How badly did AM General screw up? This badly...

[erasedhammer]

I was interested in why AM General lost the contract to build the new JLTV, other than the fact that they didn't want to expand their production, here's a chart showing why they lost.

And in one of their interviews about their JLTV, they said the vehicle had been in the works for years...
Years to make this vehicle and a god **** ford explorer is more reliable.
And they some how managed to make a vehicle less reliable than the up armored humvee...
What is that number there, the mean time between failures, what is that... like 200?

https://www.dodbuzz.com/2016/02/18/why-oshkosh-won-the-armys-jltv-contract-in-one-chart/

 

[Bill Nutting]

How are they testing these vehicles? The "winner" is at 7,000 miles between failure? I'll bet if they tested these vehicle on roads in and around metro Detroit, all of these numbers would drop. My Ford F-250 has survived 11,000 miles so far without failure. I take it off reading to give it a break from from the continuous chuck hole we call roads around here. ��

 

[911joeblow]

How are they testing these vehicles? The "winner" is at 7,000 miles between failure? I'll bet if they tested these vehicle on roads in and around metro Detroit, all of these numbers would drop. My Ford F-250 has survived 11,000 miles so far without failure. I take it off reading to give it a break from from the continuous chuck hole we call roads around here. ��

Sad but true, the Detroit and surrounding areas are torture! I will be there next week and am not looking forward to that part! Guess who I am working with next week?

 

[fuzzytoaster]

I'm sure Oshkosh has learned a few things over the years building and rebuilding HEMTTs, HETs, etc so they used it to their advantage.

 

[TOBASH]

Contracts are based on cost versus profit margin. I am sure that Am General designed a vehicle based on what they as a company could provide with a comfortable profit. I am sorry they lost the contract, however ultimately I just want our American military personnel to have the safest vehicle possible. I am tired of headlines about IED's and the dead children of my fellow Americans. Every time an American soldier dies, each one of us is a little smaller, and our great nation is a little more threatened.

T

 

[riderdan]

With the current focus on low-intensity conflicts, lighter vehicles with higher MTBF are definitely the in thing. Back in the 80s when we expected the Ruskies to rush the Fulda Gap, it was all about tanks and infantry. Most of my pre-Gulf experience involved a lot of hiking. When we did the Nijmegen death march (100 miles in four days) I decided to volunteer to be the XO's alternate driver But if you're in the sandbox, there's no way you're walking between towns--it's too far and too hot. So something light, fast, and reliable is the ticket.

In any case, my understanding is that they're still buying Humvees. They just won't be the vehicle of choice for combat operations. Which they were never designed to be anyway. The whole idea of armoring what was basically a command car was a stop-gap at best.

 

[Karl kostman]

You guys remember in Military Motors about 6 months before the winner of the contract was selected they interviewed a rep. from AM General and I have to say he was one of the most arrogant individuals I have ever heard representing a company! I own a lot of AM General trucks and one OshKosh BUT in this case I am happy beyond words that OshKosh got the nod!!!!
Karl

 

[glcaines]

I suspect the Oshkosh JLTV will actually improve as time goes on. The initial production run of any vehicle often have small issues that show up and are corrected by future design changes.

 

[gerrykan]

Don't forget that politics sometimes help decide who gets a Government contract.

I am not implying that has anything to do in this instance, just sayin'.