Posted 2/10/2005 05:51:00 PM by Douglas

Let's say, for whatever reason, you're in the market for a giant SUV. Maybe you need it to pull up tree stumps, or maybe you need it because your health plan doesn't cover Enzyte. Or maybe you're just tired of all those carbon bonds in that crude oil sitting around gettin' cocky, and you want to do something to contribute to the eventual heat death of the universe. Whatever your reason, if you're shopping around for a really big SUV, you need to start with something that makes the H2 look like a Tonka. Something like this.

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 that debuted the CXT pickup last year, unveiled its slightly smaller, cheaper sibling Thursday -- the RXT.

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.

I guess the RXT is the women's version? If you're going to go with the biggest damn thing on the road you don't need a commercial license to drive, why would you want the smaller version of the biggest damn thing on the road? Go all out and treat yourself right!

Because let's face it: What's the point of buying a new SUV these days if it doesn't have vertical smoke stacks?