Car and Driver had a interesting article on how the Army drops a Humvee out of a plane, parachute it won, and drive it away... the science of making 14,000 pounds fall out of the sky and land intact.

Automotive

As many as 11 layers of honeycomb are positioned under the vehicle, but this M1151A1 UAH will compress only four layers during a normal landing. A hard impact at 28.5 feet per second (worst-case scenario) should crush five layers while using the entire nine-inch stroke of the HMMWV’s suspension to absorb the shock.

Lumber and sheets of three-inch-thick paper honeycomb, stacked between the axles, the frame, and the airdrop platform, cushion the impact.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/dropping-democracy-how-the-army-yanks-a-humvee-out-of-a-plane-and-drives-it-away-750-feet-later/

Automotive