Not long ago, AM General HMMWVs were the bees knees in military vehicle technology. The U.S. military has moved on to more heavily-armored, bomb resistant trucks, but the Hummer still stands as one of the badest ass wide track offroad trucks in existence.
This particular desert-liveried Hummer showed up at SEMA this week, decked out with every hand tool you'd need to get the truck unstuck or dig it its own road tunnel (which you would need to do on trails only wide enough for a Jeep).
I had an opportunity to ride in a fully kitted out, up armored HMMWV in Iraq a few years ago, and it wasn't that great of an experience. With all of the communications hear and weapons crammed inside, four dudes in body armor and Kevlar helmets make for a tight fit. Plus, those 6.2-liter diesels aren't nearly as spry when they have to lug around armor plating, 3-inch-thick glass, and an enclosed gunner's turret.
The newer, huger Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks DOD uses in Afghanistan are faster, more comfortable, and better at deflecting IED blasts. They're also so heavy that a soft shoulder can mean the end of your ride when the truck sinks into the dirt and rolls over onto its side.
But HMMWVs are great when they're stripped down to the bare essentials. No roof, no doors, a lithe, baseball cap-wearing guy darting around topside shooting an array of light machine guns at the baddies. AM General sells them, for that sporty combat experience. Whyn't you go and git you one.
Photo credit: Curtis Joe Walker; AM General