RIP Hummer.

F Body · February 25, 2010, 07:56:43 AM

Got this e-mail this morning :

Wind down of HUMMER business to begin
DETROIT – General Motors today announced that Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd. (Tengzhong) was unable to complete the acquisition of HUMMER. As a result, GM will begin the orderly wind-down of the HUMMER operations.
"One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," said John Smith GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. "GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."
GM will continue to honour HUMMER warranties, while providing service support and spare parts to current HUMMER owners around the world.

F Body · February 25, 2010, 07:59:05 AM

Lottery win permitting it's still my intention to buy a Hummer H2 and paint it bright environmental green and then have it sign written on the tailgate........................

Greenpeace Environmental Support Vehicle

Fieldy · February 25, 2010, 08:06:22 AM

won't notice to much tbh.

Andy · February 25, 2010, 08:30:13 AM

Quoting: F Body

Lottery win permitting it's still my intention to buy a Hummer H2 and paint it bright environmental green and then have it sign written on the tailgate........................

Greenpeace Environmental Support Vehicle

Having driven one, that would be awesome. I've never sat in a car (truck really) before. And over 5 minutes of driving it, watch the fuel needle drop.

So very impressive though, albeit not the more beautiful thing to look at, in reality of what it was designed for, it does the job. Still cant see any reason why anyone would want to drive one on the road though!!

Roadkill · February 25, 2010, 08:46:37 AM

The originals were the best . . . the rest are just smaller, uglier versions made for rich idiots and rap stars.

Incursus · February 26, 2010, 02:54:41 AM

Quoting: Roadkill

The originals were the best . . . the rest are just smaller, uglier versions made for rich idiots and rap stars.

Gator · February 26, 2010, 03:19:04 AM

the only one to have is a proper military spec jobber not the "bling" nonsense

Roadkill · February 26, 2010, 03:25:15 AM

Quoting: Gator

the only one to have is a proper military spec jobber

Didn't Arnie have one ? . . . or has one ? - Ironic now he's the Gov'nor of the most polution-contolled place on earth !

Gator · February 26, 2010, 03:28:07 AM

Quoting: Roadkill

Didn't Arnie have one ? . . . or has one ? - Ironic now he's the Gov'nor of the most polution-contolled place on earth !

he has 5 dont do as i do, do as i say

Roadkill · February 26, 2010, 03:39:02 AM

Quoting: Gator

he has 5

Fek !

Andy · February 26, 2010, 05:14:06 AM

If you want to know why they're so wide, the story goes when yanks were looking for a mobile gun platform that could go anywhere, they saw what we had, being a landrover and saw a flaw in that with a high calibre gun you'd only be able to shoot in two direction, front and back. With the humvee having a square base it was safely able to fire in any direction. It's a common misconception that it is so wide so it can run in tank tracks.

Roadkill · February 26, 2010, 05:21:06 AM

(Family Guy moment)

Fieldy · February 26, 2010, 06:15:52 AM

Quoting: Andy

It's a common misconception that it is so wide so it can run in tank tracks

This is the reason I saw on a news interview with someone involved at Humvee

F Body · February 26, 2010, 07:35:29 AM

Quoting: Fieldy

This is the reason I saw on a news interview with someone involved at Humvee

Not forgetting that the GM brand Hummers aren't Humvee's but basically a Pickup/SUV with Hummer styling cues

FUBAR · February 26, 2010, 09:37:47 AM

I'd love to have a proper Humvee, even a civilian one.

Arnie was given the 1st civilian one ever made, in bright Yellow.

philoldsmobile · February 26, 2010, 02:20:34 PM

don't think many people will miss Hummer TBH....

HardRockCamaro · February 26, 2010, 03:07:50 PM

Quoting: Andy

With the humvee having a square base it was safely able to fire in any direction. It's a common misconception that it is so wide so it can run in tank tracks.

I'm pretty sure that's not true...

There are several factors that I know were on the US Military's spec list for the Humvee when it was designed as a replacement for the Jeep...

The Jeep M151 (ie the last of the military Jeeps) has independent suspension (as opposed to the solid front and rear axles on the original version) to give better grip (ie all 4 wheels on the ground over uneven terrain) but it had a tendency to flip over that was made worse by this independent suspension. When they fitted the 6 cyl engine to the Jeep for more power it raised the centre of gravity making it more likely to turn over if driven badly. When they fitted the independent suspension they made it worse as when driven quickly over rough ground it is easy to get all 4 wheels off the ground. When you do that in a car with independent suspension the wheels hang down and swing inwards (as they pivot near the diff) so when you come back down you land on the edge of the tyre and they have a tendency to collapse the suspension and roll over. The old solid axle Jeep does not have this problem. Roll overs were so common and so many soldiers were injured that the Military did not allow the sale of surplus Jeeps to civilians.

The Humvee has independent suspension to give it greater ground clearance in the middle (some 16-19 inches) but the extra width keeps it from toppling over at high angles. The width is restricted due to a requirement for it to pass through any European rail tunnel which was the predicted theatre of war.

The Hummer is not square, it is 7 feet wide and 15 feet long.

I have no idea if it was intended to drive in tank tracks, but given the fact it has light armour (or none initially) and is at risk from driving over buried bombs (even when armoured) it wouldn't surprise me as a tank driving in front would mean it was safe to put your wheels in its tracks...

HardRockCamaro · February 26, 2010, 03:16:47 PM

On a side note...

One of the problems with the Humvee that has become apparent as the "theatre or war has changed is that it's too damn big for urban warfare.

In Iraq the military has noticed that a Land Rover is a far better size for narrow streets where a lot of battles are now fought.

The Humvee is due a replacement and I suspect there will be a smaller vehicle. Certainly Jeep is hoping to get back into the game and are already selling their Jb "Milspec" JK Wrangler to foreign countires:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_J8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_J8

F Body · February 26, 2010, 03:32:06 PM

Gator · February 26, 2010, 03:34:22 PM

its absolutely true its designed to run in tank tracks that width has become a military standard

Andy · February 26, 2010, 03:55:29 PM

Well according to wiki (the most reliable source...

)

Hummvee width = 7.08ft (2.1m)

M1 Abrams Tanks width = 12 ft (3.66 m)

M1 is the current 'Main Battle Tank' that the US Army are using in service.

EDIT:

Sod it, let the hummer make the tracks!

HardRockCamaro · February 27, 2010, 03:59:13 AM

Quoting: Andy

Hummvee width = 7.08ft (2.1m)

M1 Abrams Tanks width = 12 ft (3.66 m)

Ah but that is the width of the vehicle...
What is the distance between the two inner edges of the tracks? If that is around 1.5m then it would be a perfect fit...

Fieldy · March 01, 2010, 11:23:27 AM

Quoting: Andy

With the humvee having a square base it was safely able to fire in any direction. It's a common misconception that it is so wide so it can run in tank tracks.

Quoting: Fieldy

This is the reason I saw on a news interview with someone involved at Humvee

Quoting: F Body

Not forgetting that the GM brand Hummers aren't Humvee's but basically a Pickup/SUV with Hummer styling cues

exactly, that is what I was saying. The Humvees were the width they were so they could follow the tanks once they had cleared the way.... I never said about the hummers

HardRockCamaro · March 01, 2010, 11:29:43 AM

The civilian H1 is actually very similar to the military version, there is a comparison chart on AM Generals site:

http://www.amgeneral.com/vehicles/hummer/compare.php#return\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.amgeneral.com/vehicles/hummer/compare.php#return

Andy · March 01, 2010, 11:35:28 AM

The one I was driving was an ex-gulf war humvee. As in the original one that cane off the line in the early 80's.

I'm taking my info from the guy who was doing the experience. Ex-service mechanic on them and got all his knowledge from speaking to yanks who worked them in the army.

To be honest it doesn't really matter to me as I hope I won't ever be put in the situation. I was just relaying what I had been told when I was given a hands on experience.

Interesting one to find out though.