Hummer, Son of Humvee

The Hummer was derived from the Humvee military vehicle originally built by American Motors General in 1992, in 1998 General Motors bought the Hummer. The Hummer was a military vehicle until The Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger decided he wanted one for himself, and soon after other celebrities followed.

The Hummer H1 was then offered to the general public in basically the same military form, and that was followed by the smaller Hummer H2 and the final H3, both of which were built on smaller GM platforms. The civilianized H1 brute was all show with a big showy price, high fuel consumption, and a small trunk, and was never a big seller, General Motors decided to eject the Hummer as part of it's bankruptcy reorganization plan. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industries of China was interested in buying the brand and continuing production, but the deal fell through. A Chicago investment group had also shown interest, which also went nowhere after two years of uncertainty about the future of the Hummer.

The H2 was lower and wider than the H1, seating 6 passengers, and was also built as a light duty crew cab truck with a bed behind the four door body. Production of the H2 began in 2002 in Indiana and was ended in December 2008. Production of the H3 was started at the GM plant in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2005 as a mid sized SUV using the chassis of the Chevrolet Colorado pick up truck. The H3 was powered by a 5 cylinder engine with either a 5 speed manual or four speed automatic transmission and all wheel drive. Sales of the H3 peaked at 54,052 units in 2006. Production of the H3 began in South Africa in 2007 and all H3 production was discontinued in 2010.

Sales of all Hummers peaked at 71,524 units in 2006, the same year the original H1 was discontinued. In December 2009 only 325 Hummers were sold. General Motors has been winding down the Hummer brand throughout 2010 as dealers shut down and send letters to owners advising where their warranty will be honored. Finding a buyer for Hummer which would honor the GM warranty was one of the problems when trying to sell the brand.