The Jeep was a mainstay for the US military ever since its introduction in World War II.
The little warrior legend was a big factor in the US war effort in WW II and continued to be a part of the US military service until they decided to build a bigger and badder military vehicle to replace the Jeep.
The first High Mobilty Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) built by AM General reported for service in the US military in 1984 and it did not take long for the name Humvee to get attached to the Jeep’s replacement.
Humvees are large-and-in-charge vehicles that quickly became a sensation after their 1984 debut with the military, so it was not a big surprise when a civilian version debuted in the new vehicle market.
The civvy Humvees were instantly popular because they oozed testosterone and celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger were quick to purchase them. However there is a big difference between a civilian Humvee and a military Humvee, so we were very surprised to see a military version of a Humvee at a car show.
Rod Cecatto is its current owner is and he is a big fan of retired military vehicles. He bought his 1985 Humvee in 2013 from its last owner, a civilian who purchased the vehicle in the late 90s after the Hummer was retired from active duty with the US Marines.
Obviously, it would be kind of a massive understatement to say that Rod’s Humvee drew a lot of attention at the car show. Few of the onlookers at the Canadian car show had been that close to a military version of the vehicle and Rod was happy to talk about his unusual ride.
Rod told us his Humvee had an aluminum body and a fiberglass hood. He said his Humvee has a 6.2 liter diesel and will cruise at a steady 55 mph on the road “all day long” in his words.
The radiator fan has a shut-off switch when the Humvee wades though deep water and anybody who has ever sucked enough water through a fan to stall the engine in deep water will appreciate the smart engineering behind this clever feature.
Rod also mentioned the military Humvee body is essentially water-proof and he can ford creeks fairly easily with this versatile vehicle as long as he can keep the snorkel above water to grab oxygen for engine combustion.
We got the distinct impression that Rod liked to test his Humvee under extreme conditions when he said “it was hard to flip and was very stable”. He added that he has “put it on some pretty serious grades”.
Truth is we can really understand why Rod would want to go on a few adventures with his Humvee because the vehicle’s heritage and engineering would bring out the inner warrior in all of us.
Who among us could resist the appeal of a camouflage military vehicle with a legacy as the legendary Jeep’s replacement?
Jim Sutherland
