Posted on 02/13/2005 4:49:41 PM PST by The Loan Arranger
JASPER, Texas (AP) - For some drivers, even a Hummer may not be enough. At a curb weight of more than 3.5 tons, the Humvee-inspired Hummer H1 is no skinny guy who gets sand kicked in his face. But the Bad Boy Heavy Muscle Truck, a dressed-up military vehicle more than twice as heavy, is being billed as bigger, badder and more bodacious.
"It's the rugged Bubba," said Daniel Ayres, president and CEO of Homeland Defense Vehicles LLC and its division Bad Boy Trucks.
The East Texas company aims to market the machine to civilians with disposable cash and a hankering for more protection from the outside world. A $379,000 version made its public debut in January at the Dallas Safari Club convention.
For a base price of $225,000 - nearly twice the Hummer H1 wagon's base price of $117,508 - consumers can get a basic version of the 10-foot-tall Bad Boy that can drive through five feet of water, climb a 60-degree grade, tow six tons and keep rolling even with a quarter-sized hole in the tire's sidewall.
(AP) Daniel Ayres, president and CEO of Homeland Defense Vehicles LLC and its Bad Boy Trucks division,...
The price goes up from there, depending on options. Drivers can get infrared cameras that peer through darkness. The flat-nosed cab can be bulletproof, and house a mini-safe behind three leather seats. The dash can include a satellite phone, a two-way radio and a global-positioning system - all alongside DVD, MP3 and CD players and a flip-out LCD screen.
For $750,000, buyers can get the fully loaded "NBC" version that can, Ayres said, detect and block out fallout from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons by over-pressurizing the cab with filtered, clean air much like an aircraft.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
If they marketed 18 wheelers as "cool" and "trendy," there would no doubt be scores of morons buying them up to out-do everyone else.
I have no idea why folks go off at the idea of the International pickup. I guess they're just easily impressed. The engine's the electronic version of the 6 cyl. DT466 which has been around since the late seventies. The engine isn't even a high hp engine. Freightliner has had a similar truck on the market for several years with no one having apoplexy. Most of the ones I've seen are used to haul large horse trailers.
International just fancied their version up for the suckers. Unless you went to someone like Tulsa Truck or Marmon Harrington for a 4x4 conversion, you're not going to be doing serious off-roading in that truck. The first good stretch of mud will stop it. No one who wants a pickup will buy that truck. Most of the buyers will purchase it for a true medium duty tow vehicle. Don't be confused by the "heavy duty" pickups Ford, Chevy and Dodge sells. Those are still light duty trucks.
For more information Apollo Crawler Transporter.
Yawn. Been there, seen that. These things were all over the place when I was growing up in Germany. Most impressive were the ones outfitted with a fleet of reel mowers that tackled the rolling, grassy hills on base.
Your neighbors lawns would be clipped for free and plenty of fertilizer would be left for their gardens. No car payments, insurance or speeding tickets. If you fall asleep while driving, you would probably still arrive home safely.
Best of all, if your wife leaves you, it is almost a safe bet that she will not take your mules and wagon......
They use about 10,000 tons of coal every 24 hours!
Mark
Nothing says Bad Boy like Hino
What kind of effete California pervert would even WRITE such crap?
"Fine sake" is just another one of those prime oxymorons, like "government assistance" or "military intelligence."
Except worse.
,,, let me know how you go with that wagon. If need be, there's room in the back for it.
Dodge Trucks have the worst resale value on the planet.
Cornbinder placemarker.
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