Hummer Guy

During a recent trip to the movie theater, I saw a preview for the upcoming movie “The Covenant.” The trailer starts out with the police chasing a Hummer H3 in the night, and then the H3 suddenly launching off a cliff. The truck then reappears as it is ‘dropped’ behind the police car, only to speed away and elude the police. Pretty cool to see the H3 hitting the big-screen, especially with it going ‘off-road.’

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is planning to drive a Hummer H1 powered by hydrogen fuel cells from the McMurdo Station in Ross Island, Antarctica, to the South Pole. ‘Woz’ made the announcement at Stanford’s AlwaysOn Conference in late July, according to leftlanenews. Wozniak’s vehicle will be co-piloted by Buzz Aldrin, the former astronaut who walked on the moon in 1969, and the trip will be part of a research expedition slated for December of 2007. The expedition is to be filmed in 3D for the director James Cameorn.

This week Hummer introduces a series of new television ads intended to continue the momentum of the H3 launch and convey some “surprising truths” about that vehicle. The ads play up the H3’s fun factor, while also touting its smaller size, maneuverability, low price and fuel efficiency. Some, like ThirdWay, an advertising firm who specializes in branding, don’t think it will work:
“In reality, those predisposed to hate Hummer will not listen to the ad. Those who like Hummer or might respond to the real brand message will be confused by this campaign.”
I think they’re right, but I think there’s a ‘middle-ground’ that this strategy will work for — since that’s where the majority of consumers are — the middle.

Hummer is joining the food fight, teaming with McDonald’s in a new promotion to give away one of eight miniature Hummers with the purchase of a Happy Meal or Kids Meal during August. The vehicles include the H1, the H2 (in both SUV and SUT versions) and the H3. GM goes into more detail with the vehicles:
“The Metallic Sand H1 is a free wheeling vehicle with a retractable winch – pull out the winch to watch it retract. Rev the Red Flame H1 SUV or the Black H3T forward to send them powering ahead, or pull back the Midnight Blue H3 X to watch it steer forward slowly and then pick up speed. The Desert Orange H3 SUV and Slate Blue Metallic H2 SUT feature wind up spare tires and are ready to off-road with a special switch to guide them forward, left or right. The Yellow H2 SUV charges forward when pulled back, and the Laser Blue H2H offers a truly enlightening ride – push the vehicle along to see the hydrogen tank flash green. For added fun, guests can customize their H2H with custom-applied “Hydrogen” stickers. This dynamic collection captures the power, excitement and unique styling that make HUMMER one of the most recognizable vehicles on (and off) the road. “
Is there a certain age you have to be under to get a Happy Meal?

The newest member to the Hummer family is the special-edition H3X. The H3X is a 2007 model, so it has the upgraded 3.7 liter engine that now puts out 242 horse-power. Some of the features you’ll find only on the H3X are the hard-shell spare tire cover, 18 inch chrome wheels, and two unique colors: Desert Orange Metallic and Sonoma Red. The desert orange is similar to the H2 Limited Edition fusion orange color, but is just a shade darker. The H3 logo is embroidered in the two front-seat headrests. It looks good and clean, and a good subtle upgrade — I bet we’ll see that become a standard feature in the next few years. Unfortunately, the H3X was supposed to be equipped with the 5 amber colored roof marker lamps, and due to quality concerns, this item has been put on quarantine from the factory and is temporarily unavailable. The brush guard is also unique — different from the chrome tubular H3 brush guard, this one is made of a synthetic material and has more of a boxy look to it. I like the look of it since it goes with the square-ish look of the Hummer, but for durability sake, I’d take the metal version. However, I’m guessing the owner of a Hummer H3X won’t be seeing much off-road time — those 18 inch chrome wheels don’t go well with mud.
Hard-core off-roaders will claim that Hummer is moving farther away from its rugged, military roots. This may appear to be true — but each one of Hummer’s new models is extensively tested for off-road durability, even if it looks like it will never go there. I’m sure this is the FIRST 18 ‘bling-bling’ wheel to be tested in the mountains climbing up rocks. You certainly can’t blame Hummer for trying to appeal to the 80% of Hummer owners who will never take their truck off-road — for GM’s sake the H3X and all other special edition Hummers are a good business decision.