Hummer is a brand of automobiles distributed by General Motors or GM for short. The Hummer line, which is composed of the H1, H2, and H3 models, are big automobiles, and are often regarded by many countries as trucks, and not classified as the regular Sports Utility Vehicles. In New Zealand, for instance, a truck license is essential before any automobile of considerable weight can be allowed to operate.
Initially, Hummer vehicles were produced by AM General Corporation, formerly a products division of AMC Jeep, in South Bend, Indiana. In 1998, though, while still continuing to produce the vehicles, AM General Corporation gave General Motors the rights to use its brand name. Since then, General Motors has been taking charge of the marketing activities as well as the distribution of all Hummers, even those produced by AM General. In the succeeding years, General Motors launched the H2 and H3 models, and renamed the original Hummer vehicle, the H1. A few years ago, however, GM said it would stop its production of the original Hummer H1.
The Hummer H1, basically a pick up truck, resembled the military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or HMMWV, the same type of vehicle that was used in Operation: Desert storm, except that the H1 was meant for civilians’ use. As such, the H1 model had comfortable seats, a stereo and an air-conditioning unit. It did not have an armor nor weapon fittings. Also, while the H1 used a 12-volt electrical system with two batteries that were parallel to each other, the HMMWV used a 24-volt electrical system in which two batteries ran in series. Other than these, all other features such as the power train, chassis, suspension, body, and the like, were the same for both the Hummer H1 and the HMMWV.
AM General Corporation had long wanted to come out with another version of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, otherwise called, Hum-Vee. Then, in 1990, two white Hum-Vees were brought to Beijing from London amidst the rough roads of the Soviet Union. Heavily-built and specifically off-road vehicles, the two Hummers successfully completed the journey without any trouble. The journey was aired on ESPN and seen by television viewers in the United States.
AM General Corporation’s dream of making available to the public the civilian version of the Hum-Vee materialized in 1992, under the name Hummer, and there had been claims that Arnold Schwarzenegger had played an important role in this. Accordingly, Schwarzenegger was thoroughly impressed by the large vehicles passing by while he was doing Kindergarten Cop in 1990.
Meanwhile, the Hummer H2 models are being assembled in a facility in Kaliningrad, Russia since June of 2004 with Avtotor taking responsibility. The Kaliningrad facility is able to manufacture hundreds of Hummers every year, but they are being distributed only in Russia, but only five dealers.
The Hummer H3 models have, since October 10, 2006, been manufactured in General Motors’ facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The vehicles produced in that facility were produced specifically for the South African market. They are also being exported to Australia. In Europe, Japan and the Middle East, the Hummer H3 vehicles may also be found.
Like, perhaps, any automobile, Hummer also encountered a series of criticisms beginning with poor fuel economy. A considerably large and heavy vehicle, Hummer has poor fuel economy. In fact, if it is running on highways, one of the engine configuration of its H2 model has an average of about 15 mpg or 16 L/100 km, while if on a street, it averages about 10 mpg or 24 L/100 km. Safety is one other problem of the Hummer vehicles. Being large and heavy, the emergency brakes of the Hummer vehicles are not very effective. It has been said that the Hummer vehicles do not stop immediately after the emergency brakes have already been used. Also, the vehicles are not child-friendly. They lack features such as child seat tethers and safety locks. Moreover, the Hummer vehicles are not equipped with side air bags, and it does not have stability control. Parking is also a big problem because of the large blind spots. Because it is large and not fuel-efficient at that, a Hummer vehicle is quite expensive to maintain.
Nonetheless, the Hummer line has some advantages, too. Because they are large and equipped with heavy-duty features, Hummer cars are often used in disaster situations. In fact, Hummer Club, Inc. and the American Red Cross joined forces to come up with the program HOPE which stands for Hummer Owners Prepared for Emergencies. This program aimed to train Hummer owners basic CPR and First Air skills, so they could readily respond to emergency situations when called for.
Hummer vehicles appeared in many television shows and movies, including Jurassic Park, Seaquest DSV, Earth 2, and CSI: Miami. The most recent appearance of the Hummer vehicle was in the movie Transformers.
Hummer has been participating in car races since 1993, with the creation of Team Hummer Racing. The team competes under the categories BitD and SCORE, both of which feature vehicles with stock suspension designs and frames, and production-based engines. The competition required the use of specialized racing shock absorbers, tires, and certain minor modifications to the powertrain. Led by Rod Hall, a noted racing legend, Team Hummer has a total of 11 class wins at the Baja 1000. Its most recent victory was in February 2007, at the Parker 425, and this involved the H2 and H1 vehicles.
The latest development in Hummer is the use of biofuel on all trucks of Hummer. According to the Chief Executive Officer of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, all trucks of the Hummer brand will run on biofuel powertrains. Arnold Scwarzenegger, who was a great fan of Hummer trucks, had one of his converted so it could run on biofuel.
The Hummer trademark has become very popular and widely accepted by the public. In fact, a lot of companies have licensed the brand to be used on certain merchandises, such as flashlights, bicycles, colognes, shoes, hats, coats, skateboards, CD players, clothing, and similar other items.
