The new Ford Excursion sport utility vehicle. The biggest SUV -- ever -- to hit American roads.

Ford, the No. 2 automaker, has not officially acknowledged it will begin selling the nine-passenger Excursion next fall. Sensitive to criticism of gas-gulping excess, Ford has avoided trumpeting any virtues of its new behemoth at auto shows.

Instead, the company is scheduled to hold an embargoed briefing for journalists at its Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters.

But environmental groups have not waited to blast Ford for bringing out a vehicle they see as the epitome of automotive overkill at a time when the problems of pollution and global warming are becoming increasingly serious.

The Sierra Club held a contest to come up with a slogan for the Excursion. Contenders included "Saddam, the truck that will put America between Iraq and a hard place;" and "Fordasaurus: powerful enough to pass anything on the highway except a gas station." The winner was "Ford Valdez: Have you driven a tanker lately."

Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global warming and energy programme, said the group plans to give the Excursion its first-ever Exxon Valdez environmental destruction award, named for the infamous oil tanker that ran aground in Alaska, creating an environmental disaster.

How large is the Excursion ? At 230 inches -- more than 19 feet -- the Excursion is 11 inches longer than the Suburban from General Motors Corp, the biggest now available.

The vehicle, powered by V-8 and V-10 engines, will stick out of most garages. It might not even fit in many driveways. The Excursion is so heavy -- almost four tons -- it will be classified as a medium-duty truck. That is the same category that includes UPS delivery trucks, and means the Excursion will not be subject to the same fuel economy standards as the rest of Ford's pickup trucks, sport utilities and minivans.

One thing the Excursion will do, analysts say, is sell out. Annual production estimates range from 30,000 to 60,000 units. Based on the Super Duty F-Series, the Excursion will be built at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant.

Pricing will be in the $30,000-$40,000 range. Pre-tax profit margins are expected to be similar to the Expedition full-size sport utility, $12,000-$15,000.

Who will buy such a monster? Ford originally conceived the Excursion for commercial buyers. But as they saw more retail customers snapping up beefy pickup trucks, Nextrend analyst Wesley Brown said Ford decided to target the Excursion for them, too.

The truck popularity may be catching up to Ford, however. Becker at the Sierra Club said the company may have to pay fines for violating federal fuel economy standards for the 1999 model year.

All of which raises a problem for William Clay Ford Jr., an avowed environmentalist who became chairman January 1. Truck products contribute most of Ford's profits. But analysts have said the company might not be making the Excursion if it had been proposed when Ford was chairman. Becker said he is willing to give Ford a chance to prove how green he is.

"This SUV embarrassment is just one more example in how far Ford has to go to be environmentally responsible," said Becker.