Sure the apocalypse may be coming but you can't just prepare for the worst. You have to keep looking forward. yes, I'm talking about the post-apocalypse. Are you truly prepared? When was the last time you checked your auto insurance on that land behemoth? You wouldn't want it to be repossessed before the coming post-judgement day scenario. It might be worth it to go check
freecreditreport.com or some other auto insurance website to make sure you aren't in danger of losing your future home, transport, and first line of defense.
There are many things that you will want to take into consideration as you prepare. The first question you will have to ask yourself is what kind of conditions you will be in. For brevity, I will just go with three of the most discussed scenarios: zombies, robots, and nuclear fall out. Then I will go through some different vehicles and how they stack up against the threats.
For the zombie scenario, you are going to need a vehicle capable of fending off the undead hordes while staying on the move. For the robot scenario, you will be in a different game as fighting is not your best option so you will need to be more discreet and able to go off road in order to help disrupt their (hopefully) mal-adapted all terrain sensors. For the nuclear fall out scenario, you will mostly need a contained area that can store extra food and hold out against the harsh climate and possibly mutated animals/people.
Here is a list of a few examples of good automobiles and their respective categories:
1.
the Track T-800CDI
The only motorcycle on the list is this Track T-800CDI built by a Dutch company named EVA. They managed to cram an 800cc turbodiesel engine built for a small car onto the frame. They also modified it to run on any vegetable type oil you can throw at it. So once the gas stops flowing around the country you can just fill up with french fry oil at any one of the 20,000+ abandoned mcdonalds all across the U.S.
Zombie score: 3/5 sustainability is good and it is quick but it provides no shelter or storage
robot score: 5/5 ability to get around tight spaces fast and offroad ability are a big plus against the mechanized scourge
nuclear score:1/5 this isnt the auto for you unless you plan on wearing a radiation suit all the time but lets face it, that would just look silly
2.
Sandcrawler
Equipped with magnetic cranes, energy furnaces, workshops and lots of living and or storage space, sandcrawlers were perfect as mobile headquarters, shops, and homes for the diminutive junk scavengers.
zombie score:5/5 you can roll over anything that gets in your way
robot score:1/5 you are the biggest target around. Sure it can survive against the elements and some tuskan raiders but if this cannot survive an attack by a small squad of imperial soldiers, what chance do you have against the robot hordes?
nuclear score:5/5 you can hole up inside for years
3.
Landmaster
The Landmaster from Damnation Alley is a perfect example of post-apocalyptic ingenuity. A twelve wheeled monster that is steelplated, 12 tires that only need to be rotated if one goes flat, machine gun turrets on the front, rocket pod on the top, and it can operate fully submerged in water. This bamf is too good for conventional steering so it has to have a hydaulic midsection that twists when needing to make it around corners.
zombie score:5/5 Its the Landmaster
robot score:4/5 while a big target, it can defend itself well enough to escape into water where most likely a new set of robots will have to be organized to try to go after it
nuclear score:5/5 come on, its the Landmaster
4.
EM-50 Urban Assualt vehicle
The Urban Assault Vehicle from the film Stripes, this unnassuming motorhome can pull down the metal shutters in the blink of an eye. It has a cannon, machine guns, flame-throwers and many other infantry weapons. Its blending in ability is a plus when discreet might be your best bet.
zombie score: 5/5 You could park this near any group of undeads and unleash hell before they knew what was going on and slip away discreetly back into the jungle of abandoned cars
robot score: 3/5 it is well equipped for a battle but is still a sizable target
nuclear score:4/5 space to carry supplies for a while.
5.
El Camino
Gentlemen, we're forgetting the one vehicle that says "rugged individualism" with a firm undertone of practicality. A car that'll get you laid AND carry a mattress in the back. I give you America's forgotten freedom. I give you the El Camino.
zombie score: 5/5 This won't look remotely enticing for a zombie
robot score: 4/5 It can be moddified to be taken offroad the only problem is you might lose the mattress in the back :(
nuclear score:4/5 chances are that you arent going to stay near the cities or high risk targets if this is your choice of car so you arent in direct danger as long as you have a permanent shelter
Depending on your needs, you will look for different vehicles in the coming troubled times. Just as extra insurrance, I would recommend picking up a copy of autotrader sometime and glancing over what they have to offer. Maybe if you will get lucky then you might find a Landmaster. Or even luckier if you are able to grab that el camino before anyone else does.
