The new Ford Excursion is almost 19 feet long and more than 6 feet wide RELATED VIDEO CNN's Ed Garsten gets reaction on the new Excursion Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: SUVs and the safety factor

February 28, 1999
Web posted at: 6:34 p.m. EST (2334 GMT)

DETROIT (CNN) -- An environmental group is speaking out against Ford Motor Company's plans to roll a gigantic sport utility vehicle off the assembly line this fall.

The 2000 Excursion will weigh in at 3.5 tons, 6 1/2 feet wide and nearly 19 feet long -- almost 9 inches longer than its nearest rival, the Chevy Suburban.

The Sierra Club calls it "a garbage truck that dumps into the sky."

"This will be the most polluting truck on the road and will set a new low for Detroit," said Dan Becker, director of the club's global warming program.

But Ford defended its new creation.

"It produces 43 percent less hydrocarbons than the government requires," said Ford spokesman J.C. Collins. "So we've taken a leadership position in creating a vehicle that not only fulfills a market need but is as environmentally friendly as we can make it given today's technology."

Dangerous size?

Ford is designing the Excursion's engines -- actually, those of all of its 1999 sport utility vehicles -- to meet California's low-emission standard for light trucks.

But, environmentalists point out, California's benchmarks address smog-producing emissions and not carbon dioxide. Excursion's poor fuel economy -- 11 to 12 miles per gallon with a V-10 engine, 15 to 18 mpg with a V-8 -- will make it one of the worst contributors to global warming.

"It will produce enormous amounts of pollution out of the tail pipe and will jeopardize the future of your children and hurt the health of our planet," said Becker.

Aside from pollution concerns, road watchers also fear the Excursion's sheer bulk will make it a menace to drivers of smaller vehicles.

But Ford said it has addressed those issues as well, with its innovative "blocker beam" designed to prevent smaller cars from slipping beneath the Excursion in case of collision.

"It's designed to be right on level with passenger car bumpers," said Paul Mayer.

Still, Excursion is a very big vehicle, and will be an imposing sight in a driver's rear view mirror when it hits the road October 1.

And by all accounts, drivers will be lining up to shell out $35,000 to $50,000 to take home one of the SUV behemoths.

Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.