I don't know but the new hummers (the H2's) look very unstable and pretty much built for the soccer mom crowd. I won't go into the issues that I have with those folks and their SUVs.
The only Hummer that I would buy would be the H1. Yeah, it's a little wide but when you absolutely, positively need to to be there overnight, It will do the trick. Santa? If I can't have a Hummer for christmas I want a 2 1/2 ton 6x6 cargo truck with a mulifuel engine and a snorkle. -- Bill http://www.vlca.net On Wednesday 10 December 2003 21:17, Charles wrote: > Hummer Gets Smaller With H3T > Hummer looks for next hit with "environmentally responsible" concept; > analysts, environmentalists skeptical. > > by TCC Team <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (2003-12-09) > > <javascript:zoom('/images/gallery/7540_image.jpg');> > > Related Articles: > > <http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=6663> GM Goes "Sport" > With Minivans (12/5/2003) > But can it shake the "soccer-Mom" message? > > > > The Hummer brand may be getting a bit nicer - at least that's the message > General Motors Corp., which owns the rights to develop and sell Hummer > consumer vehicles, will be sending next month as it unveils its next Hummer > concept, a small pickup dubbed H3T, at the 2004 Greater Los Angeles Auto > Show. > > <http://www.thecarconnection.com/subscribe.asp> The show opens to media on > January 2 in Los Angeles and General Motors will use the show to present > its heftiest brand's future direction, as seen through the lens of a > scaled-down concept. Although just a concept, Ed Welburn, General Motors > North American vice president of design, says the H3T represents a > "youthful, smaller, more affordable" direction than today's Hummer. > > Clay Dean, design director for Hummer, describes the brand's next step even > more aggressively, saying the H3T is "a little more environmentally > responsible" than what the brand is known for. Unlike Hummer's current > vehicle lineup, which includes the Hummer H1 originally built for the > military, and its smaller counterpart H2, the H3T - unveiled to media > Tuesday - is built on a compact pickup-truck frame, is drastically smaller, > sports an in-line-five turbocharged engine with 350 hp and, as a result, > could get upwards of 22 miles per gallon, according to General Motors > officials. > > A vehicle similar to the H3T, called simply H3, is expected to be available > from General Motors in 2005 and, although Dean is unwilling to say whether > it will be pickup or sport-utility-vehicle, it will be "obviously a HUMMER > in its appearance and capabilities." > > Uncertain future? > > Analysts, however, aren't so sure that GM will have a hit on its hands > simply by slapping a Hummer nameplate on a vehicle's grille. "It's all > about prestige," says Marty Bernstein, a marketing consultant and principal > of Marty Bernstein, Inc. in Troy, Mich. He says the key to Hummer's recent > success is the exclusivity that comes along with owning an expensive and > oversized vehicle. "There comes a point when a vehicle is too affordable. > Look at Mercedes-Benz after it started offering a car for under $30,000 in > the U.S. market. It lost market share in the luxury sector in the end. It's > like Tiffany's selling cubic zirconium. It just doesn't work." > > Dean counters, saying that the H3T and the vehicle that will eventually > spawn from the concept will continue to be top line in amenities and > off-road functionality, even if it is smaller and more affordable. In > addition to an exterior strikingly like the H2, Dean points to features > like satin aluminum trimmed interior components, an inclinometer and > altimeter embedded in the instrument panel, and a DVD camera placed in the > hood to record driving experiences, saying such things will "telegraph a > new philosophy of elegance that will becomes an icon." > > Another iconic trait of the Hummer brand in recent years has been the > onslaught of environmental criticism that has followed its rise in the > United States since the introduction of the H2 in 2001. Although the > turbodiesel H1 can achieve a respectable 17 mpg on the highway, the H2 > claims a top fuel number of 12 mpg and much lower numbers in everyday > driving, and that has made that vehicle a prime target for SUV critics. > > Brendan Bell, the global warming conservation assistant for the Sierra > Club, a California-based environmental lobby, says that General Motors will > have to do a lot more than simply saying the next HUMMER will be "not as > bad as the H1 or H2." > > "General Motors is traditionally behind," he says, referring to making > serious gains in fuel economy. "I don't think Americans would believe that > a Hummer is a more efficient vehicle," regardless of the improvement. Bell > says that Ford Motor Co. has proven it can get between 35 and 40 mpg out of > conventional powertrain Ranger pickups and criticizes General Motors for > not bringing similar technology to market in a concept it touts as more > environmentally friendly. For now, he says, "GM suggesting that a HUMMER is > good for the environment is like suggesting milkshakes help people lose > weight." > > > Charles Mims > http://www.the-sandbox.org <http://www.the-sandbox.org/> _______________________________________________ Sndbox mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://a8.mewebdns-a8.com/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
