When will people realize that all of this technology is only going to fail right when you need it!?!?!? I mean, why change from the proven trucks: the M35A2, the M37B1, et cetera et cetera. I mean, if they weren't good, people wouldn't go crazy collecting restoring and using them! The same thing is happening to the HMMWV. It just can't hack it.
Let's think about this one for a moment, shall we?
True, the venerable Willy's Jeep - contemporary with the M35 and M37 - was in service for over 40 years. This was due to (a) the durability of the design and (b) the massive numbers produced. From 1941 to 1945, about 650,000 were produced, in various versions. They lasted a long time. When one wore out, then hey - junk the one you killed, grab a new one out of storage. It's no wonder they stuck around for so long. And on top of the wartime production, there were another 200,000 or so M38/M38A1/M606/M170 jeeps. So, a total of almost 900,000 jeeps.
Now, let's contrast.
The M998 HMMWV was introduced in 1984, and 55,000 were ordered. They've lasted now for 23 years. That's more than half as long as the Willy's was around ... but with only about 1/18th of the production numbers available. And in that time, they've seen two wars and almost constant forward-deployments in either Kosovo, Somalia, Kuwait, Saudi, Iraq, etc.
Is it any wonder they're wearing out?
Now, as for the M35 and the M37, why were they phased out? Are you so afraid that the overhead cam fuel injected technology of today is going to fail that you'd rather see a 78 horsepower 3.7 liter carbureted L-head engine pulling around supplies and ammunition?
While we're at it, you know, gunpowder gets wet sometimes. Best to skip it altogether - you never know when it's going to fail on you. Bows and arrows, that's the thing. And no metal heads - they corrode. Gotta use flint.
Wait. Bowstrings break, and they're very dependent on the weather ...
Ok then. Let's throw rocks at each other. Yes, that's it.
Wait. Rocks are very heavy. It sucks to throw them. Let's try ...
Ah, never mind.