03-30-2009, 01:51 PM
Robust SUV's are the ONLY vehicle to have in countries where roads are often dirt, sand, and rock. While they are, in the main, not needed in the USA, they are definitely needed elsewhere.
Those itteh bitteh Fiats bog right down when you try to run 'em over a dune-covered track. Hummer ? Drop the tyre pressure down, put 'er in low 4x4, and power right over.
My fave for driving around Baluchistan was a 6x6 Unimog stakebed with combat tyres. Sucker climbed right up a 1 meter wall when we were stuck in a wadi once. The fave civilian road vehicle was a Mitubishi "Pajero" (read Montero in the US).
I remember talking to a guy who was test driving the first HWMMV prototypes in Nevada back in the early 80's. He flat out loved it. He said the only more durable vehicle was a Russian combat car that they had *ahem* acquired. He said the Russkie car would go off a 3 meter cliff and just bounce. The engine and transmission were total crap, but the structure was just unkillable.
Those itteh bitteh Fiats bog right down when you try to run 'em over a dune-covered track. Hummer ? Drop the tyre pressure down, put 'er in low 4x4, and power right over.
My fave for driving around Baluchistan was a 6x6 Unimog stakebed with combat tyres. Sucker climbed right up a 1 meter wall when we were stuck in a wadi once. The fave civilian road vehicle was a Mitubishi "Pajero" (read Montero in the US).
I remember talking to a guy who was test driving the first HWMMV prototypes in Nevada back in the early 80's. He flat out loved it. He said the only more durable vehicle was a Russian combat car that they had *ahem* acquired. He said the Russkie car would go off a 3 meter cliff and just bounce. The engine and transmission were total crap, but the structure was just unkillable.