Putting the Beast out to Pasture: Hummer to End Sales of H1
It isn’t really surprising, but the H1 is going to go out of production this year. High gas prices, an astronomical price tag, and a dearth of creature comforts (“Tachometer†is listed as an ‘Interior Feature’) make the H1 a slow seller. Given that the American car buying public is currently demanding the exact opposite of all of these attributes, Hummer has decided to cut their losses.
Sure, it costs $130,000 and it’s impossible to park anywhere, but it’s the only vehicle in the military-derived manufacturer’s lineup that actually bears some semblance to the original HMMWV. AM General began producing the civilian version of the HMMWV in 1992. Aside from having no armor or weaponry and featuring A/C, a stereo, and leather, the civilian Hummer (now H1) was identical to the military spec vehicle. In 1999, AM General sold the name to GM but continued to manufacture the vehicles. The H1 was always a head-turner, but never sold particularly well – since 1992, GM has only sold 12,000 of the beasts.
Although the concept of civilians having ludicrously oversized military vehicles is never particularly attractive to environmentalists or anyone who needs to share the roads with them, the H1 was still special: one of the last low-comfort high-power trucks on the market. There’s no ‘sport’ – only utility. Hummer has officially declared that they’re switching to full-on Marshmallow Mode: only cushy suburban boulevard cruisers from here on out. Fortunately for the workers at the Mishawaka, IN plant, AM General is going to convert the assembly lines to producing the military Humvee. No job cuts are expected.
It’s nice to see the public regain their senses to some degree, there’s no need for H2 or the now-gone Excursion. All the same, it’s a shame to see the awesomely over-the-top H1 climb over the mountains into the sunset.
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That prettymuch sums it up. Trust me, it does.