Just thought I'd pipe in on the rusty tracks. The 113 series of vehicles have tracks that come in, believe it or not, bare metal. They have bolt-on track pads, so that they can be changed when worn without changing the entire track. Most of the other vehicles (post-WWII) are metal tracks with incorporated pads. The entire track piece is encapsulated in the rubber compound. The end caps (the part that hold the track links together) are bare metal, and therefore show less rust.
Also, the military uses their tracked vehicles alot more, and some of the rubber from the road wheels ends up as a layer on the track shoes (the idividual links), and thus appear to be less rusty. And even though the military uses their stuff more, the tracks still get VERY rusty in short order. That is where the majority of the "squeak" comes from when they move. The track isn't messed up just because it is rusted, but if the bushings, pins, and related parts are worn out. (A MBT with pads that are worn out DO need replaced, as that's the only way to replace the pads. 113's, Bradleys and the like that have bolt-on pads tend to need to replace the track less often, since the pads go first.)
At least, that's the way it was when I was in, and the 113 didn't change much up to that point...can't see it being changed in the last 15 years.
Michael
We could change the world, but God won't give us the source code!