Seen the new Hummer/Asteroids commercial yet ? Funny stuff.

[spidermonkey]

Check out hummer.com

[ErikRuud]

Yeah I saw it last night.

Those H2's bug me, because they are really just a re-bodied Suburban for a lot more money. If I was going to spend that kind of monet, I would want a REAL Hummer.

[AlanS17]

Well keep in mind a real Hummer costs a whole lot more than an H2.

An Escalade is just a Tahoe. A Continental is just as Grand Marquis.

So what if it has a Suburban frame. Suburbans aren't cheap, either. Besides, you can't tell me it looks like a Suburban. Interchangeability is common throughout the auto industry. Otherwise cars would cost EVEN more than they do now.

[ErikRuud]

I know all about interchangeability. Most people don't.

But I bought a Dodge instead of Chrysler, because the $5000.00 price difference wouldn't give me anything extra.

I didn't say it looks like a Suburban.

It is just a lot of extra money for something that is essentially a Suburban.  It is mainly a marketing ploy.

Just my opinion.

[rampy]

That's true (the interchangeability -- re-branding and such)...

But the "fancier" models are more popular and therefore USUALLY hold their resale value better than the comprable, cheaper, less glamourus cousin vehicle.

But that's a whole different conversation about value, depreciation, and maximizing your car for your money over time. *shrug*

Rampy

[ErikRuud]

I take care of my cars and keep them a Looooong time. Resale is usually not a concern.

160,000+ miles on my 1991 Isuzu Amigo XS when I finally let it go. It was running great, but these Chicago winters were finally eating holes right through it.  

Our Dodge Grand Caravan Sport is $5000.00 less than the identical (and I mean identical) Chrysler Town & Country was.

[AlanS17]

See you're talking about identical vehicles again. The Suburban and H2 are very different. They may sit on the same frame and may or may not have the same engine, but that's about where the similarities stop. The interior is different. the exterior is different. If you sit in an H2 you don't feel like you're sitting in a Suburban and vice versa. Otherwise (almost) nobody would buy one. Those H2's are very popular down here. The Mexicans come across the border to buy them.

[ErikRuud]

I mention Identical vehicles to address Rampy's comment.

I know the H2 is popular.  That does not mean I have to like it.

As far as I know, the body and interior are the only difference.

I just think they should have called a Hummer Lite, it would have been more honest.

[AlanS17]

Hahahaha well as I much as I love to argue, I can't disagree with that statement.

[ErikRuud]

I think that it is what really bothers me.  They market like it is the next generation of Hummer, but the only real relationship it has to a Hummer is appearence, and ownership by GM.

[AlanS17]

Well I think anybody with half a brain can see that it isn't as large or rugged as the original. The price tag is also considerably less. It's for the people that want a Hummer, but can't afford it.

If I could afford one I would consider it.

[ErikRuud]

The way I have seen most of them driven, it is the people with half a brain that are buying them. LOL  

[HeadRusch]

The H2's are just too damn small...I remember seeing one and thinking "this thing...needs to be a whole lot roomier".  Of course the same could be said for the regular Hummers too.............its like 18 feet wide and its still got less interior room than a Volkswagon Beetle

[1UP]

I F-ing hate hummers.  I live in LA, and they are everywhere.  Hummers don't belong on the road.   Period.  The only reason people buy them is for status.  They think it's really dope to drive down the road in something that resembles a friggin military vehicle, the ultimate in over-the-top SUV.  Too bad they're such ugly MFing pieces of crap.  You can't see a damn thing when one pulls in front of you, and idiots always take 2 spaces to park them because the soccer moms who drive them can't see diddly from the driver's seat, especially while talking on the cell.  The real hummers were made to be agile military transports that can climb over rough terrain, what the f*** are they doing taking up space at Albertson's and creating smog in gridlocked LA traffic??  I laugh when I see them driving by, at the fools who thought they made a good investment in something that basically moves your fat --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- down the street to Krispy Kreme.  My Accord 2-door does that for a lot less, and I'm glad I bought it every time I see the ridiculous wastes of money that people ride around in here.  Go ahead, I guess you've got nothing else to do with $1000 a month, and you must really like filling your tank 3 times a week.

End of rant.  (Tongue only partially in cheek, I really hate those things...   )

[ErikRuud]

1Up,

Don't hold back on us. Tell us how you really feel!  

HeadRusch,

The real Hummer's entire drive line (transmission, drive  shaft, diferentials, and transfer case) runs down the center of the interior instead of under it like most other SUV's.  That gives it higher ground clearance and also helps protect the driveline from damage.

Shortly after real Hummer's started to be sold to regular people, I saw one that some idiot had actually managed to roll on its side on a city street!  I can't imagine how fast he tried to take that turn to roll one of those like that.

[HeadRusch]

ER, yeah I knew that...I remember sitting in one at a local Dodge/Plymouth place that had one and the guy went all into detail about it...point is, for a vehicle that large its comically "tight" inside.  It looks like it could sit 5 across easy, but in reality only 2....thats the joke of it.  Its huge, but its still got less room inside than your standard Mid-sized SUV.

[Apollo]

The only excuse for having an SUV is if you really go off road ( 95% of them never will ) or if like my father in law you have trouble getting in and out of a normal height vehicle ( bad back etc ). Otherwise SUV's are just unstable gas guzzlers and should be avoided.

[aj6500]

They are the station wagons of this century.  I think the h2's resemble a hummer like my left foot resembles 1 million in pennies.  That is, it doesn't.  What it does look like is the short bus the "special" people had to ride to school in.  You need the headroom to clear the helmets.

The only downside to the H1 is the size, not friendly to suburban enviros.  Especially where I hunt, I had trouble getting my jeep down, the hummer would never make it because of the trees.

Rumor is they are coming out with an H3, shaped like an H1 but smaller.  That, I would buy.  Actually I'd buy an H1 just to have it.

[ErikRuud]

The size issue is why the military had to go and buy the Land Rovers that the British army uses.  They discovered during Desert Storm that there were places a Humvee couldn't go.

If money were no object I would buy an LM-002 or LM-America.

Read about it here.

And Here

[Tailgunner]

I've seen the LM-002 up close, they look sweet but I'd imagine the maintainence costs are quite steep. I don't care for the H2 Hummers, but I do like the H1 version. I've always want to buy a surplus Humvee, stretch the body, lose the rear wheels, and build a modern half track.

[aj6500]

You can't buy surpluss humvees.  The Gov. destroys all it decommisions, even cutting the body panels into pieces with a torch.  So if you want one you have to buy the civy.

[ErikRuud]

Of course the maintianence costs are high.

It is an out of production Lamborghini after all.

That is part of why I said if money was no object.