Hummer Goes the Way of the Dodo
General Motors is preparing to give a final
salute to the hulking Hummer H1, the ultimate in sport utility might and, to its
many critics, the ultimate in environmental incorrectness.
G.M. said Friday that it expected to stop building the H1, flagship of its Hummer line, next month. The move comes 14 years after it first went on sale to the public…The wide, rugged Jeep-like vehicle captivated many television viewers, who watched it trek across the Iraqi desert during the Gulf War. Hoping to capitalize on Humvee-mania, its maker, A.M. General, quickly brought out a street-legal version.
Despite its $140,000-plus price tag, rough ride and a fuel economy rating of about 10 miles a gallon, well-heeled buyers and celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger snapped up the H1 when it first reached the market in 1992.
Perhaps because there are more choices of Hummers, or because H1’s moment of military chic simply has passed because of the conflict overseas, sales of the H1 have plummeted.
G.M., which sold 875 H1’s in 2000, sold just 374 in 2005, and 98 in the first four months of 2006, according to Autodata…And with G.M. on a push to recast its image as a green company, “it’s time for it to go away,” Mr. Pinelli said of the biggest Hummer.
Overdue.
Posted: Sat - May 13, 2006 at 12:31 PM