Hummer

This article is about the Hummer vehicle. For other uses, see Hummer (disambiguation).

Hummer

File:Hummer logo.svg Hummer logo
Company type	Division
Industry	Automobile
Founded	1995
Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan , United States
Products	Sport utility vehicles, Large pickup truck
Parent	General Motors
Website	www.hummer.com

Hummer is a brand of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) sold by General Motors, also known as GM. They are based on the military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee. The Hummer is one of the larger SUV types, with commensurate high fuel consumption.[1]

History

Hummer radiator grille

Hummers were originally built by AM General Corporation, formerly the military and government vehicle division of American Motors, in its South Bend, Indiana assembly plant. AM General had planned to sell a civilian version of the Hummer as far back as the late 1980s. In 1990, two matching white Hummers were driven from London to Beijing over the rough roads of central Soviet Union. The Hummers made the trip with ease, for they were built to drive on off-road terrain. The highlights of this journey were broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This publicity would pale in comparison to the attention that the HMMWV received for its service in Operation: Desert Storm the following year.

In 1992, AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Hum-Vee) vehicle to the public under the brand name "Hummer". According to legend, they began doing so after Arnold Schwarzenegger asked them to; apparently, he was impressed by a convoy of HMMWVs that drove by during his filming Kindergarten Cop in 1992. In 1998, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors but continued to manufacture the vehicles. GM is responsible for the marketing and distribution of all Hummers produced by AM General. In the next few years, GM introduced two new homegrown models, the H2 and H3, and renamed the original vehicle H1. AM General continues to build the H1 and is contracted by GM to produce the H2. The H3 is built in Shreveport, LA alongside the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups.

2006 Hummer lineup: H3, H1, and H2 (L-R)

As of 2006, Hummer has gone international with selected importers and distributors in Europe and other markets.

Since October 10, 2006, GM has been producing the Hummer H3 at its Port Elizabeth plant in South Africa for international markets.[2] Hummers at the Port Elizabeth plant will be built both for local South African consumption and for export to Australia (for the 2008 model year), Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. As of October 2006, Hummer vehicles are marketed by about 300 dealers in 34 countries. 173 of those are in the U.S.

The H2 is also assembled in Kaliningrad, Russia, by Avtotor, starting in June 2004. The plant produces a few hundred vehicles annually, and its output is limited to local consumption (five dealers in Russia initially).

On May 12 2006, GM announced it would cease production of the original H1 Hummer.[3]

GM CEO Rick Wagoner has said the Hummer brand of trucks will run on Biofuel Powertrains in Last Year's Los Angeles International Auto Show. Schwarzenegger has subsequently had one of his Hummer's converted to run on biofuel and now promotes this approach.

Hummer H1 vs. HMMWV

The Hummer H1 is basically a HMMWV built for civilian use; it has no armor or weapons fittings. However, the drive-train, frame, body, suspension, etc., are exactly the same. The H1 differs from the HMMWV in having a civilian interior, including trim, comfortable seats, stereo, and air conditioning as standard options. As a result of its commercial use, features introduced in the civilian Hummer have been incorporated into improved military versions. The H1's electrical system is 12 volts, with the two batteries wired in parallel. The HMMWV runs on a 24V system, where the two batteries are run in series to generate 24 volts.

Owner Efforts

Since all Hummer vehicles have heavy-duty capabilities, they have been employed by owners for aid in large disaster situations. Hummer Owners Prepared for Emergencies (HOPE) was created by the efforts of The Hummer Club, INC. and the American Red Cross. Together, the two organizations train Hummer owners with CPR and First Aid skills, and basic off-highway skills so that they may assist victims during a disaster situation.[4]

Today, more than 200 owners have undergone HOPE certification and many even assisted during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Many Hummer clubs have also developed local collaborations with law enforcement, fire, search and rescue and civil air patrol squadrons.

Enthusiasts

Throughout the US, and international markets, there are groups of Hummer enthusiasts. They use the vehicles for off-road driving and recreation.

Racing

Team HUMMER stock-class H3 driven by Rod Hall. Hall finished first in class with the H3 in the 2005 Baja 1000.

Team Hummer Racing was created in 1993 and showcases the Hummer's unique abilities. Led by off-road racing legend Rod Hall, Team HUMMER competes in the Stock classes of both BitD and SCORE, which feature production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines. Only specialized racing shock absorbers, tires and other minor modifications are allowed, along with the required supporting components and mandatory safety equipment. Minor modifications are allowed to the powertrain, although the rules stipulate it must be based on the stock engine and transmission combination.

The team's latest victories came in February 2007, with the H2 and H1 Alpha earning class wins at the Parker 425.

Team HUMMER has tallied one of the most impressive records in production-class racing, earning 11 class wins at the Baja 1000.

Licensing

GM has been very active and effective in licensing the Hummer. Various companies have licensed the Hummer trademarks for use on colognes, flashlights, bicycles [5], shoes, coats, hats, skateboards, laptops [6], clothing, jewelry, CD players and other items. [7]

Criticisms

Hummers receive constant criticism about fuel economy. For instance, the H2 gets about 15 MPG, highway, (10 mpg street), large size, high maintenance cost, and potentially-destructive use as off-road vehicles. Hummers have been depicted by environmentalists as excessively damaging.

File:Burnedhummers.jpg

Burned Hummers after an arson attack by so-called "eco-terrorists" in West Covina, CA in 2003.

In August of 2006, McDonald's rolled out Happy Meals that included toy Hummers [8]. This promotional effort, seen to combine unhealthy fast food with excess oil consumption, was featured at several prominent blogs like Daily Kos [9], AdFreak [10], and others [11] [12] following development of at least one parody site by the Environmental Working Group.

In 2003, Joshua Thomas Connole was arrested for a series of vandalism attacks on Hummer dealerships in West Covina, California. [13] [14] Connole, a member of the Earth Liberation Front, also decorated the crime scenes with environmentalist slogans. One dealership was set ablaze, destroying dozens of vehicles in an act of "eco-terrorism" [15].

Hummers in popular culture

• Denver Broncos starting cornerback Darrent Williams was shot dead in a stretch limousine Hummer on January 1, 2007.[16]
• Featured in the September 14, 2006 Tom the Dancing Bug comic as a way to compensate for size.[17]
• All of the Grand Theft Auto games feature obvious clones of the H1, called Patriots.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first private citizen to own a Hummer and continues to own several. During his 2003 bid for Governor, he responded to environmental critics that not only was he the first civilian to own a Hummer, but he had at his own expense successfully converted at least one of his Hummers into a Hydrogen vehicle.
• Portland-based band The Thermals turned down a $50,000 offer for the right to use their song "It's Trivia" (from More Parts Per Million) in a Hummer commercial. Harris commented on the decision in a February 2006 asap article: "We thought about it for about 15 seconds, maybe...it was a really easy decision. How could we go on after soundtracking Hummer? It's just so evil."
• Throughout 1999-2000, World Championship Wrestling storylines revolved around the "Mysterious Hummer Driver" who wreaked havoc through the main event scene. It involved popular wrestlers such as Sting, Rick Steiner, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, and writer/booker Vince Russo. The storyline was referred to repeatedly throughout the two years but was never resolved by the time the company went out of business in 2001 to rival promoter Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment.
• In the car chase scene in The Rock, Sean Connery's character drives a stolen Hummer H1. The scene is also famous for Connery's character slamming into and knocking a San Francisco trolley off the tracks.
• Hummer H2s can be seen on CSI: Miami. The investigators, most notably Horatio Caine, drive them to the crime scenes.
• The character Vincent Chase on the HBO television series Entourage owns a yellow H2, although in a recent episode, he gave it to his former head of security as part of a severance package.
• Rock star Neil Young drives a Hummer that is run on alternative biodiesel fuel.
• During the third season of 24, Michael Amador's people drive Hummer H2s when they meet with Jack Bauer and Nina Myers, to transfer the Cordilla virus.
• Nearly a decade before the Hummer was available to the general public, Car and Driver named the Humvee as the #1 vehicle to own in New York City, citing its ability to handle uneven terrain.
• The protagonists of the film Bad Boys 2 steal a yellow H2 from the villains to make their escape, driving it through the villains' exploding Cuban mansion, and then through a shanty town on the side of a mountain, demolishing part of the town as the vehicle crashes through the flimsy structures.
• Several customized H2s are used by Darius and his crew when trying to reach the United States Capitol in XXX: State of the Union.
• Uncle Jimbo from South Park drives an H1, and the H2 appears in several episodes of the cartoon.
• In Gone in 60 Seconds, the team has to steal a purple Hummer. They give a name to every car they steal with the name 'Tracy' given to the Hummer.
• A FoxTrot storyline featured Roger test-driving a "Humbler", a parody of the Hummer with extremely exaggerated characteristics (the tires alone were about twice Roger's height, it got fuel economy ratings of 25/31 (city/highway) meters per gallon and apparently has a greater mass than the Earth itself)
• Family Guy featured a flashback where a man is driving a Hummer on the highway while watching Madagascar on DVD. He cuts someone off, causing cars behind him to crash and explode.
• In Hey Arnold! episode "Arnold's Halloween" Big Bob Pattaki (Helga and Olga's father) drives a Hummer H1.
• In the Power Rangers in Space episode "A Line In The Sand" a driverless H1 stalks the rangers and transports them to a desert wasteland.
• The Hummer H2 is available to be driven in the video game Need for Speed: Underground 2. It can also be raced in several races in the game.
• In the 2001 film Exit Wounds, Latrell Walker (DMX) and T.K. Johnson (Anthony Anderson) drive a Hummer H1. T.K.s yellow H1 Hummer is also seen driven by Steven Seagal after his ute was destroyed.
• Skateboarder and TV star Bam Margera owns a red Hummer H2 SUV, which in one episode of Viva La Bam, Johnny Knoxville came to his house and cut off the back roof, making it into a SUT, it was later thrown down a quarry by Bam's uncle, Don Vito.
• In "The Simpsons" episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants" Rainer Wolfcastle drives a overly large Hummer H1. The gas mileage is described as "One highway, zero city."
• WWE Superstar Randy Orton owns a Hummer, as he stated in WWE Magazine. He doesn't go into detail about that model he owns.

Models

There are three current and possibly two future models in the Hummer line:

• Hummer H1
• Hummer H2
  • Hummer H2 SUT
• Hummer H3
  • Hummer H3t
  • Hummer H3x
  • Hummer H3 Alpha
• Hummer H4

See also

• Jeep
• High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Hum-Vee)
• Lamborghini Cheetah
• Lamborghini LM002
• Toyota Mega Cruiser

External links

Company Sites

• AM General official site
• GM's HUMMER homepage

Criticism Sites

• Hummer H2, The Worst Vehicle Ever Tested
• FUH2 catalogs photos of people flipping off Hummers.
• Nothin' Dummer Than a Hummer - Peak Oil
• Green Hummer Project
• HummerDinger, maintained by the Sierra Club.
• I Humped Your Hummer hosts submitted videos of people humping Hummers.
• Ronald McHummer, maintained by the Environmental Working Group, an interactive site that satirizes the Hummer/Happy Meal campaign.
• Stupid Hummer Tricks