[QUOTE=WFO Racer,May 14 2006, 11:20 PM]

Lastly on the freeway I love to think I'm Moses parting the sea. I use my turn signal once to identify my intentions and then I move over. Don't like it,

 

I have many many H1s right outside...wait...these are super H1s.

I do have to agree with H1 not being practical in the streets unless you do A LOT of outdoor driving.

 

GM bought out AM General a few years back.

 

Did GM really buy out AM General? GM did purchase the rights to the brand names HUMMER, H1 and H2, and shared many of the marketing aspects with AM General, but I didn't think they actually purchased the AM General company.

 

Long and the short of it is that GM sold a total of 48.... count em', 48 H1's in the first 4 months of 2006. That would put them on track, considering their rapidly reducing sales rate to selling maybe 100 to 120 this year. Time to kill it, I say.

The military Hummer is not long for this world, either. It's production is being extended by the current war going on. Hopefully for not too much longer. I have been reading recently that the military version will be replaced as well. Remember, this is a 20 year old design or so (the military version). Part of it's problem is that it is a do everything design. It was designed as an unarmored personnel carrier but it only carries 4. When armored up it can hardly get out of it's own way and turns the interior into an oven with no visibility. As the war in the ME winds down (hopefully) there will be a glut of these vehicles in the military. They will be relatively newer though so will last for a while.

 

Young_R what is your opinion of the HMMWV? I'd bet a dollar that you've spent more time and have more experience with the vehicle than any of us. From what I've seen I think it's bad as hell, but I've always had in interest in the military anyway.

I'm not quite sure I understand the H1 vs exotic car or H1 vs S2000 arguement, and I think this planet has bigger problems than the limited H1/HMMWV production. Like many vehicles the H1 has it's advantages and disadvantages. Now I'm interested in hearing how well (or not so well) the HMMWV performs in an environment for which it was originally designed.

Dave

 

Precisely.

 

I am trying not to chime in on this, but I just can't help myself.

I have been travelling around the globe quite a bit during the past year. Being that I am a "car nut" I am always checking out the vehicles I see in different cities/regions around the globe. I have noticed in both Europe and Australia (and of course Japan) an obvious lack of "SUV's".

In Australia they have "utes" which are similar to El Camino's....essentially a car with a truckbed. They do have a good selection of true to life rock crawling, sand/mud digging SUV's in the likes of Landcruisers and Range Rovers, but when you see one of these it is not being driven by a middle/upper class business man/woman wearing a suit.

Americans have undeniably taken the "bigger is better" cliche to new levels over the past decade with the prominence of SUV's here. I will happily go out on a limb and say that the majority of SUV owners here in the States (excluding traditional wagons) buy their respective vehicle without ever intending to take it "off-road". They may need the cargo space, or perhaps they enjoy the false sense of safety some feel in driving a large vehicle. Of course, certain SUV's are purchased merely for status (ie. Escalade, H1/2, Range Rover, Landcruiser, etc). That's not to say that the same logic doesn't hold true for sports cars. We all know that many sports cars are purchased merely for the "status factor" and never see more than a fraction of what they are capable of.

Comparing the generalized usefullness of ANY two cars is pointless. If I buy an H1 simply to drive through the city to the office everyday it would be as "wasteful" as a 70 yr. old lady buying an S2000 and never lowering the top or driving faster than 40mph. It all comes down the individual owner and what they use the vehicle for. The H1 is a VERY useful vehicle in certain applications (exactly the same is true for the S). What matters (at least to me) is how often those applications arise in day to day use for each vehicle. It is much more likely to be able to use the S for what it was designed to do than to do the same for the Hummer.

I do not track my S2000. This is mainly because I lack the time and money required to do so. I do drive the heck out of it on the street when I can, and therefore do not feel I am wasting the usefullness of the vehicle. Combine that with the fact that I get pretty decent gas mileage and I don't have any qualms over owning an "unpractical" car. I don't know that the same feeling could be shared by a 30-something, white collar businessman who drives his gas-guzzling H1 to work and back through the suburbs, and only uses it on the weekends to haul his buddies out to the clubs. Especially when said vehicle could be put to much better use in Iraq. I guess if he's happy with his vehicle than fine...freedom of choice and all that.

I wish GM would direct its entire allotment of H1's towards our military where they belong. Beyond that I could care less whether the H1 exists or not.

Craig

 

Actually I know three owners of H1's. All three of them live in the Portland area and neither of them have seen dirt on the tires. Some people use the H1 for what it is, but that fact is that most do not.

Who is this guy you know...Rambo???

Is it a must that he do these types of things with his H1? Or does he do it for fun?

There were recent inventions called bridges and saws that will help him with these tasks.

He is having fun with his vehicle just like S owners do with theirs so this example does not prove the H1 is a useful civilian vehicle. He does not NEED these features but enjoys them just like a recreational vehicle. I am jealous of this guy because that sh!t sounds fun as he!!.

 

this thread is old, but was a cool read, as I recently looked at H1 prices

you can get one for about 25k these days
does anyone find that appealing?

i want to test drive one, at the very least