In the market for a $475,000 light truck that gets 4mpg? You are indeed, if you're a U.S. taxpayer. In a few weeks the U.S. military will award three preliminary design contracts worth $190 million to build a new truck line, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The final winner, to be chosen in a few years, will build trucks to replace up to 200,000 aging Humvees at a cost of $50 billion to $100 billion over eight years. Some of that work could flow to ailing commercial truckmakers and suppliers-including Ford, Allison Transmission and MillenWorks-that have aligned with seven defense contracting teams (pictured is the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh entry). On the military's must-have feature list: a 30-kilowatt generator, jam-resistant doors and an ambulance configuration. The military wants the truck, weighing around 13 tons, to get at least 4mpg. That's 6mpg thirstier than todays standard Humvee.
展开▼
