucks, we will needlessly waste fuel and put more motorists at risk.
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