HUMMER is a marque of vehicles sold by General Motors. For the military vehicles of which the trademark is based see HMMWV.

History

Hummers were built by AM General Corporation, formerly the heavy industries division of American Motors. 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, England to Beijing, China over the rough roads of the central Soviet Union. The Hummers made the drive with ease, and highlights of this journey were broadcast on ESPN in the United States. The publicity would pale in comparison to the attention that the Hummer received for its service in Operation: Desert Storm the following year.

In 1991, AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) vehicle to the public under the brand name HUMMER. In 1999, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors but continued to manufacture the vehicles, which GM then re-sold. In the next few years, GM introduced two new homegrown models, the H2 and H3, and renamed the original vehicle to H1.

Criticism

All three Hummer models are large, heavy vehicles with large engines and complex drivelines. They also feature styling and advertizing that stress a rugged image. This has made them a target of criticism for poor fuel economy relative to lighter vehicles. The fact that the Hummer marque sells only heavy SUVs has made it a focus for this criticism.

Since both the H1 and H2 can weigh over 8,500 lb (GVWR), the United States fuel economy regulations do not apply to them. The company does not disclose expected fuel economy ratings—in fact, the company is not even required to display a Monroney sticker on these vehicles. However, expected mpg ratings can be derived from their fuel capacity and range ratings. These metrics show that the Diesel H1 is expected to reach 16 mpg (US), while the H2 should get 9.6 mpg. Car and Driver magazine observed 12 mpg with their H2 SUT. These ratings, while certainly low, are similar to that of other vehicles of equivalent weight and also some sports cars.

It should also be noted that the Hummer H1 has had a very limited production run—other than military, only around 10,000 total civilian units have been produced.

Many critics of Hummers and environmentalist have campaigned a more liberal approach to discourage the popular consumer demand for Hummers. The most popular of these methods, the middle finger, is quickly gaining foothold. Drivers will give the finger to Hummer owners on roads and highways to show their disapproval of the large sport utility vehicle driving on the streets.

Models

There are two current and one future model in the HUMMER line:

• Hummer H1
• Hummer H2
  • Hummer H2 SUT
• Hummer H3 (coming soon)

General Motors has announced plans for a type of cologne branded with the Hummer name. The cologne's bottle is to look like a Hummer H2 model.

Famous owners

Rapper DMX owns a Hummer, as does President of the United States George W. Bush. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first private citizen to own a Hummer.

External links

• AM General official site
• Hummer homepage
• A HUMMER enthusiast site
• A Hummer Technical Info site
• Humerous short film featuring an H2
• A Hummer criticism site
• An anti-fan site of Hummer vehicles

For the form of oral sex, see Hummer.