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2001 Detroit Show: Trucks and Stuff
The North American Truck of the Year is typical of today's truck - better at handling than hauling... Read More
2001 Detroit Show: Trucks and Stuff
The North American Truck of the Year is typical of today's truck - better at handling than hauling... Read More
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BIG SKY, Montana — The sky is big here, and the view seems to go on forever — just like the vehicle I’m driving.
Easing the all-new 2000 Excursion onto the highway, I feel like a captain in command of a cruise ship. Not only does this behemoth of an SUV part the waters on the roadway, leaving lesser vehicles — that is, all other passenger cars — in its wake, but it has a slightly "high seas" ride when maneuvering at speed.
Despite its monster size, however, it has low-effort steering, gives a smooth ride with its wide-track frame, and comes with plenty of power to move it quickly. And its standard disc brakes with four-wheel ABS stop it very competently.
Heavy-duty salesThe massive Excursion is an interesting exercise for Ford, and probably will be a very profitable one on a per-vehicle basis. The heavy-duty utility segment has grown from 80,000 to more than 150,000 vehicles during the past decade, and many of these vehicles earn their makers more than $20,000 in profit.
After deciding that it wanted a chunk of that business a few years back, Ford started studying the market to find out how to appeal to buyers of GM's Suburban/Yukon/Tahoe triplets. They learned that more than 90 percent of the customers in this market use their vehicles to haul people and things as well as to take vacations. Thus, the Excursion has been built, Ford claims, to be the biggest SUV on the planet. Ford says it has more power, torque, cargo room, and towing capability than its closest competitors from GM (as far as '99 models are concerned).
 2000 Ford Excursion interior The Excursion's vast interior spaces could transport a small Cub Scout pack, but Ford thinks many buyers will put this one to work on construction sites. |
