I only ever once completely filled my APC since I got mine way back in '83 and that was a few years ago :D (I think I took pics, if any one wants to see them I'll look for them :) )

The lasing field isn't at issue, but the power generation/output capacity that really adds the weight, but that's neither here nor there. The actual handful of lasers in and around the labs I've worked in have been quite light; their elaborate power supplies, chemical analyte chambers, dichromatic mirrors etc have been the bulky messes.

Don't forget the in universe fantasy has the HAL being able to be carried up stairs by a small team of Joes, pushed down an elevator shaft, towed by VAMPs etc. Course Flash and Sci-Fi are essentially carrying around a power supply the size of a car battery which at best might cause a bit of smoking if held on target for 4-5 minutes at close range.

And this is one reason why the HAL now to me is a display piece and not an "active" part of the universe whenever I get around to taking more pictures/telling an actual dio story, but that is just my simple way of working around it and getting rid of lasers.

All this high tech talk about lasers has put me into a Star Trek mood! I always figured the HAL was powered by a forced matter/anti-matter chamber ... just kidding, but all the techie talk is fun :-)

Right, but the Cheetah is about the size of a pick up truck. I'm talking if you were to take a VAMP, measure it, multiply that by 18, you'd get at least a mid-size pick up. Not enough OOMPH to tow the large towed weapons platforms of the Joe team. I guess you could drop a larger mill into, beef up the suspension, axles and gears, but the VAMP is supposed to be fast and the trade off would be the speed for power.
Granted, if the Cheetah copied the drive train from the LM002, it'd be powered by a V-12; all kinds of power and speed, with a fuel economy that'll get you to the end of the drive way before you need to fill up again.