We grew up on BMX bikes, skateboards, metal and punk rock, roughly in that order. And it pained us to see all of that stuff codified as an "extreme" lifestyle and fed back to kids who would've been too stupid to get into it on their own. When things become "extreme," they generally start to suck: case in point, Doritos don't taste as good anymore, Taco Bell ain't what it used to be and Tony's hawking the R-Class? Enough with the Baffler-esque screeds for the moment, though. We present to you the International CXT.
So it's not exactly new news, no, but this article in the WaPo got us thinking about about why one would want a vehicle branded a Commercial Extreme Truck [gag]. And why would Ashton Kutcher need one? To legitimize the trucker hat thing? Even more ridiculous than an H1 for the street, International confirms that they've been talking to the military about an armed-forces version, and then continued on that they'd have to drop the frame for the roof to be able to clear cargo-plane interiors.
Shouldn't military-grade be enough? Certainly the CXT will be uniquely suited for a few tasks, But let a truck be a truck, we say. While we applaud essentially useless vehicles like Bigfoot, The Blastolene Special (aka Jay Leno's Tankcar) and Monster Garage's semi-truck trike, they're the product of a small group's ingenuity, built for the hell of it, just to see if it can be done. The CXT seems like it was invented by marketing people, just to see if it would sell. There's a difference. It might be a bit gauche to quote Fugazi in a blog about cars, but never mind what they're selling, it's what you're buying.
The Pickup Truck With 'Roid Rage [Washington Post]
Related:
International Shows New Extreme SUVs [Internal]