November 13, 2004

Hey Hey Ho Ho, the hummer is for sissies-oh. So you've heard of the CXT, that big pickup? Well, make way for the SmarTruck III, the bigger-than-Humvee military truck, and its Hummer-like sibling, the International CUV.

The National Automotive Center's SmarTruck concept is a return to earlier use of militarized commercial trucks by the US army, but with a James Bond twist. There have been two earlier concept trucks (articles: I, II) based on Ford and GM pickups, but they were not mass-produced. The new truck, based on the International 4200 medium-truck platform, probably will. It will use the VT275, a 6-cylinder version of the V8 VT365, aka Ford Powerstroke, and is also used on the new Ford LCF/International CF. The biggest news outside of the electronics, remote-controlled machine gun and kevlar-lined underside are the adjustable height air suspension (the 4200 has old-hat leaf springs) and Eaton-Ford developed Hydraulic Launch Assist hybrid system. The civilian version will use the same mass-produced crew cab, engine and suspension, but sans armor and miltech, and cost about 60,000$. Well, what can I say, it'll probably be the new It-truck, but with great gas-mileage!@#

posted by Richer 20 years ago
  • Tracy, please hope me: s/you're/you've/
  • I'd buy one of those, but I think my penis might be too big to qualify.
  • I, for one, welcome our new MegaTruck Overlords.
  • es el queso: then you want a Kenworth C-500 if you want to go on-highway, or some mining truck.
  • badass 4 axle C-500> (there's more from where that came from)
  • The most interesting thing is probably the HLA. It's basically just like the electric charge-on-brake system found on the prius, but hydraulic -- soon to be found on your friendly neighborhood garbage truck
  • TARDec heh
  • Just for you, Richer, but I'm leaving your comment as a warning to future typo-makers!
  • Cellphone-wielding soccer mom sold separately.
  • thanks.
  • brainwidth - that's the best article I've ever read on SUVs - thank you.
  • Please Realize that IMHO, that Hummer owners are shallow people who express themselves via their vehicles and that they DON'T care about the efficiency, or performance of their vehicles. The BLING factor... Check out These Super and cheap ATV trucks.(previously posted) I'd take a Pinzgauer over a Hummer in a heartbeat.
  • The Unimog's are cool too!!! Or try 6 wheel drive!!!!
  • Oooops sorry... Pinzgaur
  • I discovered while in a Smog Check waiting room with a stack of Road & Track magazines that the Hummer H2 is smaller and cheaperthan the original H1 ($60K vs. $100K), and they're about to introduce an H3 that's only about $40K. Shouldn't the model names be H 1/2 and H1/3? Just sayin'.
  • Samlam, if you're ever in north central Washington state, look me up and I'll lend you the keys to my Hummer, a truck sorely lacking in bling. (unless "bling" is Tagalog for "body damage"). Totally agree with you on Pinzies. Oh, how I want one.
  • my neighbor down the street has a pinzgaur, parked on the street. i see him driving it once in a while; it is licensed for proper road use despite having 6 wheels. very cool...
  • goetter: what do you use your Hummer for? I live in semi-northern rural Quebec, and my family had a want to travel on a road our toyota camry couldn't handle exactly twice in 20 years. Logging or hunting are different, but even then roads a 4x4 pick-up can't handle are rare -- and the set {roads usable by any vehicle} - {roads usable by pickups} is very small.
  • I had a friend who semi-regularly drove from the Continental U.S. to Ancorage, along the Alaskan Highway, with plenty of unpaved detours, in a Toyota 1988 station wagon, hauling everything he owned. It got about 35 miles/ gallon.
  • I use it as a work truck for light forestry, and a playmobile for ski access, mostly. It is convenient to have a truck than can drive through an irrigation ditch and isn't inconvenienced by a little snow on the ground. For the forestry, a 'Mog could be more practical. Slightly narrower for narrow skid roads, but more importantly, front and rear PTO. For the b/c ski access, I think the Pinz would prove superior due to its power plant. Serious folks here use a snowmobile instead, letting them buzz up the closed highways far beyond where my truck must stop. (You can turn a humvee into a sort of snowcat by spending the price of a Pinz, or a high-end snowmobile... I'm still saving my pennies and wondering whether it's even halfway a good idea.)
  • "Six Forward Gears, Two Backup Gears Shift on the Fly in to 4 Wheel Drive Shift on the Fly for Differential Locks (100%) front & rear 3 Speed Crawling Gear makes a Total of 20 Gears plus 4 half Gears" Wow...Why aren't these more popular?
  • They're plenty popular in Europe, I think. Their drawbacks as recreational rigs include the maintenance requirements of any 30yo surplus truck, the difficulty of acquiring spare parts, and the cab-over design, which requires some practice in operation. Also, stock units have no HVAC at all. Brrr. As one-tons, they're a little light for many service applications. (The 3-axle 712 is a 2-ton, but much less maneuverable. I have the hots for the 2-axle 710.) Conversely, this makes them IMO more suitable civilian people-movers than a truck derived from a 2-ton M998A2 (modern-vintage Humvee).
  • Can a Hummer do this???!!! or this? Whoa! Now I'm Geeking - sorry
  • I drive a beat up old Toyota 4x4 pickup with over 230,000 km on it. Bought it new in 1989 when I was living 200 km from the nearest paved road and it has never failed me. It has been flopped over on it's side, rear-ended, driven at -50F and, I suspect, saved my life more than once. With regular maintenance it still runs like a top and doesn't burn too much gas. I'm gonna try for 400,000 km.