Hey, no worries, mate. As long as men feel the need to compensate for certain “inadequacies”, there will be someone marketing a vehicle designed to take a man’s mind off his shortcomings.
Last year, International Truck unveiled the CXT, the largest non-commercial truck on the market. If you think the Hummer H2 is a nightmare, well, the CXT dwarfs that bad boy (and yes, it WOULD look good in my driveway). Of course, with a price of between $93,000-$115,000, it’s not the sort of thing that just anyone will be able to drive home.
International never imagined that there would be much of a demand for something that started life as a cement truck, but the CXT has been far more in demand than anyone could have reasonably anticipated.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - So you want a monster pickup, something that towers over SUVs and the Hummer H2 — something that lets you see eye-to-eye with the driver of an 18-wheeler.
But your garage won’t hold a nine-foot tall pickup that began life as a cement mixer, and your paycheck can’t handle the circa six-figure price tag.
Relax.
International Truck, the unit of Navistar (Research) that debuted the CXT pickup last year, unveiled its slightly smaller, cheaper sibling Thursday — the RXT.
The CXT gave conspicuous consumption a new set of wheels last year, and ended up being far more popular than even International Truck had hoped.
The company said it expected to sell about 50 of the trucks, and instead has already taken orders for about 200 since the first deliveries in September.
It’s now hoping to sell between 500 and 1,000 by the end of 2005. The CXT starts at $93,000 and can cost as much as $115,000 with all the creature comforts a driver would expect in a six-figure vehicle, even one built on a platform originally used for dump trucks and cement mixers….
The RXT, due to be available this fall, is built on a platform formerly used by beverage delivery trucks and tow trucks. Both the CXT and RXT are the same 258 inches, or 21.5 feet, long, (only a couple of inches longer than Ford’s F-350 Crew Cab), but the RXT is only eight feet tall.
And the RXT’s price is expected to be in the $70,000 to $90,000 range, for the monster pickup shopper on a budget.
Mileage estimates are not yet available for the RXT, but don’t expect a big improvement from the 7 to 10 miles per gallon the CXT is getting. And all these trucks are diesel only, although a 70 gallon tank should allow drivers go longer between fill ups than drivers of many compact cars.
So there you have it; something that can fit everyone’s budget, right? Well, not quite, but it’s a bit more affordable than the CXT.
Some of y’all might find the estimated 7-10 MPG to be criminal, and you might have an argument, but keep in mind that Americans don’t buy Urban Assault Vehicles for their fuel efficiency. These things are big enough that NO ONE will be able to claim that they cut you off because they couldn’t see you.
If you have an issue with the size of the fuel (in)efficiency of the CXT or the RXT, there is a very simple solution. Don’t buy one. Run out and buy your Prius and feel better about yourself. Just try to keep in mind that this is a free country, so if people like me want to drive something the size of a road grader and can afford the maintenace, gas, and insurance, we should be able to do so. Don’t hate me for thinking bigger is better- especially here in Texas, where vehicles are as much offensive weapons as they are transportation.
Damn, these would sure look good in my driveway….
