Probably get sold to India's Tata, that just bought Land Rover and Jag.

 

Hi guys and Girls,

My name is Dan Neil and I'm a reporter for the LA Times. I'd like to get some Hummer lovers voices into the story I'm working on. If you have some thoughts to the following qurestions, just let them rip. Be aware, we can't use profanity! Also, we need full name and location.

Do you think Hummer brand will go away, or are there enough fans and enough market presence for it to continue, even if gas gets to be $5 or $5 or $10 per gallon? I see a lot of people say, I don't care how much it costs. Is that really true. Personal stories appreciated.

Why do you think Hummer became such a player in the culture wars, red-blue, conservative-liberal, eco vs. not eco? Have you all experienced negative comments and gesatures, a la FUH2.com?

Can Hummer be smaller. The thing about the H2 -- why is what the public identifies as the iconic Hummer, to the point that they can't even tell a smaller H3 from an H2 -- is that it looks huge. Isn't that the attraction, that it's just so audaciously large? Can a smaller, Wrangler sized Humemr succeed?

Please email me at dan.neil@latimes.com. I'd liek to get comments before 2 p.m. PST. Many thanks.

Dan Neil
LA Times

 

What kind of real world milage are guys getting with the 08 H2" w/ the 6 speed? Any improvement over the 4 speed? I like to see the improvements especially considering all the extra power that the 08 has.

 

GM will keep it. This all goes in cycles. Early 70s??? Everyone downsizing and it didn't take long for everone to get over it and cry for larger and more powerfull transportation.

My H3 is not my only car and and If I have to take a long trip I'll use which ever is more fuel efficent. If I have to pay an extra $10 or $15 a tank to drive my H3 when I want to, so be it. I sure didn't buy if for greatresale value.

 

Neil,

The Hummer brand will stay around. The mpg reputation is worse than the reality, especially when it comes to the H3. Have you looked at the real world mpg of the Jeeps, from current Jks to the old CJs? Especially when you talk lifted, big tires, etc.

GM has already said that the H2 will go away at the end of this life cycle. That would leave the H3, H3T, HX? and others to be developed to fill in the product line. 4WD vehicles always have a lower mpg than their 2WD counterparts but they have a role both in life and in hobby. Check out fueleconomy.gov and see what other 4WD vehicles that don't have an mpg stigma really get - Ford Explorer, Jeep Wrangler, Commander, Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder, VW Toureg, Honda Pilot. Check out other competition like the small Saturn Vue, Volvo S80 AWD. Yes, some are higher than the H3 in average mpg but they are close - and I'll trade off a few mpg for the offroad capability of my H3.

Yes, I did buy my H3 for the offroad capability. I preferred it over the competition for the build quality, style and luxury aspects. I didn't want an SUV just to have an SUV or for the higher seating position or to impress a valet or anyone at the mall parking lot. I bought it for function and right now, there's little available that will combine the function and desirability of the H3, let alone at a significantly better mpg.

Sure there may be reduced soccer-mom sales but the heart of the brand will be there. People still buy and use their beloved items, even when expensive to own. Examples include the Jeeps that I mentioned; power boats; personal watercraft (and the trucks to tow them), the new Dodge Challenger; muscle cars from Barrett-Jackson; large homes with large utility bills. Jeeps, pickups, Land-Rover - they all made it through the last gas crisis. Hummer's nameplate is worth too much to go away.

 

Go Figure!!!!

CURSED I TELLS YA....CURSED!!!!

SALT THE GROUND......SALT IT....................[:@]

 

12% gain, or, 1mpg....

 

That isn't too bad a start. Now 3-4 mpg more and we are at the top of the SUV mpg range.

 

I hear ya Bob, my grandma had a Studebaker Commander and like my H3 it was an awesome car. The ground is surely cursed and hopefully Toyota will inhabit it next!

 

Maybe Kia will buy a stake in those proving grounds too!