At the beginning of World War II, many of the foreign armies used armored cars extensively. The U.S. Army had not been enthusiastic about armored cars since there were plenty of tanks available which could do a better job.

   After several aborted attempts at designing an armored car the U.S. Army settled on a Ford 6X6 design called the M8 light armored car (the British later named it the "Greyhound"). Over 8500 M8's were built between 1942 and 1943. Surprisingly, the M8 had an illustrious career in all theaters of operation especially the African and European theaters. It was used primarily for escort, patrol and reconnaissance missions.

   The 6 wheel arrangement yields exceptional stability at speeds near 55 MPH, a high speed for an armored vehicle. The transmission is a 4 speed forward, 1 speed reverse gear box with a low and high range select on the transfer case resulting in 8 speeds forward and 2 in reverse. The driver sits on the left front of the vehicle with a conventional steering wheel.