hummer over life (no mccain)

Bush To Meet with U.S. Automakers
big-three-bailout-car-tax-credits

hummerer-stupid

ding-dong-the-hummers-dead
gm-hummer-h2-end-of-production

Michael McNamara /The Arizona Republic
Husband and wife Barry Kluger and
Hope Kirsch pose with their Hummer H3
in Scottsdale, AZ (mccain-arizona-no-tree-hugg)

A bumpy road for proud Hummer drivers

by Julian Cavazos - Jul. 23, 2008 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

The Hummer has always been impossible to miss, a selling point when the road behemoths first hit American highways in 1992. But in a time of decreasing sales of SUVs and trucks, rising gas prices and increased concern of global warming, that spotlight may be getting uncomfortable.
The Hummer has become an icon of unnecessary extravagance, a car that thumbs its grille at a changing world. Nationally and in Phoenix, sales have gone down more than 30 percent through the end of April.
But whether you love or hate the Hummer depends on your view. Don Harris' view is from the driver's seat, and he loves what he sees. He recalled what it was like driving his Hummer off the lot when he bought it in 2003. "You could see everything," said Harris, 69. "I was set up high so I got more security. It's a comfortable feeling, and the kids loved it."
But Jack Clifford, 56, looks at the Hummer from the ground up. Clifford cringes each time he sees the vehicle, which has roots in the military. "I really, really dislike them," said Clifford, who lives in Casa Grande. "If ever anything was meant to be ostentatious and showy, just for the sake of being showy, the Hummer is it. There can't possibly be another thing in this world that screams out, 'Hey, look at me. You down there, look up here. Ha ha, mine is so much bigger than yours.' "The anti-Hummer people are becoming more vocal. Online, numerous Web sites and blogs express antagonism and mockery toward the brand. On at least one site, visitors can post degrading comments, buy anti-Hummer merchandise and see links to negative
news articles. One can also see a photo of obscene hand gestures aimed at a Hummer.
Hummerdinger.com, a parody site, hummerdinger
lists fake news briefs about Hummers, using humor to skewer the vehicle. Sharon Dick, 62, of Glendale, dislikes the metal beasts but channels her anger into a vigorous game of "SlugHum," a variation of "SlugBug," played when Volkswagen beetles were popular.

Each time Dick sees a Hummer, she slugs her husband. "Back then, the (VWs) were such a novelty that everybody made fun of them," Dick said. "Seeing Hummers makes me want to bring to people's attention that these things aren't good for us to have. I'm making fun of them because they're ugly and use huge amounts of gas. Nobody needs to drive around a tank." Dick did see one positive attribute in Hummers. "The only good thing I can think about them, if you can park next to them a lot, sometimes you get shade," Dick said. Hummer owners are just as passionate about their vehicles as the
Hummer haters. They love the vehicle's advantages, which to them are well worth the high cost of filling up. For them, public opinion is hardly an obstacle. Hummer owner Gerry Wiebers, 45, of Scottsdale, doesn't think others should judge
him. He just purchased his second one for his wife. "As long as it meets the emission test, what difference does it make?" Wiebers said. "I could care less about what people think. I really don't think it's anybody's business." For him, safety is
a concern. Wiebers, who owns an H2 and an H3, said he bought his two Hummers for their relative indestructibility. He likes the feeling that his large vehicle would protect him in an accident"I
had somebody hit me a few months ago, and I almost didn't even hear it," Wiebers
said. "You don't see many people hauled off in a hearse taken out from a Hummer."
That reasoning works in reverse for those encountering Hummers. Few cars could
stand up to a Hummer in an accident. "I had a number of close calls with
these vehicles while driving, and I was certain it was because the vehicles were
not built for driving in heavy traffic," said Patience Hoag, 47, of Phoenix. "The
drivers simply could not see me." Environmentalists complain about the Hummers
because of the fuel inefficiency. The first Hummers (H1s) and H2s weigh more than
8,500 pounds, so the vehicles are not covered by federal regulations requiring
fuel-mileage figures for cars and light trucks. However, IntelliChoice, an automotive-research
site, lists the H2's mileage as 11 mpg in the city and 13 mpg on the highway.
Consumer Reports magazine did its own tests and found the H2 averaged 10.7
mpg. Sandy Bahr, regional chapter director for the Sierra Club, considers
Hummers to be a waste of valuable resources. "It's the ultimate symbol of inefficiency,"
said Bahr, who drives a hybrid. "We ought to be thinking about the next generation,
about having clean air and what kind of planet we'll have." Then there's the
financial impact. With gas at $4-plus per gallon, it costs about $128 to fill
the H2's 32-gallon tank. Those numbers did not dissuade Barry Kluger, 54, of Scottsdale,
from buying a Hummer. The public-relations-agency owner moved to the Valley three
years ago from New York City, away from 700-square-foot homes and small cars.
His East Coast friends complain about him owning one. "Our
East Coast friends are these green people," Kluger said. "Ever since we moved
to Arizona they said we've become these gas guzzlers. Our friends say, 'You got
to get green, save a lot of money.' New York tends to be more liberal and more
energy conscious."(mccain arizona no-tree-hugg) Hummers go
back to 1979, when vehicle manufacturer AM General began making high mobility,
multipurposed, wheeled vehicles, or HMMWVs (pronounced Humvees), for the U.S.
Army. In 1992, the civilian version of Humvees, known as Hummers, became available
to the public. The H1, H2 and H3 models now are manufactured and sold by GM.

In the immediate future, Hummers still will be made based on demand, said Nick
Richards, Hummer communications manager. Last year, 55,986 Hummers, including
12,431 H2s, were sold in the United States. In the face of rising gas prices,
Kluger's wife, Hope Kirsch, 53, tries to conserve miles by running several errands
each trip. "I'll make sure I am doing three things instead of just one," said
Kirsch, an attorney. "I'm mindful of where I travel, and try to stay in my neighborhood."

David and Goliath