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The Blackwood and EXT take radically different approaches as to how a luxury pickup truck should handle cargo.

The Blackwood and EXT really part company philosophically and practically when interpreting how a luxury pickup should handle hauling cargo.

The Blackwood's unique approach turns the bed of the truck into essentially a very large trunk. Made from a sandwich of composite layers, the bed is totally different than the typical pickup truck cargo box. It's over two times stiffer than a steel box and is built around a space frame that provides a buffer zone between the box, chassis and axle to help dramatically reduce bed torsion over bumpy surfaces. This 'floating box' also raises the load floor of the bed quite a bit higher than what you find in traditional pickups reducing box depth to only 16-inches.

The Blackwood's bed is essentialy a large trunk. The cargo mat is removable.

A power operated tonneau cover, operated from inside the truck or remotely with the key fob, is an integral part of the box providing extra rigidity when closed. The tonneau cover also protects cargo from the elements or theft.

It is impossible to use the Blackwood's bed as you would in say a Ford SuperCrew because the tonneau cover only opens to around a 60-degree angle. And heaven forbid any type of dirty cargo mar the removable carpeted mat or stainless steel bed walls. About the only unclean payload you might want to place in the back of the bed would be a couple of golf bags soiled from a long day on the links. A scratch or mar on the Blackwood's cargo surfaces would be devastating.

Built into the sides of the Blackwood's trunk and protected by the tonneau cover are two storage bins. The bins have stainless steel swing out doors that use a push-and-twist knob to access. Storage bin interiors are sealed and padded with a soft material. If it wasn't a truck you might mistake them for jewelry boxes.

Never has luxury been so close to labor as in the Cadillac EXT's bed. As mentioned earlier, the EXT uses GM's Midgate to quickly transform a 5-foot bed into an 8-foot bed when the wall between the cabin and cargo box is folded down. With little practice, and two people, this can be done in under a minute.

Storage bins abound in the back of both trucks.

The EXT's rear window can be removed and stowed behind the back seat without having to fold down the Midgate. This provides an open air feel to the truck, especially when the sunroof in use.

Like the Blackwood, the EXT's cargo box is also made from composite materials but it's much more cargo friendly than the Blackwood's trunk and looks and acts the part. Where the Blackwood is shiny and sleek around the interior of the bed, the EXT is all business. The EXT uses the same textured SRIMM material and tread pattern as the Chevrolet Avalanche along the load floor and walls. You could easily throw a bale or two of hay in the back of this truck for your thoroughbred horses and never worry about the consequences, just don't forget to cover the leather seats inside the truck if the Midgate is down.

A three piece, composite and honeycombed aluminum cargo cover, fabricated in the same manner used to create the lightweight floors of airliners, protects stuff in the back of the EXT and can also support the weight of a 250-pound person. It's not advised that you stand on the back of the Blackwood's tonneau cover.

The EXT's midgate folds down behind the rear passenger seats to provide access to the cargo area.

The EXT also comes with two storage bins but these are not protected by the cargo covers like the Blackwood's tonneau guarded bins. The EXT's bins are accessible from the outside of the truck at any time and are lockable with a key. Bringing home fresh lobster for dinner? No problem, just plug up the drain holes at the bottom of the storage bins, fill with water and drop those puppies in for the ride home. Something you wouldn't dare do with the Blackwood.

If you were to sum up the cargo box functionality of the two trucks it's simple. You vacuum a Blackwood and hose out an EXT.

The Blackwood and EXT each protect their cargo in their own unique way. Lincoln uses a power operated, non-removable tonneau cover. Cadillac goes with a three piece composite, manually removable cargo cover.