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For other vehicles with the "Cruiser" name, see Cruiser (disambiguation)

The Cartel Cruiser is the gang vehicle of the Colombian Cartel featured in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Design[]

3D Universe[]

The Cartel Cruiser resembles a 1979-1991 Chevrolet Suburban, but is designed as a four-door pickup truck, making it similar to a late-1980s Ford F-150 (in reality, the 1979-1991 Chevrolet Suburban is only offered in SUV form; the pickup truck form is known as the Chevrolet C/K). The Cruiser also features a roll bar in the back, side runners, a blue paint job, and fog lights on the grill. In GTA III, the reverse lights are mounted on the rear bumper; however, they are integrated into the tail light clusters in GTA Liberty City Stories; rear fog lights take the place of the reverse lights on the bumper instead in this game.

Similarly to the Forelli Exsess, Sindacco Argento and Yardie Lobo, it does not have a civilian variant, but its closest civilian counterpart, however, is the Bobcat. It is one of the only two four-door pickup trucks in the 3D Universe.

At one point of game development of GTA III, the Cartel Cruiser was known as the Columbia, which is possibly a reference to the name of the Colombian Cartel. The old name is still evidently used in a showcase of the truck on the official Rockstar North website. In the beta, the car was also black. [citation/verification needed]

Version History Gallery[]

Performance[]

3D Universe[]

Powered by a turbocharged V8 engine, it is powerful enough to send its all wheel drive system into slides, which is unusual for the GTA III engine. However it suffers from turbo lag, where the car has poor acceleration from a standing start, until the turbo cuts in. This can be heard, when the engine noise becomes louder and more aggressive. At higher revs, it can outrun a Patriot or a Sentinel in a straight line drag race. However, its high center of gravity causes the body to roll in corners.

The Cartel Cruiser in GTA Liberty City Stories performs similarly to the one in GTA III, only being much heavier, resulting in a noticeably lower acceleration. Its heavy weight, however makes up for better durability and low center of gravity, thus it has a better handling, stability and traction at high speeds. Unlike the GTA III rendition, rollovers and tailspins are less prone to occur in cornering, making it one of the best drifting cars in the game. It is also capable to ram other cars more easily, due to its aforementioned weight. The vehicle is exceptionally durable compared to the GTA III version. It is also one of the most durable cars in GTA Liberty City Stories, being able to withstand more damage than other SUV/trucks.

3D Universe Overview[]


Vehicle Statistics - 3D Universe
Acceleration
(0-60 mph in Seconds)
Top Speed
(mph / kmh)
Gears Engine Drivetrain
(FWD / RWD / AWD)
Mass
(kg / lbs)
Handling.cfg
N/A 109 / 175 (GTA III)

103 / 165 (GTA Liberty City Stories)

5 (GTA III)

4 (GTA Liberty City Stories)

Petrol AWD 3200 / 7055 (GTA III)

2500 / 5512 (GTA Liberty City Stories)

Observed
N/A N/A 5 (GTA III)

4 (GTA Liberty City Stories)

F4 Turbocharged V8 (In-game model) AWD Cannot be observed

Special Variants[]

  • A heavy version of the Cartel Cruiser appears in the Scooter Shooter side mission in GTA Liberty City Stories. It is very difficult to obtain it, as it depends on luck. The Cartel Cruiser appears in the mission as either the fifth, the sixth or the seventh target to deal with. In order to obtain it, one must take out the gunman in the back, after which the player must wait for the Cruiser to drive around the area where the side mission was started. It all depends on luck, and it may take a lot of time to obtain it, as there is a limited amount of time to wait, and the target drives in completely random directions. But if it happens for the vehicle to reach that specific area, the driver of the moped should be killed, after which the side mission fails. Toni spawns back in the alleyway. Now, one must run to the streets to encounter the special Cartel Cruiser and get hold of it.

Prominent Appearances in Missions[]

Grand Theft Auto III[]

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]

  • Panlantic Land Grab - The Cartel escort Avery's Bobcat using two Cruisers.
  • Love on the Run - Toni and Love suffer an attack from the Cartel men, that will constantly arrive at the mansion driving this vehicle.
  • Scooter Shooter - Cartel members can be seen driving the Cruiser as the fifth, sixth and seventh targets, with one gunner in the back.

Locations[]

Grand Theft Auto III[]

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • The performance of the GTA III rendition seems to be reused for the Sandking.
  • According to the engine sound, it is strange that in GTA III, the car has an older engine, but in GTA Liberty City Stories, it has a more modern-sounding engine, despite the latter game taking place in 1998, and the former game taking place in 2001.
  • The Cartel Cruiser is very comparable to the Gang Rancher featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, as they share numerous similarities:
    • Both cars have styling cues from a 1979-1991 Chevrolet Suburban.
    • Both cars are utilized by gangs that are the player's enemies (Colombian Cartel and Sharks).
    • Both cars are the fastest SUV/truck in their respective games.
    • Gangs that use both cars runs drug business.

See Also[]

Navigation[]

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[ ve ]Vehicles in Grand Theft Auto III
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4WD and utilityBF Injection | Bobcat | Cartel Cruiser | Landstalker | Patriot
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MiscellaneousDodo | RC Bandit | Train (Portland El and Liberty City Subway)
UncontrollableDeadDodo | Helicopter | Police Helicopter | Static Helicopters | Static Planes (Airtrain | Learjet)
BetaUnnamed Chevrolet Caprice-based sedan | Buggy | Diablo Infernus | Luton | Panto | School Bus
Category:Vehicles in GTA III | Vehicles by type | Special Vehicles in GTA III | Beta Vehicles
[ ve ]Vehicles in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Sports and muscle carsBanshee | Cheetah | Deimos SP | Hellenbach GT | Infernus | Phobos VT | Stinger | Thunder-Rodd | V8 Ghost
4WD and utilityBobcat | Landstalker | Patriot
CarsBF Injection | Esperanto | Idaho | Kuruma | Manana | Perennial (Hearse) | Sentinel | Stallion | Stretch
VansBlista | Moonbeam | Mr Whoopee | Pony (Ballot Van | Panlantic | Toyz) | Rumpo (Campaign) | Securicar
IndustrialFlatbed | Linerunner | Mule (Mr. Wongs) | Trashmaster | Yankee
Public serviceBus | Cabbie | Coach | Taxi (Bickle'76)
Government and emergencyAmbulance | Barracks OL (Ammo Truck) | Enforcer | FBI Cruiser | Firetruck | Police | Rhino
MotorcyclesAngel | Avenger | Faggio (Pizzaboy) | Freeway | Manchez | Noodleboy | PCJ-600 | Sanchez
WatercraftFerry | Ghost | Predator | Reefer | Speeder
Gang carsCartel Cruiser | Diablo Stallion | Forelli Exsess | Hoods Rumpo XL | Leone Sentinel | Sindacco Argento | Triad Fish Van | Yakuza Stinger | Yardie Lobo
RC VehiclesRC Bandit | RC Goblin | RC Raider
TrainsTrain (Portland El and Liberty City Subway)
AircraftDodo | Hunter* | Maverick* | Police Maverick | Police Maverick (NPC)* | VCN Maverick
UncontrollableStatic Planes (Airtrain | Learjet)
BetaCorpse | Cyclone GT | Impreza WRX | Lancer MF1 | Mafiablood | Skoiloine | Speaker Maverick | Supra | Tommy | Top Fun
† denotes controllable vehicles that cannot be obtained by normal means.
* denotes controllable vehicles that can be obtained by normal means via exploits during missions.

Category:Vehicles in GTA Liberty City Stories | Vehicles in GTA Liberty City Stories | Vehicles by type | Special Vehicles | Beta Vehicles
[ ve ]Colombian Cartel
GangstersCisco (Leader, deceased) | Catalina (Leader, deceased) | Miguel (deceased)
AssociatesPeople: Avery Carrington (deceased) | Claude (former) | King Courtney | Mike (former)
Gangs: Liberty City Triads | Uptown Yardies
EnemiesPeople: Asuka Kasen (deceased) | Kenji Kasen (deceased) | Claude | Toni Cipriani | Maria Latore | Mike | Salvatore Leone (deceased)
Gangs: Leone Crime Family | Yakuza
FrontsAirline company | Butchers company | Cartel Mansion | Freight business | Panlantic Construction Company
TurfLiberty City: Fort Staunton | Cedar Grove | Francis International Airport (former)
OtherCartel Cruiser
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