Before the Chevrolet Corvair was deemed "unsafe at any speed" its air-cooled engine saw duty in the AGL-4 truck; an incredibly capable GM Defense Research Laboratories experiment showcased here in some recently unearthed old archive footage.

The Fallout 3-style clip's narrator tells us the AGL stood for "Articulated General-purpose Logistical truck" which they shortened to "Agile." Indeed; it might look clunky on 44" tires at first, but just watch this baby vault up a 60% grade!

The cab and cargo section are on an articulating connection like a ball-hitch trailer, and both components are modular for easy mix-n-match between cab and beds. Am I alone in thinking it looks a lot more practical than the "deuce and a half" cargo vehicles the US military decided to go with instead?

GM touted stability as well as torsional flexibility, roping some enlisted men into riding in the back while the truck bumped down and out of a five-foot trench.

I'm not sure why this video popped up on YouTube last month or what happened to the AGL-4, but this video is a very soothing way to spend nine minutes.