As soon as we rolled into the hotel parking lot in Longview, TX – we knew we were in the right place for The Hummer Club’s next event: Barnwell Mountain 2007. Hummer H1s, H2s, and H3s were over the parking lot – all customized, accessorized, and ready to take off with a “No Road, No Problem” attitude!
The next morning after registration we headed next door to Lowes, which was the only business that had a parking lot large enough to easily stage that many Hummers. After a short (police escorted – nice!) drive to Gilmer, TX we found ourselves at Barnwell Mountain. Barnwell is a rustic feeling place that really only consists of a small office building and a pavilion. Once a few stragglers caught up we dropped the air pressure in our tires and separated into trail groups (we had mostly Hummer H3s in our group). After taking the Hummers on a few rocky roads with steep inclines and some moderate rock climbing, we got into more advanced driving. A couple good stair-step type obstacles and an uphill rocky step were a little challenging, but nothing the H3 couldn’t handle. Unfortunately, we were only able to stay a short time on Friday and the event lasted until Sunday night.
Overall, Barnwell Mountain has a ton of trails that range from super-easy to super hard (or impossible for most trucks). The trick is knowing your own limitations, as well as your Hummer’s limitations – and also how much you may be willing to spend to repair if you over-estimate either one! We made it out scratch and dent free – but we didn’t get to stay for the ‘good stuff.’ My only regret is not getting to finish out the event – but overall it was a nice event from the nice folks with The Hummer Club!
I wouldn’t have normally found this newsworthy, but in light of the Saint Patrick’s day holiday quickly coming up, I figured I’d let you know. If you decide to travel to Ireland for your March 17th festivities – just know that you can now rent a Hummer limo. Sure we’re all used to them in the United States, but this is big news for the Old Sod!
There’s been a lot of rumors and news reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got rid of his Hummers. Not exactly. A recent interview with Spiegel.de clarified his stance on Hummer ownership. He admits he still has Hummers, but they’re like nothing else –
These are no ordinary Hummers. I had General Motors customize one of them into a hydrogen Hummer. It’s the only Hummer in the world with that motor. I had another converted from diesel to biofuel. But now that I am governor, I am no longer able to drive these cars because I am chauffeured by the California Highway Patrol. My Hummers are usually in the garage.
The governor goes on to explain that becoming “greener” isn’t necessarily about slimming down in size:
The message I am trying to get across is exactly this: Protecting the environment does not require us to be against large SUVs or trucks. Instead we should develop technology to cut down greenhouse gas emissions because that is where the action is — it’s not about what the size of the car is. We just have to redo the vehicles.
This is a story from several months ago, but it seems to have resurfaced on the online commentary scene. I hesitated to post it originally due to the way the research was done, which in my mind seemed a bit misleading (e.g. of course R&D would be less with a Hummer’s internal combustion engine – but how many decades did it take to get to where we are?). I figured I’d post a few links from both sides and let you all decide which side you’d like to defend. I believe there are some interesting facts and arguments – the following is taken from an article in The Recorder:
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
It’s listed on Ebay as a Volkswagen, has a Porsche motor, but takes design cues from a Hummer H1 and has doors like a Jeep Wrangler. The “Humbug” is claimed to have $35,000 invested in customization. Overall, it’s an interesting looking truck and is probably a decent off-roader. It has low approach and departure angles like a Hummer, but the short wheelbase of the Jeep Wrangler. The reserve hasn’t been met at the time of this posting – maybe someone here will put in the winning bid!
Whether you’re looking at a Hummer H2 or Hummer H3 – if it has a sunroof – it’s free (for a limited time, of course)! In March, every Hummer dealer is able to subtract the cost of the Sunroof from any 2007 H2 or H3. This is applicable for Hummer Leases, Hummer Smart Buys, and traditional purchases. If you decide you’d rather not have a sunroof – you can STILL get the credit towards your new Hummer. This is great news from the folks at General Motors – and just in time for the upcoming spring-time weather!
Back in September we brought you a post named “Hummer H2: Rescue Vehicle or Leaked Movie Prop?” Our suspicions have become reality, with GM releasing photos and the announcement that several GM vehicles will be used in the upcoming movie. One of the vehicles is a heavily modified search and rescue Hummer H2. I wonder if we’ll see any ambulances like this one in the future? Transformers will hit the silver screen on July 4th.
We recently brought you the Hummer H3 face-off from Cars.com – here is a video that pits the Hummer H2 against some of its luxury competitors. The video was produced at AM General’s Hummer off-road training facility, so you can take a guess where this is heading. I don’t claim that this video proves Hummer’s dominance in the segment, and is far less organized that the Cars.com comparison – but Hummer owners will appreciate it. And everyone will appreciate the Scooby Doo type sound effects – especially the squash effect when the red Land Rover nails the mud – ha!
This is another example of how certain areas plagued by heavy snow and wintry weather are using Hummers for their off-road ability. The vehicles are able to transport critical hospital staff to work in times of need. The local hospital in Sioux Falls offered the local dealership (Hummer of Sioux Falls) a sum of money to rent Hummer vehicles. Hummer of Sioux Falls volunteered four Hummers with no strings attached – only that they’d have to give them back once the weather has passed! Currently about 80 people are using the Hummer shuttle service to and from the Hospital. There was a similar situation in Denver over the holiday season when Hummers were called to the rescue.
Cars.com set out to find the most macho of three SUVs: The Hummer H3, Dodge Nitro, and Toyota’s FJ Cruiser. The testers compared each vehicles’ looks, off-road ability, and every-day usability. The Hummer H3 took top prize in Tough-Guy Appeal, Comfort and Roominess, and Offroad Provisions. The Dodge nitro came away with “Best Value,” but the Hummer came away with the editors top prize of “Most Macho!” Here’s what the editors had to say:
Dodge Nitro:
The Nitro has the swagger to be most macho, but without any real offroad capability, it’s all show.
Hummer H3: Hummer has basically owned this category since the H1 stormed onto the stage, and the H3 continues that legacy.
Toyota FJ Cruiser: More retro than macho, the FJ Cruiser lacks the intimidating presence of the Nitro and H3, despite its admirable offroadability.
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