Ford is counting on the 19-foot-long, 31/2-ton, V-10-powered SUV to boost sales and provide stiff competition for General Motors' Chevrolet Suburban, the reigning heavyweight of SUVs, when it goes on sale in the fall.

Environmentalists decry its gas-guzzling ways (estimated mpg: 12) and fret over what would happen to the occupants of a normal vehicle in a collision with an Excursion.

Ford so far has declined to comment on the criticism, but area Ford dealers and SUV owners say they can hardly wait.

"I think there's a huge market out there for it," said Paul Kesselring, who owns Kesselring Ford at 10700 Newhaven Road in Harrison.

The Excursion is expected to sell for between $45,000 and $50,000, with a per-vehicle profit of $12,000-$20,000.

"We've got a couple of customers that want them as soon as they become available," Kesselring said. Hal Edington, who works atConcrete Coring Co. in Sycamore Township, is one.

"I bought my Suburban in 1995 because Ford didn't make a vehicle that big," he said. "But I'm a Ford man."