Yes, for those of you that may recognize the dialogue in the title of this piece I’m a big fan of the film The Day the Earth Stood Still. I’m referring to the original, not that lame remake with Keanu Reeves. Although the latter was an interesting movie, it just wasn’t even in the ballpark of the original and shouldn’t have had the title because it was such a different beast. But in both films, there was a very imposing robot named Gort who had a very unique look. I have just spent quality time with a vehicle that really reminds me of the original Gort, in that weird way that something visually somehow reminds you of something you’ve seen before.

The Gort-like vehicle that is currently being a silent sentinel out in the driveway is the Infiniti QX56, which is your basic velvet tank that is as massive and powerful as it is decadently luxurious. The styling is very Gortish, and yet the smooth lines also work on another level as it look as if it was carved from a solid block of some rare metal and the quality of the Mountain Sage paint finish is extraordinary. It’s as big as a house, and built on the Nissan Titan’s robust truck frame (with some significant differences, like an independent rear suspension along with other more civilized components). The engine room has a lovely 400-horsepower V8, and this along with a (count ‘em) seven-speed automatic transmission and a 4WD system that includes an Auto mode facilitates your guiding this universal law-enforcement robot bus damn near anywhere it will physically fit. This is a very expensive unit (loaded as ours was it tops $72K), but I have to admit it really feels like a lot of expense and time went into the thing.

We had the optional Hydraulic Body Motion Control system that (in Infiniti-speak) works like this: “Suspension travel is automatically controlled by hydraulic chambers integrated into each shock absorber. The chambers are cross-linked with piping, allowing for the transfer of hydraulic fluid, managed seamlessly by nitrogen-charged accumulators, from one side of the vehicle to the other. This enables the system to vary suspension travel independently on either side of the vehicle, thereby counteracting body lean and creating a luxurious, flat ride previously unavailable to drivers in this segment.”

This helps what should be a big, ungainly walrus of a vehicle get around in a much more competent fashion, and along with the splendid job they’ve done with suspension isolation the QX flattens road irregularities (and the odd, slow-moving Smart Car) with nary a shudder or rattle in the cabin. It really does feel like the upscale premium SUV it is, and certainly wouldn’t be out of place taking a sheik to dinner in Dubai or ferrying a Royal to examine the moors for stranded ponies. From the crisp acceleration to the surprisingly good brakes there is a lot here to appreciate, and what really surprised me was not just the overall level of quality (including the solid craftsmanship evident all over the cabin) but the fact that I even saw 17 MPG which is actually not bad for a small village on wheels.

So, the QX56 is a pretty successful attempt at being what it’s supposed to be. That is actually not always the case with autos, even when you get to the upper echelons of the pricing pyramid. Yet, the thing that made my day about this rig was the how much it reminded me so much of one of my all-time favorite robots, from one of my favorite films. This is pretty weird when you think about it, but such is the world of the machines we trust with our lives in all kinds of situations. Gort the Infiniti will not only warn you if you stray from your lane, he will apply the brakes on one side to try and keep you inside the lines. The adaptive cruise control actually works well (this technology has been pretty hit and miss for years), and will apply the brakes to help keep you from rear-ending the car in front of you. There’s lots of other black box stuff to help protect you from yourself and others, which means this Gort (in addition to a certain similar visual presence) has a lot in common with the robot version in terms of stopping violence in your own personal universe. Lest you don’t understand the similarity, its a good excuse to watch a really excellent film.