Hummer Guy

RealWheels never ceases to impress with the custom vehicles they bring to the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Last year it was “The Guardian” Hummer H3 that had a price tag of $275,000. This year they’re bringing the ‘Mindfreak’ Hummer H2. The RealWheels team joined with the star of A&E’s show ‘Mindfreak’ Criss Angel. The truck has a Halloween magic theme to it – something that attracted the famous illusionist. “I’ve always been a big fan of magic, and this year’s SEMA show opening on Halloween presented us with the perfect opportunity to create something very unusual. When I shared our idea with Criss, he was thrilled to be part of the project,” said RealWheels vice president Jhan R. Dolphin. This will most likely be the most unusual Hummer at the show this year – but, I’m sure it wont be the ONLY unusual Hummer. We’ll be at SEMA tomorrow – pictures and updates will soon follow!

Its one of the vehicles that GM will be displaying at the 2006 SEMA show: a soft-top Hummer H3. The soft-top was installed by ASC. The Hummers that GM has at the show normally have a bunch of accessories and options, of which only a fraction make it through to mass production. But, last year’s show introduced a lot of current Hummer options, such as the limited edition back-up cameras that slide out of the rear-view mirror, the H3X 18inch chrome wheel, and the DVDs that were used in Hummer’s successful holiday program last year.

An import dealer in Tampa, Florida is hoping that their new website, crusheverything.com, helps build awareness and sales. The website features video of a Hummer H2 hitting and crushing things like a china cabinet, a port-a-john, and a vending machine. Interesting video — and not something you see everyday from a dealership’s ad department. The Hummer H3 also joins in the fun as it takes the first swing at the vending machine. So if you’re ever faced with the choice of going around a china cabinet in the road, or over it — this video should help you make that choice crystal clear.

Oftentimes when the term “Smart Buy” is brought up — a lot of people get really confused really fast. It may be the differences between a lease and a Smart Buy, or a Smart Buy and a traditional purchase that confuse people the most. I’ve put up a new link that goes over the Smart Buy program put out by GMAC. If you’re considering a new car and want to know what’s best for you, ask yourself a few questions. How many miles a year to I typically drive? How often do I trade-in for a new car? If you trade your vehicle every 3 or 4 years and put somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 miles a year, you should consider a lease or smart-buy. They’re typically a lower payment and you have no fear of owing extra money when you it’s time to flip cars. If you have a sales job or long commute to work that requires about 30,000 miles of driving a year – a smart buy is not for you. Always make sure you know you’ll be able to stay within the limits of your Smart Buy agreement. Lots of folks have a negative view of leases or know someone who got ‘screwed in a lease’ – the only way that can happen is if you don’t stick to your agreed upon deal – so make sure you get a program that you KNOW will fit your needs. You never want to sign up for low miles because you hope to drive less in the future. Smart Buys and Leases now make up the majority of all vehicles leaving dealerships — just make sure you know the facts before you sign! Good luck with a new purchase – and check out the new Hummer Smart Buy Information page for more details!

GM’s new Hummer H3 plant just added a new continent to export to: Australia. Around mid-2007 is when the right-side-driving Hummer H3 will make its consumer debut in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. “Hummer’s pedigree is ideally suited to Australia’s diverse and challenging off-road environments. Given the H3’s midsize proportions, it will be equally at home on city and suburban roads,” said Hummer’s chief Martin Walsh. The announcement came yesterday during the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. And, as to be expected with any Hummer expansion, it comes with its share of controversy. I’m not sure they actually know what they’re protesting — it sounds as though their protesting Hummer as brand, even though the only vehicle being introduced is the Hummer H3, which gets the same if not better gas mileage than many vehicles in its class. Its also the first article that I’ve seen that called the H3 “Extremely Unsafe”….where do they get this stuff?

With the release of the H2 in 2002, Hummer created much more than just a powerful SUV. It created a community of like-minded, successful folks that enjoyed having a niche vehicle — very similar to the community of Corvette owners. Boasting more than 200,000 posts, one of the most popular forums for these individuals to gather is the Elcova discussion boards. It’s here that owners can talk about various modifications they’re making to their rigs, buying and selling different vehicle parts, or planning the next off-road trip to some famous locations. What the introduction of the Hummer H3 did for Hummer’s overall sales also did for the traffic to the site. Traffic in the H3 section is quickly gaining on the H2 side of things — no surprise since the H3 is outselling the H2 at least 2 to 1 right now. The forum also is a place where potential owners can post questions they may have about dealers, product options and value, and technical info from owners and even some GM insiders.

Well it wasn’t too long ago that the pictures of the Hummer H3T (although some are speculating they’ll call it the Hummer H3 SUT) surfaced on the internet - and now a video has been released (looks like the original pics were taken from this video — I guess the shooter wanted to get two press releases out of his video — and I don’t blame him!). An interesting concept that will probably see production for 2008, the H3T has the internet crowd buzzing as to how it will stack up to other Hummers off-road. The longer wheelbase will no doubt hurt the break-over angle, making it less capable than the H3 and H2 SUVs…BUT…I don’t think Hummer is trying make vehicles just as capable as every other Hummer (we know that because nothing will be as capable as the H1 right off the factory line) but rather have ‘best in class’ off-road status. There’s no doubt in my mind that the H3T will be the best stock off-road vehicle out of all four-door pickup trucks.

So whats the big deal? There were numerous supercharged H3s at the SEMA show last year — what makes this one different? Well, this is the first two-speed super charger to be put in a high-performance car or SUV. The Hummer H3 will be displayed at Antonov’s (the manufacturer) booth inside the show. The real fun will be on the proving grounds where a similar system has been installed in a Ford Mustang GT. According to Antonov, the torque and power at the rear wheels of the GT is boosted 58% with the two-speed supercharger. And although they haven’t hooked the H3 up to any computers to test the output, they “confident of a similar performance boost for the Hummer.” Worlds fastest H3? I wouldn’t be surprised…

With added sales abroad, Hummer’s chief Martin Walsh says he’d like to see international sales boost to 25% - over double the current share. Hummer and Saturn were the only two GM brands to see sales gains this year - with Hummer up 44% — largely due to the introduction of the Hummer H3. Sales abroad currently make for 10% of Hummer’s figures, and sales outside the U.S. have grown twice as fast as the industry average in the past six years.

Folks in the U.S. ought to be thankful of the $29,500 starting price for the Hummer H3 — that is, when you compare it to the starting price of £26,000 in the UK — which right now is nearly $50,000 US! The H3 made its UK debut ealier this year during the British Motor Show. With the recent news of the South Africa Hummer H3 plant starting production — the UK is awaiting the arrival of the right-handed drive American SUV.