Because of the M151’s independent rear suspension, it had a dangerous tendency to flip over when cornered too aggressively by unaware drivers. The swing-axle rear suspension design would result in large rear-wheel camber angle changes and could cause drastic oversteer and a subsequent vehicle roll-over issue.

 

The A2 fielded a significantly revised rear suspension that greatly improved safety in fast cornering. The M151A2 now had a semi-trailing arm suspension and many other smaller upgrades including improved turn signals. The A2 can be identified by other smaller upgrades including improved turn signals, like the large combination turn signal/blackout lights on the front fenders, which also had been modified to mount the larger lights as opposed to the earlier versions which had flat front fenders.

 

In the late 1980s, the M151s were being phased out of service for Humvee vehicles. A few were sold in government surplus auctions and those that were not sold in Foreign Military Sales overseas. Others were scrapped or loaned to museums like ours!