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Alton's offering sets new standards for conspicuous consumption

While most automakers are jumping on the trend of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, Alton Manufacturing has taken the opposite route. They've created a whole new vehicle category with their extreme-SUV variant, the "XUV"

The XUV weighs in at an eye-popping 13 tons, and includes such features as hardwood floors, a 42 inch plasma TV, two smaller drop-down TVs, a 42-speaker sound system, custom captain's chairs, and four computer workstations.

Oh, and a train horn too ... in case someone doesn't see you coming.

Based on a modified Ford F-650 platform, the XUV is powered by a 7.2L turbocharged diesel engine built by Caterpillar. The purchase price will set you back nearly 200 gran, a figure that likely pales besides the estimated annual fuel bill.

Autoblog has a short video of Alton's XUV up on Youtube.



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Awesome! I love it!
By Pale Rider on 2/8/2008 5:05:04 PM , Rating: 5
I'm going to buy one and drive myself (and no one else and no cargo) back and forth to the buffet three times a day.




RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Spyvie on 2/8/2008 6:46:22 PM , Rating: 2
Hopefully your state will require you to obtain a commercial driver's license.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Pale Rider on 2/8/08, Rating: 0
RE: Awesome! I love it!
By maxpower4738 on 2/11/2008 1:05:50 PM , Rating: 2
Looking at some of the pictures on their website, it looks like some of their vehicles do have air brakes (look for the yellow diamond push-pull switch on the dash).


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By maxpower4738 on 2/11/2008 1:12:11 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, now that i look at it, i can see the air brake switch on the picture in the post. So it does have air brakes.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By masher2 (blog) on 2/8/2008 8:31:19 PM , Rating: 2
The vehicle needs to be over 14 tons for a CDL to be required. So the XUV slides in just under the limit.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By PlasmaBomb on 2/8/2008 9:43:33 PM , Rating: 2
In the UK you would need a medium/large vehicle licence. A car licence only applies to vehicles under 3500kg.

Why is the weight requirement for a CDL so high in the state?


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By lagomorpha on 2/9/2008 2:57:46 AM , Rating: 4
The average American weighs 3.6 times what the average English person weighs, it's only reasonable that the weight limits of everything we make here are increased as well.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By excrucio on 2/9/2008 3:47:53 PM , Rating: 1
great one haha


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Clauzii on 2/10/08, Rating: -1
RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Clauzii on 2/13/08, Rating: 0
RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Clauzii on 2/13/2008 1:38:42 PM , Rating: 1
And that one was immidiately rated 1, when I posted??

What is going on???


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By mindless1 on 2/13/2008 5:07:35 PM , Rating: 2
Down, for giving a cookie???

I just wrote the same thing to see if it was rated as 1 or 2. I do think the rating system is broken somehow.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Clauzii on 2/13/2008 5:20:02 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, can happen. Never mind, it's just a number then ;)


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Venatici on 2/15/2008 11:36:43 AM , Rating: 2
Great comeback!


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By JustTom on 2/9/2008 7:24:49 PM , Rating: 5
A vehicle needs to be 26,001 lbs in order to require a CDL ( http://tinyurl.com/33xq74 )and the Alton XUV comes in at 25,999 lbs ( http://tinyurl.com/2tqk6o ).

Obviously the manufacturer was well aware of the weigh limits and came in with 2 lbs to spare.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Clauzii on 2/10/2008 7:09:14 PM , Rating: 2
What happens, when 3 tons of stereo gets installed? Can one do that without re-registering as a heavier vehicle? :)


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By maxpower4738 on 2/11/2008 1:00:47 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, its not that the vehicle needs to weigh less than 26,001 lbs to not need a CDL, its GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) needs to be less than 26,001 lbs. Thats how much weight the vehicle is "designed" to carry plus its curb weight. So as long as the manufacturer rates the vehicle at 25,999 lbs, it is under the limit, regardless of how much weight it can really handle.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By Spuke on 2/12/2008 9:51:05 PM , Rating: 2
The truck itself probably weighs somewhere around 20k lbs.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By arazok on 2/8/2008 7:47:52 PM , Rating: 5
I'll meet you there in mine. I'm going to let it idle in the driveway every night so it's nice and warm when I get up in the morninga.


RE: Awesome! I love it!
By AntDX316 on 2/9/2008 7:09:17 AM , Rating: 2
lol