I don't agree that it's less, especially since it "has to be vulnerable" how much are you going to end up paying for medical services against a competent opponent? Basically it looks like the thought process is:
If you are USF and your staging area is reached, you should lose your staging support to minimal fire.
Now the other factions and methods do not suffer this. If you find a wm or soviet players staging area, you are greeted with stiff resistance from possibly injured squads (that will reinforce rapidly) and various effective fire from the support unit itself (quad, mg, flamethrower). The difference in cost being what, 20 fuel? If you run into an okw staging area, you may or may not get fired upon by a nearby schwerer hq, but you will be unable to destroy the support building, unless you've brought penetrating weapons with you. That supply trucks conversion might cost more than ambulance, but it also has more to offer than just field reinforcement and medical services. It also acts a shot-blocker so 1 man squads can run around it until fully reinforced.
You say teching costs can't be fucking ignored? Yea they can. The reason for that, is because you can buy more than 1 of whatever it is. The initial halftrack has a tech cost. It also shares that tech cost with the initial t34, and the initial pak40, along with other essential battle tools. So when considering the cost of a t34 and a halftrack, are you going to tack on the tech costs to both? That makes no sense. The tech costs are more of a function of time rather than resource. USF does not have to spend any time to get ambo, yet it's not very strong or useful in combat. The halftracks are delayed to the battlefield but are VERY useful in combat, especially with upgrades.
For arguments regarding the arrival time of something, I think the tech costs of the initial unit then become valid. Here discussing the general balance of the ambulance, I don't think it's as useful in comparing to other reinforcement vehicles, considering the different strengths and weaknesses of all of them.
I also feel the whole argument (that I guess relic also shares) about the ambulance being too strong if it has the acceleration to get away is just insane. It's beyond troll levels. Relic has put escape mechanics in everything from infantry to light vehicles, to allow them to be used in an aggressive manner. Yet a believable acceleration for a truck is too much? This is so hypocritical! Look at how a panther can zoom in on a massive kill-zone, bounce all the AT shots off it's incredible front armor, the player thinks "oh shit!" in his mind, pops blitz, that causes all the AT to miss entireley, and the panther is out in no time. That's not OP, but giving a little truck acceleration greater than the 2nd heaviest vehicle in the game upsets the balance?! We can still give the little Kubelwagon, which if I understand right literally costs less than the ambulance in mp and fuel (and tech costs? Not sure of that, someone feel free to help me out on that), can zip around with the greatest speed and a respectable acceleration along with being able to eat an anti-tank round and survive! Not only that, but there obviously must be a difference between the target size of the ambo and kubel, because at weapons don't miss the ambo like the do the kubel.
If a 10 fuel ambo is too OP with believable stats, then maybe that needs to change. The unit is way too slow and vulnerable as it is. In most players it's promoting defensive play, which I don't think this community enjoys a lot.
Someone on the forums suggested the following before and I would like to reiterate it. The US medics should have an ability similar to the major, which ties the medics to a point of your choice. They should heal any soldiers that are out of combat in the region but then RETURN to the 'healing point' once they have finished or the receiving unit has walked out of the aura/area. This would stop your medics from romping half way across the map to then be shouted at by you the player, or gunned down
This is brilliant