This morning on the Bikesport morning ride we saw a Hummer H3 prototype. It was cool- all stealthed out with “camouflage” on it.
I think it may have been this very vehicle:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=29&article_id=6951
It’s coming! Built on the new mid-size pickup platform. Due for 2006 MY, I think.
I hope it’s a first round prototype, that thing looks like crap… although the H2 isn’t much to look at either.
Very interesting vehicle. The thing we saw this morning was quite rough though. Cool looking nonetheless and a nice size.
Very fun.
The Hummer is an interesting line.
The original HMV is a gas hog of the highest degree, but at least it is saved by a truly unreal off-road ability, stunning ground clearance, and authentic military capabilities. But individual posers who drive them around town (at least those who are not members of wilderness emergency rescue teams or who don’t live at the foot of Mt. McKinley in the winter) are clearly lost souls with way too much money.
The H2 (and likely the H3) are just Chevys in big heavy metal cladding (GM took over the company that made the HMV), but these pathetic trucks have NONE of the HMVs real capabilities. Unfortunately, they have almost equally pathetic fuel efficiency. I have heard through some auto dealership connections that sales of the H2 have been really bad during this last spike in gas prices and dealers have had a hard time even giving them away.
GM has done fairly well in recent years in vastly improving their designs and quality. But I hope they lose their shirts on this H2/H3 debacle. Do we need more fake poser “jeeps”??–I think not. Am I in the minority with this opinion??–Probably yes.
I have also heard this same talk coming from Hummer dealerships, especially in Georgia where I have a friend who sells these abominations. I told him once that, “for any true outdoors person, the Hummer is the antithesis of everything we believe. We have a very simple motto that has reigned throughout the years, ‘take only pictures leave only footprints.’ As far as I can tell, the driving force behind the Hummer is the idea that somewhere out in the world is pristine wilderness and we’ll give you a vehicle to drive over it.”
Barf
Most people around here keep them shined up and just drive them around town.
If I had one, it would never go off road.
" fake poser “jeeps”"
So that means they’re good, right?
Please note that these trucks are quite a bit more than reclad Chevy Pickups. Not that there is anything wrong with that; my Silverado is quite capable off road. The off road mags are finding that these “pathetic” trucks have quite a lot of the H1’s capability. Or were you talking about ordinance?
Anyway, here’s more info and a pic.
In the interest of full disclosure, Greg, you are most definitely goring my ox!
LOL! Have you ever seen the commercial asking “How big is big enough?” with respect to SUVs? It shows a bunch of huge construction vehicles lined up outside a grade school with moms & dads driving them. I burst out laughing when I saw that, because it looks just like the carpool lane at my kid’s school! SUVs are one thing, but unless you’re a rapper, driving a Hummer around town makes a person look totally ridiculous!!! IMHO. The H3 looks more reasonable.
BTW, this winter there was a fatal accident in my neighborhood. A 12 year old boy was killed while in the passenger seat of a Suburban driven by his mother. At a busy intersection, a 20 year old nanny driving her employer’s children in their H2 (and talking on her cell phone) blew through a solid red light and hit the passenger side of the Suburban, killing the 12 year old. She plead guilty. Why would you let a 20 year old drive your children around in your H2?!?!?!?
“Most people around here keep them shined up and just drive them around town.”
That’s why I find these gas guzzler behemoths totally abnoxious. The ultimate in urban assault vehicles to drive Mr or Mrs FatAss a few hundred yards to pick up a large size bottle of pop and a bag of super size potatoe chips at the local convenience store. Would rather see these people walking or riding their bikes to the convenience store.
I currently drive a Honda Element, mainly because I’m broke and needed a cheap vehicle that would allow me to transport my bike and my snakes inside. But if I could buy the vehicle of my choosing today, it’d be an H2. People can say what they want about it, but it’s a sharp ride and I’d take one in a heartbeat. And I’d never let it get off road, either.
RP
I think the Element is super cool.
Welcome to America.
Yes, the element seems like a great little truck actually designed for modern roads and modern US driving.
I drive cars until they drop dead (currently moving around on a 1989 Toyopet), so I wonder one major thing about the element: how will the gray plastic body parts hold up after spending 15+ years under the intense IR and UV radiation of sunlight as well as the extreme temp changes of daily seasonal life? Any ideas?
I don’t know how many people have told me that my Element looks like a mini-Hummer. I guess it’s the boxy shape. I’ve never thought that, but apparently a lot of folks around my home do. Either that or they tell me it looks like some little German car. Never mind the big Honda logo on the front end.
My Element has grown on me. But it’s still not the prettiest car out there. But very practical and functional. My Yaqui certainly enjoys riding inside.
I’d still go for an H2 if had the money.
RP
so why are civillians actually driving those huge things? is it really necessary? I don’t see any machine guns on the top!!! why drive around in a gas guzzling huge stupid thing like that anyway?
That’s why I find these gas guzzler behemoths totally abnoxious. The ultimate in urban assault vehicles to drive Mr or Mrs FatAss a few hundred yards to pick up a large size bottle of pop and a bag of super size potatoe chips at the local convenience store…
This nails it on the head. In my neighborhood, which isn’t far from Carl Lindner’s estate, there are plenty of these a-hole H2 things. Mostly the people driving them are unemployeed rich people (old money) who make a whole week out of doing 5 errands that would take any normal person 20 minutes tops. 4 of these 5 errands, mind you, are trips to Starbucks for sissy latte drinks. The women in particular seem to love the “cardigan around the shoulders” fashion in shades of peppermint pink and lime green–it’s very typical so I can pick them out before I see them get into their elephant sized vehicle.
My position is this: If you drive a shiny Hummer, I hate you. To me an H2 resembles the epitamy of small penis, inferiority complex, ego-maniac personalities. (there are always exceptions of course)
And, like someone else posted, that commercial with all of the heavy duty consturction equipment is hysterical! I love that commercial along with the Fed Ex one and the guy with the MBA (well, in that case I’ll have to show you how to do it). LOL!!!
I’d like to try a bag of these super size potatoe chips.
How big are we talkin? 8 inches or so? Do they hold dip well? I’d probably have to get a bigger bowl to hold the massive amount of dip required.
"Why would you let a 20 year old drive your children around in your H2?!?!?!? "
To keep them safe. Never mind the 12 year old.
can you fit a 59 cm tri bike with the seat set REALLY high (for a 6’3" person) upright in a Element without having to drop the seatpost? I’ve always wondered about that.
Elements rule. nothing but functional, and that is their beauty. I’d buy one, but my current truck is already paid off.