Ford to Stop Production of the Excursion (the BIG SUV)

[Roland99]

Saw on the local news this morning that KTP (Kentucky Truck Plant) will be laying off about 250 workers as Ford stops production of the big-ass Excursion by the end of this year.

Sales were 50,000 in 2000; 20,000 in 2004; and only 7,500 this year.


I remember the first time I saw one of those. I had pulled into a Kroger parking lot and I parked right in front of one. It was like pulling up to a semi.

[Swamp Rat]

1. Now it will be a permanently parked SUV.

:)

[alphafemale]

2. There are SUV's that are built from the frame of a semi.

I think they are mostly novelty items though.

[lectrobyte]

6. You mean this thing? I'm sure there won't be too many on the road...

Insanity. 14,500 lb curb weight. That's over 5 of the cars I drive now, maybe I better put in an order for one now just to be safe.

[lectrobyte]

7. This is the URL in case you think you need one. It's not a joke

either. Well, it is kind of a sick joke... I mean, it's a real web site from a real semi-truck company etc., not a spoof site like the Onion, although the copy reads like it.

http://www.navistar.com/site_layout/xtfamily/cxt.asp

[alphafemale]

8. I think the price is out reach for most people.

I think they are mostly intended as a promotional item.
Promoting what exactly...I'm not sure.

And I can't see how it would be legal (or safe) for just anyone to operate one of those things without a commercial driver's license.

[lectrobyte]

9. Yeah, I'm sure it's way over 100K $ for one of those, it's just the

ridiculousness of it all. I imagine they will sell a few though in Texas at least.

[mikeytherat]

3. Once, I had to drive one of these beasts...

and it was an experience! I could not see the edge of the road from the driver's seat, and I'm 6'3"! I noted that Ford had gotten much better at making the vehicle body and chassis seem like they were actually connected, but there was still absolutely NO road feel. And even with the 6.8 liter Triton V-10, the accelerator was more like a thermostat -- set it and wait.

I only had to drive it 50 miles for my bro-in-law, and was more than happy to give it back to him; it was like driving a school bus.

mikey_the_rat

[Spinzonner]

4. So, he didn't get it with the Afterburner option ?

[mikeytherat]

5. He's an independent car dealer

and I had to drive to the lot. He hates the damn things, too (he didn't want to drive it, he got me to do it)!

mikey_the_rat

[DS1]

10. Wow, I have trouble driving even a Chevy Blazer because compared

to my little sporty car, the wind blows them ALL over the place. It's crazy.