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CNN Live At Daybreak

Built Army Tough: An SUV For James Bond

Aired January 09, 2002 - 05:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know that when it comes to sports utility vehicles, many drivers believe bigger is better. As this morning, we have an SUV even James Bond would love to drive.

CNN's Jeff Flock shows us this new monster truck at the big auto show in Detroit. Put down that cereal spoon, you've got to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in some sense we have saved the best for the last of our coverage here at the North American International Auto Show. You might wonder what, in some sense, was the most exciting vehicle we saw. Well, it wasn't built by Ford or Chrysler or GM or the rest; but, in fact, built by the U.S. Army.

Take a look at this. It's something called SmarTruck. You know, the auto makers often give something called a handout tape. That's a -- some videotape of their vehicles in action. The U.S. Army didn't give just a handout tape, it gave out something on the order of a full-length movie.

Let's take a look at a little bit of that. This is something of what this SmarTruck can do.

Now in a scenario where a U.S. embassy was under attack in some sense, this vehicle had the ability to pepper spray demonstrators outside the embassy. It has electrified door handles in case somebody tried to break in. Capable of fogging pursuers, of laying down an oil slick. It has night vision capability; it has blinding lights. And in this movie, someone with a rocket launcher in a car is foiled by large road tacks that come out. You even have a grenade launcher in this.

Dennis Wynne directs this entire program that put this together. Is this all for real, or is that a movie?

DENNIS WYNNE, : No, this is for real. Other than for the laser gun that you see in the movie, everything is operational here and working.

FLOCK: Show it to me...

(CROSSTALK)

WYNNE: If we -- if we look around, you can see, for instance, these little nozzles are the pepper spray.

FLOCK: That's the pepper spray, got you.

WYNNE: What you see here is the night vision that pops up and gets out of the way if we need it or not, so that we can be inconspicuous.

FLOCK: What's this up here?

WYNNE: This is a representation of the laser gun with the percussion grenades that come out of that launcher. Right here is a camera. We're basically now seeing the cameras that are giving us all four around.

FLOCK: Oh, check this out.

WYNNE: So now we can know who's around us, who's behind us.

FLOCK: I've got to ask you, how close is this to being reality? Because you're telling me that this prototype is reality already.

WYNNE: All these pieces, if needed to be, can be put together. How is that happening?

Without going into any kind of classified material or such, I would just tell you that we will be looking at how we can protect the homeland in this war on terrorism.

FLOCK: In some sense, the most excitement at the auto show, not by any of the U.S. -- or auto makers from overseas, but by the U.S. Army in this vehicle back here. That is the latest.

Jeff Flock reporting, CNN, from the North American Auto Show in Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Wow. Just think if that was available to the general public. I'd like the pepper spray option with my air conditioning. Unbelievable.

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