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YOU DIDN’T have to ask Mr. Dave what he did for a living. All youhad to do was look at his pickup truck. It was a big thing, green, thebed of which always was filled with lumber and masonry and stuff.

Yeah, Mr. Dave was in construction. But I don’t think he was amanager since he’d drive off to a job dressed in clean overalls and comeback wearing ’em dirty.

And the truck? I can’t remember if it was a Ford or a Chevrolet. ButI do recall that if you saw a fellow running around in a truck in NewOrleans, you figured he was a worker.

Teachers and preachers drove Chevrolets, Buicks and Oldsmobiles backthen. But if you were a really good preacher, you drove somethingspecial, like maybe a Lincoln or a Cadillac. You definitely didn’t drivea truck.

That was then. Today, everybody everywhere seems to be jumping intotrucks, which are beginning to sell as well as cars. That means moretrucks — including vans and sports utility vehicles — will appearin this column. For example, there is this week’s test vehicle, the 1988Mitsubishi SPX Macrocab, a four-wheel-drive pickup.

I don’t think Mr. Dave would understand the SPX Macrocab. In concept,it’s a vehicle more confusing than its name. The thing has cut pilecarpeting, a stereo that’ll blast you to another world, power steeringand power- assisted disc brakes. Good golly! It has 15-inch alloy sportswheels, bucket seats and a tilt steering wheel, and it has all kinds oflittle pockets and cubby holes to put things in. Some kind of truck.

Oh, it’s a good truck. I mean, it even has a cargo box, a short bedstretching 72 inches.

But the SPX Macrocab costs more than some of the houses Mr. Dave usedto build. Nope. Mr. Dave wouldn’t understand that, not at all.

Complaints: Something’s wacky here. Included in the test model’s$16,000-plus price is $1,583.50 for a dealer’s “environmental protectionpackage.” The package includes undercoating, “finish sealant” andsomething else called “interior preserver.” What utter nonsense!

Here’s a rugged four-wheel-drive vehicle, designed to be usedoff-road — a machine that comes with a terrific manufacturer’sfive-year, unlimited-mileage, anti-corrosion perforation warranty. Forthis, you need “undercoating”? And what’s the difference between”interior preserver” and a can of ScotchGuard, available in any autoparts store? And what, pray tell, is “finish sealant?” Wouldn’t a goodwax job do as well?

Praise: The SPX Macrocab is a well-made compact pickup. It’sincredibly stable at highway speeds and, in four-wheel-drive mode, itmushes through the snow and nasty stuff with aplomb. The interior isaces — seats two in perfect comfort. And there’s ample room behindthe seats for crushable-type luggage and several bags of groceries.

Head-turning-quotient: A self-consciously macho styling.

Ride, acceleration, handling: Acceleration is okay. The engine is acarburated 2.6-liter, four-cylinder model rated at 109 hp a t 5,000 rpm.The ride is trucky — the SPX Macrocab does the jig on bad roads atspeeds above 15 mph. Still, the ride is decent. Handling at highwayspeeds on good roads is tops.

Sound system: Electronic AM/FM stereo radio and cassette with graphicequalizer and four speakers, by Mitsubishi. First class.

Mileage: About 21 per gallon (15.7-gallon tank, estimated 320-milerange on usable volume), combined city-highway, running mostly driveronly without trailer or cargo.

Price: Gag! $16,170.50, including the dealer’s $1,583.50″environmental protection package,” $2,483 in options, and a $225transportation charge. Base price is $11,879, and the dealer’s invoiceprice without the options and “protection package” $10,159.

Purse-strings warning: Shop around. Many competitive models at lowerprices. The SPX Macrocab is good, but not that good.