End of the road for Hummer?

[sabang]

End of the road for Hummer after sales of 'world's most anti-environmental car' dive

Loathed by environmentalists, military-style Hummers have survived years of vandalism, arson and abuse. But the lumbering American gas-guzzling vehicles have met their match in the rocketing cost of filling a tank with petrol.

Alarmed by a slump in demand for vehicles that consume vast quantities of fuel, Hummer's owner, General Motors, is reviewing the future of the Hummer brand which was originally a civilian version of the US military's armoured Humvee. The struggling Detroit-based carmaker said it was considering off-loading the business - and with US sales plunging, its prospects are cloudy.

"The company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product line to a partial or complete sale of the brand," GM's chief executive, Rick Wagoner, told shareholders at the group's annual meeting in Delaware yesterday.

Weighing in at 2.6 tonnes, a typical Hummer can only do between 10 and 15 miles on a gallon of fuel (roughly 15 litres per 100km), compared with 30 to 50 miles for a Volkswagen Golf. The latest version, the H3, went on sale in Britain last year at eight showrooms priced at £25,000 to £30,000. Sales in Europe are still booming - particularly in Russia, where the number of Hummers sold has leapt 51% in a year.

GM only sold 12,243 Hummers in the US during the first four months of the year - a drop of 29% on 2007. The Hummer's problems have delighted green campaigners who view the vehicle as the ultimate in motoring irresponsibility.

David Hirsch, of Friends of the Earth in the US, described the Hummer as "the most anti-environmental vehicle in the history of the world". Among the earliest enthusiasts for the vehicles was California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. At one point, the former actor owned an entire fleet of Hummers before giving them up after his election.

Opposition to these cars has occasionally turned violent. In California, radical environmentalists have set fire to several Hummer showrooms.

For GM, reviewing the Hummer's future is part of a broader shift towards smaller cars. The company is shutting four North American factories that produce pick-up trucks and sports utility vehicles to save $1bn (£500m) annually. It is turning to gas-electric hybrid vehicles and is designing an electric car, the Chevrolet Volt.
Wagoner said the industry needed to acknowledge that high petrol prices are here to stay: "We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift. We think this is by and large permanent."

David Willett, of the Sierra Club, a US-based environmental pressure group, said: "They failed to look ahead and they've failed to make suitable vehicles."

End of the road for Hummer after sales of 'world's most anti-environmental car' dive | Business | The Guardian

Beloved by Beverley Hills cowboys such as Arnie, and rich Bro's of Bling, I always found them an absurd, ugly choice of civilian car anyway.

[sabang]

Here's a proud Arnie in his Hummer.

"Hummer, to which GM bought the rights in 1999, has an image as an action toy for the rich and famous.

Hummer's unofficial poster boy is action movie hero Arnold Schwarzenegger, who inspired the street version H1 after seeing the vehicles doing duty during Desert Storm. Other conspicuous Hummer owners are rock stars and athletes including Coolio and Shaquille O'Neal. Hummer stretch limousines are now standard equipment in Manhattan, Miami and Los Angeles for media events, especially ones featuring rap stars and supermodels."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...-07-hummer.htm

[Texpat]

Never understood why anyone thought a GP military vehicle would make a nice family sedan. They're utilitarian, not attractive or comfortable. Anyone who would buy one to drive exclusively on highways is missing the boat. Anyway, maybe GM can sell their designs and plants to a country not overly concerned with the price of oil.

in Russia, where the number of Hummers sold has leapt 51% in a year.

[sabang]

Hummer guys have a feminine side too.



Only in America.

[Sir Burr]

Saw my first one in Phuket two months ago.
Christ knows how much they cost with import tax added.

[sabang]

Clearly, seat belts are not compulsory in a stretch Hummer. Nice interior though.



This ride is already pimped.



Could this be the next First lady's Limo.

[Butterfly]

love them though, the H2 is nice and cheap

would buy one if oil wasn't so high

[sabang]

Back during the previous oil spike, the bottom fell out of the muscle car and gas guzzler market in Australia- presumably in the US too.

So you could buy second hand GTHO Fords or Valiant Chargers for a song. I nearly bought a classic 6 litre Mercedes limo with a mini bar in the back- paid more for a limited edition second hand AlfaSud instead.

These would have been great, and very canny investments.

[barbaro]

End of the road for Hummer after sales of 'world's most anti-environmental car' dive

The Hummer is a very silly vehicle, IMO. Macho man complex. In Texas people get a tax break for buying a Hummer.

Like SUVs, most owners don't take them off of the highways at all.

Very stupid vehicle.

[raycarey]

Very stupid vehicle.

no doubt.

[Butterfly]

Hummers are for small penis dysfunctional players, not surprised Arnie is a devoted fan, with all the steroid he took over the years, probably not much left down there

[sabang]

In Texas people get a tax break for buying a Hummer.

why would that be?

[Bugs]

I don't know about Texas tax code, but the US tax code allows for folks to get a deduction for a vehicle over a certain weight if it is used for business purposes. This particular part of the tax code was originally to help out farmers and the such as at the time the code was made no standard vehicle that anyone would use for day-to-day transport was even near the weight limit. Along came the super-sized SUV's and corporate exec's found out they could get a tax credit if they traded in their Cadillac for a new Hummer. I think it allowed them to write-off nearly the entire value of the Hummer in the first year.

Was a bit of humb-bumb about this in the early 2000's and I think the code has since been modified but I doubt the deduction has been completely eliminated.

Yet another example of why the US tax code needs to be simplified.