Gas-Guzzling Hummer H1 Dumped By GM

Gas-Guzzling Hummer H1 Dumped By GM

POSTED: 11:23 am PDT May 12, 2006


DETROIT -- The 2006 model year will be the last for the Hummer H1, the hulking, gas-guzzling status symbol that has attracted celebrities and off-road enthusiasts but has drawn the ire of environmentalists.

General Motors Corp. announced plans Friday for the H1, which is the foundation for the automaker's Hummer brand. Based on the military's Humvee, the about 12,000 put on the road since 1992 defined the Hummer name.

"It's a reflection of where we're going with the Hummer brand," Hummer general manager Martin Walsh said of the decision. "The Hummer DNA still resides in the Humvee. ... It will always be the core from where we come."

snip...
The H1 gets about 10 miles per gallon, but Walsh said rising gas prices didn't factor into GM's decision. He noted that H1 buyers typically have been less sensitive about gas prices than most other drivers.

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http://www.kcra.com/automotive/9207353/detail.html

"Rising gas prices didn't factor into the decision..."

:rofl:

at $3+ a gallon. Price elasticity of demand of gas for H1 owners is very inelastic.

Rising gas prices reflect tight supplies of oil. Conservation is the only rational near-term societal response to the problem and will eventually be the rule rather than the exception. Owning an H1 is an act of supreme selfishness in the present environment; fewer and fewer people will be attracted to it for that reason. For GM to continue producing it would demonstrate monumental political tone-deafness.

If gas were still at $2 a gallon with no overall consciousness of impending peak oil, as was the case when consumers started to purchase this bauble in earnest, there wouldn't be a discussion at all. So to claim that rising gas prices have nothing to do with this decision, or with the prior decision to downsize the model, is absolute nonsense.

A Hummer H1 is not your average gas guzzler. It's a $140,000 off-roader. If you can afford one, you don't care about your fuel costs. It's also now quite dated, with the design dating from the early 80s and the civilian version dating from about 1992 if i remember correctly. It's a brilliant off-road vehicle (if you can find a trail it will fit on) but it's not suited for much else. They were selling very few per year these days (low hundreds I think) so there's probably no point in continuing with a civilian version if it's not profitable. Keep in mind the H1 was not really a GM product, but built by AM General. Their financial gain from selling a few hundered of these per year to private individuals was probably neglegable compared to their commercial and military products. GM owns the marketing rights to 'Hummer', and builds the H2 and H3 vehicles - both are considerably cheaper to build and sell.

and the H2 and H3 are just the result of an overambitious plastic surgeon.

The gas mileage still sucks because they're three times heavier than they need to be.

I feel pretty secure in thinking they'll end up on the cultural scrap heap with the Edsel and for the same reason. Only a few diehard rich men will end up keeping them, collecting them, cherishing them.

by the military.

and THOSE are Chevy Tahoes in H1 drag.

The Hummer is a great vehical for what it is. The H2 and even more pathetic H3 or not worthy of the name.

Sure seems like its alot more than that.

Built off of a Tahoe frame and running gear.

H-1 is a completely different beast.

I see those things everywhere.

not H1's. I'm in Los Angeles I see H1 maybe once every one or two weeks, I see H2's everyday.

Good riddance.

"He noted that H1 buyers typically have been less sensitive about gas prices than most other drivers."

That's one way to put it. :eyes: