Car Wars 2004

When I was younger I use to play a lot of Car Wars and even had an article published in Autoduel Quarterly, the magazine for Car Wars. One feature of the mag I liked was the historical references to “current” day events.

I was looking for something else on the web when I came across this, the SmarTruck III.

Now the blurb from the website says:

SmarTruck III is built on an International medium duty truck platform and features the most advanced communications, detection and deterrent systems to be deployed in a vehicle-based mobile unit. The next three commercial variants of SmarTruck III will be delivered to the Air Force; other potential end users are the Border Patrol and the U.S. Marshals Service.

SmarTruck III, like its two predecessors, is loaded with sophisticated technology including a weapons station module – featuring a remote controlled 50-calibre machine gun – a surveillance module with a 360-degree camera, a pan and tilt night vision camera with laser range finder, a hydraulic assist system to help the vehicle during acceleration, a regenerative braking system, which stores energy and makes the vehicle more fuel efficient and a terrain adjustable suspension and chassis system. The vehicle has sufficient gross vehicle weight (GVW) to accommodate armor and additional weapons or control modules while still providing excellent performance and fuel efficiency.

(my emphasis)

Now if that is not straight out of Car Wars I don’t know what is?

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