Hummer Review 0001

Sunday. ,April 20, 2003

SPRING AUTO PRFI|EW'

AY MASARAH I/AIU EYCK .fi

r

t ; a pit

til .yn. spapen

ln the land of opportunin', thc nev Hummer FiZ is huilr ro prorecc our right to life. liberw and ihe pursuit of . . well, just airout anr:thing. For D.J. Ahrcns, general manage r er Bergstrom Cadillac-FIummerOldsmtibile of \[a,.lison, norhing sa,vs "get the heck out of mv rvav" rluite likc a Hummer.

First built in 1985 b.;,,\II Gcneral,

the "High Nlobilin Nlultrpurpose Wheeled \:ehicle" (Htrl\tW\'), or "hum-r'ce," becane popular in the 1990s, ll'hen it rvrs ieatured rvidelv (1.\-N during rhc Cult'\\'.rr. 'rn CrleLriities like :\rnold Schu'arzencgger made thc irrst ci-"ilian-owned F{ummer. rhe l'11. a I'Iull.,rvocd prop. In 1999. General .\lotors seized on rhe popularicl of thc Flummer and ncgoriated a cr:ntract rvirir

'\\1

mrke both thc

Gcnerrrl. Thev nrlrr' [{i und the neivlv

reieased, rrrore srrect-i'riendlv H2 oui of a neu ANf Ccneral-orvned nlant

in lndi:rnl. ,\ccording to Ahrens, rt'hose dealership bcgan seliing Hrrmnrers in Januan', the i{2 is a l'a.st improvement over its predccessr:r. which uas prohibitivel"' lo,-rd and rode "rough." "lbu can't tlrrre dow'n the highwev and calk on rhe phone in rhat beasr," he e:iplained. T'he qrriercr. nondiesel H2. i)n the other hand. aims for a balance betrvee n che stark uriliri'of the FI1 and, weli, rhe sport of im SIJV conrenders. Indeed. the H3. sometimes cslled the Babv Hummer, forges a neri' path fbr luxun vehicles. lVhile less than half the price r:f the Hi. rt sdll star$ at around $50,000 add rr.i

-

that tcrrrurcs iike the optionrl heared icathcr seats, high-tech aurjin sysrem. tiual-zone climate conrrrrl ind a polve r sunroof. lbt. while rhe I'11 can hold sir adrrks ione in thc single third-nrrv 1ump seari to the til'-. fbur, it has t'ar less st,rrlge space rhan SUVs. mostlv because the spere tire

takes up niost o1'rhc back rarrd alsr; impedes rear lisibilirr ) [,est l,ve tbrsct irs origins, ihe Fi]'s m0ie unlilLlc fc,tiures still sar

"Descrt Srornt." 'Ihese include

en

,,'n-boar.J air r-.ompressr)r to arljusl

wheel infiation, tirg iamps, ;rnd. of coursc. the rrertrcai windshielLi. \l'ith

jrrsr lti rnches

ground clearance, lplate bolred to it.s he ll-,' t;r shreid ic from rough rerrain. L,ikc ir-s predecessor, the H2 can ford ,Jecp rvater iup co Z0 inchcs), cilmb 1o-inch :iieps cr rocks and even racklc a Ji.r-dcgree slope. Still, rvirh rwo child se'rr tcthers srrndard in the che

Hl

r-rf

h,rs a sree

Page

back sear,

$e H2 is likalv

1l

nor head-

cd for cq:mbat *nycime s(}On. While ,r felv inchcs narrriv'er an'l 750 p*unds lighter than the H1, rhe F{?'s smnce is no less Powerfui. \Yitl: a *tr16-horsepnrver, 6.0-liter V'B

engine tnd .i6ti pound-feer ':i torque, ihe H2 hardly says "suburhran." And that rdge, says i\hrens, is ils rnain appeal.

Indeed, for most l{ttmmer owntlrs, the H?'s i:ff'road capabiiities are of secondary importance, When asked what L{ummers add to the daily cornm$rr tirat SllVs can't, .{hrens dcclares'-rlniquenes,9,"

""bu rvillldi:'r bpliev* riic lor:ks you gct trhen you driv'e it. I'r'e nevet seen ihe reacticn I get when tr drive a !{urnmer, it reali-v stand$ out." The reaerion is overwhelmingiY positive, he insisrs, excepf for e

nvironmenmlists"

Given the low gas rniieage r:f t|re li? {i{i miles per gallan in the cit'r and 13, nt fi{rst. on the highwav) environrnetttaiists have stimething to criricizo. Whlie the H2 wr:n't win anv {wards for environmcnml-fiiendliness, Ahrcns shrugs, "lt'.s what peaple rvant. And i{ peopie want it and thel: crn a{ford it," he reasoned, "chsn who are [environmentalists] to say rhev ean't have

iti"'

This appeal ro rebelliousness, machisrno and

above all, Personal

freedam is at the heart of rhe popularity. Iniieed, perHurnrner's lnd patencly is more nothing hapr oatrioticall-,',\merican thln a car *hnt* tagline promises "an incredible fceling r:f freedom" and the *pponunity

-'tr:

'r

sxperience the world, and your plac*

in it. like neyer before."f