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A not-so-lean, mean fighting machine

Mar- 3-2007 » Filed Under: Stryker Vehicle

Brian Albrecht, Plain Dealer Reporter

Chances are there's one vehicle you will never drive, much less be able to afford, among the rolling ranks of gleaming chrome and supple leather at the Cleveland Auto Show.

As part of recruiting efforts at the show, which runs through Sunday at the International Exposition Center, the Army brought in a Stryker - an armored troop transport first introduced for the war in Iraq.

This million-dollar mountain of metal, looming within crushing distance of a $50,000 Porsche Boxster, is an obvious attention-getter. But the Stryker's presence is also intended to show civilians that the military is more than just grunts and guns, said Sgt. 1st Class Philip Cianchetti at the Army's exhibit.

"We want to show off the technology that the Army works with, the sophistication of electronics, the weapons systems, and the mobility to get around in a combat role," said Cianchetti, who served in Iraq.

And auto show visitors are curious. Typically they will ask whether the Stryker floats. (No, but it can ford water 5 feet deep). Are the tires bulletproof? (No.) And (jokingly) when does the civilian version hit the market?

Well, if someone ever hopes to make the Stryker a military crossover success a la Hummer, they're going to have to take it for a ride down Madison Avenue, starting with the kind of slick sales brochures commonly seen at an auto show.

Borrowing liberally from the language of marketing zen used in this superlative-laden literature - where olive drab could become avocado cream - they might come up with something like this:

Stryker: Today's Vehicle for Tomorrow's Wars

Regardless of whether you're roaring across a desert or navigating down an urban alley, the Stryker is the epitome of pure combat muscle, a fusion of ruggedness and Army-of-One individuality. [...]


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