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BUSINESS

Love to Hate the Hummer

It's gone from Hollywood status symbol to the butt of jokes faster than you can say $4 a gallon.

By Keith Naughton | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 26, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Aug 4, 2008

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  • Posted By: CVerKuilen @ 09/06/2008 3:29:54 PM

    Comment: I believe that this entire article was written from a slant. It seems as if the authors went into this with the full intention of degrading the Hummer, or less specifically, high-consumption autos,while putting hybrids on a pedestal. From the beginning, they staged the need for a backer while parking. I think that as an automotive review editor, one should be able to park and maneuver any consumer vehicle. I don't think that individuals would go to the extent to moon or flip off a driver if they hadn't cut off several vehicles and a biker. At the Toyota dealership, the salesman took this as a golden opportunity to sell his product, stating that most people are "upside down" on these vehicles - I went to the extent of finding a 2007 H2's new and used values which were 54,000 and 27,000, respectively. I did an amortization table that shows that the owner of a well-maintained vehicle would be $1000 "right-side up". The salesman stated that you would need to give him $25,000 dollars to trade into and then still pay for a $21,000 vehicle, and wait for it? Yeah, right. To conclude, if you compare th H2 supporter's statement to the strong opponent's statement, the gentleman basically says "Yeah, I like them. I don't believe all of the hype. I'll buy one." Deirdre goes to the extent to insult the driver's manhood, call them CRAZY!, and to say that she could not be paid to posess one - tell me you wouldn't take a free 55k vehicle. Essentially, she goes over the top to decry the H2, and they give her more time than anybody else.

  • Posted By: Blogger1947 @ 08/03/2008 9:02:01 PM

    Comment: The H2 Hummer has always been a tacky sign of conspicuous consumption. For all its bulk and fuel guzzling, the staid old Chevrolet Suburban will out-tow it by a margin of 40 percent. I have always been of the opinion that the people who buy H2s, and especially those who buy the H3, have serious adequacy problems in some other aspect of their lives.

  • Posted By: DennisAJC @ 08/02/2008 4:08:18 PM

    Comment: I don't think it's the Hummer they hate. The crappy driving skills and over weight hosts. Tara and Dave are grossly over weight. Fat disgusts people. The results would be completely different with beautiful people.

  • Posted By: lazykidd @ 08/01/2008 10:25:41 PM

    Comment: does anyone know the name of song at the beginning of part 1???

  • Posted By: lazykidd @ 08/01/2008 10:24:48 PM

    Comment: obviously, the hummer is a symbol of waste and excess. People hate it because gas is scare, and we are all trying to conserve this natural resource, and then someone comes along wasting it needlessly

  • Posted By: lazykidd @ 08/01/2008 10:21:58 PM

    Comment: does anyone know the name of song at the beginning of part 1???

  • Posted By: candler98 @ 08/01/2008 10:24:25 AM

    Comment: This has to be the stupidest thing that i have herd you wasted more energy doing this stupied report. the only people that think it has lost it status is the GLOBAL WARMING IDIOTS. I would rather have my family in the HUMMER than that Prius when in a wreck Iam going to buy one just to burn the gas that cars like the Prius saves. hahahhahhah I BET I CAN BURN MORE THAN YOU CAN SAVE HAHAHAHAHHA

  • Posted By: TiredOfWaste @ 08/01/2008 2:35:14 AM

    Comment: It's almost funny to me to read some of the comments on this topic. First off, the H2 isn't any larger than a Tahoe/Yukon. There are a lot more cars out there doing more damage to the environment than a HUMMER could ever do. Those that bought one of those Hybrid cars that are "saving the environment" do some research on where the parts come from on that car of yours and what are the plans for getting rid of them?

  • Posted By: TiredOfWaste @ 08/01/2008 2:32:51 AM

    Comment: It's almost funny to me to read some of the comments on this topic. First off, the H2 isn't any larger than a Tahoe/Yukon. There are a lot more cars out there doing more damage to the environment than a HUMMER could ever do. Those that bought one of those Hybrid cars that are "saving the environment" do some research on where the parts come from on that car of yours and what are the plans for getting rid of them?

  • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 07/31/2008 5:55:24 PM

    Comment: C'mon, aren't Hummer owners already humilated enough by driving around in their hate-inducing, bank account terminating behemoths? It's like we want them to be responsible for their selfish and harmful purchases or something....

  • Posted By: jamesqf @ 07/31/2008 12:45:41 PM

    Comment: Hummers had street cred? Really? To me, they were just a sign that the owner would have been better off spending his money on Viagra, or those penis-enlargement scams.

    As for romping around in the mountains with one, I could do that a perfectly well in my old '80 Subaru. Always carried a towchain, too, so I could pull ignorant-flatlander-driven SUVs out of snowbanks :-)

  • Posted By: wkoh2 @ 07/31/2008 12:29:19 PM

    Comment: Newsweek...why are you wasting space on this one sided dribble. The writers hate Hummers. Wow. Who knew. And if Tara is really an expert, then the bar is awfully low for the "expert driver category". People really shouldn't be allowed to drive a vehicle they can't handle. Just common sense. (how do you block 2 lanes of traffic parking???? ) I've had my H2 in California for 2 years without one single incident. How could this be with so many haters in the world?? Lets stop the stupid people from writing anymore "iq lowering" stories. Please.

  • Posted By: wkoh2 @ 07/31/2008 12:21:34 PM

    Comment: Newsweek...come on. Don't we have more important thing to write about these days. And, please hire some decent writers. Patrick....find new friends and man up. Tara, go back to driving school. Mary, find better writers to partner with. Just another stupid, ill conceived and executed story about nothing. Nice work.

  • Posted By: Notrepublican @ 07/31/2008 2:02:19 AM

    Comment: Damn you traderdave, damn you, you know how angry you make me and everyone. I get your having fun pissing of the commenters but what's the point in making everybody hate you.

  • Posted By: TXSpazz @ 07/31/2008 1:59:30 AM

    Comment: ???Parallel-parking the beast caused a commotion: David had to hop out to direct Tara, an expert driver who wound up cutting off a biker, blocking two lanes of traffic and rear-ending a bush before pulling into the space. The disgusted diners had had enough. Three flipped us off, and one even dropped trou and mooned our Hummer.???

    An expert driver? If that is the case, then this was an obvious attempt to cause a commotion. She deserved to be given the finger, and if it???s true, the mooning was likely deserved as well.

    Few HUMMER drivers have ever experienced this type of reaction. There is the occasional report of being flipped the bird by some pore sap in an econobox. This however is far less common than the sight of a kid peering out the back window of a small sedan smiling at the HUMMER in the next lane.

    Please let Mr. Sanders know that I would be happy to take his H2 off his hands. The dropping value of the H2 is a windfall for enthusiasts as the posers do anything they can to get out of them in an attempt to continue keeping up with the Joneses who are now driving scooters and Prius. In a few years there values will tank too.

    ???If there are no takers, GM says it will make Hummers smaller and easier on gas???that is, after it rolls out a Hummer pickup this fall that's even bigger and no more fuel-efficient.???

    This is a very misleading statement as the H3T (the new pickup) is only bigger than the H2 in length. It is narrower, shorter, and lighter than the H2 and it???s fuel economy should be very close to the H3 SUV which typically gets close to 17 MPG.

    Why do people hate Hummer?

    Jealousy? Just look at all the comments from people that think Hummer drivers are trying to impress someone else. Truth is, for many of us, we are only trying to impress the Jeep drivers out on the trail.

    Ignorance? Hummers are hated for being gas hogs. If you look at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ you???ll see that the H3 falls right in the middle of the mid sized SUVs for mileage, but they take the majority of the heat.

    Because it is perpetuated by the media?

    Who knows? It???s no more healthy or productive to hate Hummer or the people that drive them than it is to hate Starbucks and the people that spend $4 on a cup of coffee.

  • Posted By: TraderDave @ 07/31/2008 1:30:35 AM

    Comment: I love my Hummer. Oh, guess what? I'm one of those speculators in oil that you accuse of running up the price. I guess I'll really be hated here. To the morons who don't know anything about the commodities markets, you needn't comment on a subject that is beyond either your knowledge or your preconceived political motivations. Speculators in commodities provide the liquidity to ensure a steady rise or fall in the price of the underlying, rather than huge spikes in the price. Otherwise the market price could easily be manipulated by Big Oil. The rules we have are mostly fine, they just need to be enforced. Isn't it interesting how the price of crude is now falling. People are cutting back on consumption and the price is adjusting accordingly. Oh yeah, to top it off, I live in the hated city of Dallas, I'm a capitalist, not a socialist and as much as you'd like to believe that I drive my Hummer as a status symbol, you're way off. My Hummer is comfortable and a great vehicle for getting around on the ranch....the ranch I bought with my earnings as an oil trader. :)

  • Posted By: TraderDave @ 07/31/2008 1:18:36 AM

    Comment: I love my Hummer. Oh, guess what? I'm one of those speculators in oil that you accuse of running up the price. I guess I'll really be hated here. To the morons who don't know anything about the commodities markets, you needn't comment on a subject that is beyond either your intellect or your preconceived political motivations. Traders in commodities provide the liquidity to ensure a steady rise in price of the underlying. Otherwise the market price could easily be manipulated by Big Oil. Oh yeah, to top it off, I live in the hated city of Dallas, I'm a capitalist, not a socialist and as much as you'd like to believe that I drive my Hummer as a status symbol, you're way off. My Hummer is comfortable and a great vehicle for getting around on the ranch....the ranch I bought with my earnings as an oil trader. :)

  • Posted By: jchellemi @ 07/31/2008 1:17:18 AM

    Comment: The H3 and H2 are awesome in the mountains in the winter. Lots of room for all your gear and they waltz around everything else before the plows are out. Other than that you'd would not want one in downtown LA.

  • Posted By: jchellemi @ 07/31/2008 1:14:02 AM

    Comment: Don't forget that H2's and H3's are awesome in the mountains in winter. Other than that why would a person drive one in downtown LA???

  • Posted By: agnstheflow @ 07/31/2008 12:40:13 AM

    Comment: Are we really in a recession when people are still driving these things aroud?

  • Posted By: agnstheflow @ 07/31/2008 12:38:18 AM

    Comment: I agree with wildlifeusa...A SYMBOL OF WASTE! Smart people drive small cars and have a larger vehicle at home for use only when needed. The only reason to drive a hummer is to show off how important, weathy, and whatever else they are! These days they're not impressing anyone.

  • Posted By: thomca97 @ 07/31/2008 12:19:04 AM

    Comment: I like my H3, and it does have off road dirt on it. I love to drive it thru mud puddles. The gas mileage is not great but it is better then that of my husbands truck. I did not get it as a "STATUS" car, it is about the same cost as any other SUV. It is cute and fun to drive off road, and when purchased, less expensive then the 4 door jeep.

  • Posted By: thomca97 @ 07/31/2008 12:18:22 AM

    Comment: I like my H3, and it does have off road dirt on it. I love to drive it thru mud puddles. The gas mileage is not great but it is better then that of my husbands truck. I did not get it as a "STATUS" car, it is about the same cost as any other SUV. It is cute and fun to drive off road, and when purchased, less expensive then the 4 door jeep.

  • Posted By: wildlifeusa @ 07/30/2008 10:47:24 PM

    Comment: I hate hummers because they are a SYMBOL OF WASTE which we cannot afford today with so much of our natural resources being depleted. When are these people driving gas guzzler going to understand?? What do they want to leave to their children?? The hummer is the perfect example of arrogance and stupidity. Period.

  • Posted By: olderwiser @ 07/30/2008 9:17:30 PM

    Comment: I disagree that the Hummer is a total failure in our culture. These are terrific art pieces and have a practical function as well. Simply cut the top off, remove the hood and the engine, fill it with dirt and grow a whole field of corn in this wonderful planter. Three years of Hummercorn will distill enough alcohol to run a Prius for one week. Please, don't give up on these. Do this in your front yards and win a neighborhood award for beautification while you are at it, not to mention praise for removing it from our traffic.

  • Posted By: J B Taylor @ 07/30/2008 7:57:25 PM

    Comment: I hate Hummers because they are supposed to be a monster that can tackle the toughest terrain, yet, I rarely see one with any road dirt and am often driven off to the side of the road because an oncoming Hummer swerves to my side of the road to aviod a small roadside gutter puddle!

  • Posted By: 2_cents_4_u @ 07/30/2008 6:13:39 PM

    Comment: This is just SOOOooooo satisfying. There's no metric by which to measure the absurdity of this vehicle or the people who buy them. I get a big grin everytime I see one of these things filling up. Despite the pain of $4/gal gas to more sensible people, there are many positive aspects, not the least of which is expediting the demise of the moronic idea that Hummers are a patriotic vehicle. They're patriotic when being driven by soldiers; driven by anyone else, and it's a uniquely American tragedy. Even O.J. Simpson isn't this absurd. Knuckleheads.

  • Posted By: PTMACP @ 07/30/2008 5:21:38 PM

    Comment: What kind of an idiot dealer spends $1.5 million on a quanset hut? Same type of idiot that spends 60 grand on a toy truck because he has to compensate for a deficiency somewhere else. I say, the chickens are coming home to roost. people, and all you social climbers leveraged to the hilt so you could get 1400 square feet in LA for $750 large (ha!) and drive a hummer are going DOWN! BTW, LeBron James' mom gave him a hummer.

  • Posted By: JDeeM @ 07/29/2008 7:43:52 PM

    Comment: Come on Newsweek. Haven't you been to www.fuh2.com ? People have been sounding off against hummers for a long time. Dislike for the Hummer started the moment they were released.

  • Posted By: luvs2sail @ 07/29/2008 2:01:13 PM

    Comment: This is so funny.......and so Hummeresque! Hummers were meant to be for our national guard
    in times of civil unrest.....should have been limited to them. But instead all the road hogs have
    been having a field day with them. Now they're paying thru the nose.........oink! oink!

  • Posted By: TruthBeToldToday @ 07/29/2008 11:31:16 AM

    Comment: They're idiotic.

  • Posted By: vince.stewart @ 07/28/2008 11:13:11 PM

    Comment: I'm not one to judge, but...
    I worked with a few guys that bought this monstrosity...db's each one of them. Absolutely no style whatsoever, ugly vehicles for guys that I don't like to associate with.

    That's my story.

  • Posted By: LIKEITIS @ 07/28/2008 7:18:33 PM

    Comment: IF THE DEMS SUCCED IN THE EFFORT TO REDUCE OIL SPECULATION..................GAS WILL DROP TO AT LEAST $2.25....................AND THERE WILL BE MORE HUMMERS SOLD!

    WORK FROM HOME..................I GET BY ON ABOUT 50.00 IN GAS EVERY 1.5 - 2 MONTHS...........VERY TASTEY!..........LOL!........(DEMONIC TONE TO THAT LOL!)

  • Posted By: Jimbozi @ 07/28/2008 2:09:43 PM

    Comment: Bought a Hummer or another SUV...So sad, too bad.

  • Posted By: SharedThought @ 07/28/2008 1:18:43 PM

    Comment: Even with gasoline prices now starting to go down, many buyers may be reluctant to buy a Hummer, fearful about the uncertainty of future gas prices.

  • Posted By: onegreenmama @ 07/28/2008 11:45:04 AM

    Comment: I have to agree with the previous comments about the Hummer's reputation. it needs be done away with. I never saw any other purpose to the Hummer other than a status symbol of so called deep pockets. Now, with the gas so high, those owners have to reach deeper down in those pockets (provided they are really that deep). If thats is what it cost to get people to think about their choices when they spend big money,than so be it. it will be a lesson well spent. Maybe sustainablity will look more appeaing next time around.
    onegreenmama.blogspot.com

    • Posted By: vince.stewart @ 07/28/2008 23:14:36

      Comment: Most of the pockets probably aren't that deep. The $30,000 millionaires in Dallas love these things!

  • Posted By: jath123 @ 07/28/2008 7:50:14 AM

    Comment: It doesn't matter if Hummer tries making smaller vehicles. Once a brand is this damaged, the name is all but dead. If you don't believe me, ask ValuJet or Firestone. Yes, these companies still exist, but after major restructuring and a name change. This places Hummer in quite a pickle; their name is their biggest liability AND only asset.

  • Posted By: leighjamesleigh @ 07/28/2008 7:04:45 AM

    Comment: Hummers are asinine and I'm glad to see them fail, it makes Americans look a little less stupid and greedy. Although we have a large Hummer dealership in our area, I only see about 3 people in my suburb driving one and they're housewives from New Jersey. They look stupid sitting alone in their giant Hummers and they can barely space them correctly as they attempt to drive down the neighborhood streets. Anyone driving a Hummer should be sent to Iraq and they can drive it over the debris and over landmines in Iraq, that is what they are intended for, not for loud mouthed manic big haired spoiled housewives from New Jersey.

  • Posted By: TheVigil @ 07/27/2008 1:41:31 PM

    Comment: The Hummer is on its way to becoming a symbol of American hubris at the beginning of the new millenium - gas-guzzling, completely excessive, and almost totally unnecessary. I really wouldn't be surprised if a 1996 Hummer drops price below my '96 Nissan Sentra as oil prices continue to rise - which, in real terms, they're going to do.

    If you've got one, sell it now, while there's still a *slim* chance that you can.

    • Posted By: candler98 @ 08/01/2008 10:26:22

      Comment: YES SELL THE HUMMER TO SOME ONE WHO WILL DRIVE it EVERY DAY AND BURN MORE GAS PLEASE I NEED HELP IN BURNING AS MUCH FUEL AS I CAN

 
 
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