Here's what you need. It's a Canadian LSVW lightweight truck. Iveco made them and Western Star IIRC imported them for the Canadian military. It's not a Daily, as such, but that's what I thought it was when I first saw one on maneuvers here in Floriduh.
I had just joined the Canadian Forces when the LSVW entered the inventory. The first time I saw one, I thought it looked amazing...very cool. Boy, was I wrong.
They have gained fame as the most vilified vehicle in the CF inventory. Even more hated than the Bombardier version of the VW Iltis. The only thing worse than their performance is their reliability.
When the competition happened for the vehicle to replace the 5/4 ton trucks that were previously used in this role, the LSVW was the "pork barrel" contender. The Western Star factory was in Kelowna, BC...a riding held by the ruling governement, and the associate minister for Defense (overseeing the project) was also from a riding in BC.
The Iveco/Western Star did poorly in an initial comparison in Petawawa...so the requirements for the competition were re-written to allow the LSVW to win, and a second round of testing was scheduled in Nevada. But when the actual second set of trials happened, the Western Star vehicle failed again.
Here's a quick quote describing the opinion of those who have ended up driving it:
The LSVW is unpopular. It has been criticized for poor handling, top-heaviness, unreliable brakes and transmission, and awkward engine access amongst other things. However, much of the difficulty resulted from the original specifications.
The Department emphasized fuel efficiency and low purchase price when they
were looking for a new light support truck. That is what it got – a vehicle with top speeds of 25 km/h off-road and only 90km/h on pavement.
Neither the small engine (only 115 hp despite turbo-charging) nor the weak
automatic transmission is adequate for tough military operational support duties. The transmission occasionally pops out of gear under stress. Fading breaks and rust have shown up far too early in the lives of these vehicles.
In the end the Canadian Forces got what they paid for
One other item that isn't mentioned above...any time the brakes are applied, you can expect to hear a god-awful squealing.
So the federal government directed the CF to buy it anyways. Pork Barrel procurement at it's finest.
