Not that kind of Hummer. The vehicle, also known affectionately as the HMMWV.
I was surfing over at BMEWS and came upon this post, whut purports to talk about future markenting of the Hummer.
We need a civilian version of the HMMWV like we need another hole in our heads. I have some small experience with the military M998 vehicle, from 1979 to the present. In my experience the M998 Humvee is uncomfortable, underpowered, too wide, and the most magnificent off-road vehicle ever produced.
I rode and drove in HMMVW's, both the early test versions and later the production models. During the last two years of my Guard experience, I was in a field unit, and I went all over Fort Polk, LA, in a Humvee. I followed tanks through the woods, I followed tanks through swamps, I did things in that vehicle that I would nver have tried to do in a lesser vehicle and did it all in two-wheel drive. My driver and I never even put the damned thing in 4-wheel go. It went everywhere. I believe if you put it in 4WD, it would climb a damned tree.
If GMC wants to sell the hell out of Hummers, then here is the marketing strategy:
Bare-bones M998, no armor, no nothing. Canvas seats, don't even equip it with a radio. Give us an M998 just like the military uses, and price it about $20K. GIve us a very simple vehicle, in either hard-top or soft-top version, and offer accessories that guys can bolt on. Things like a heater, or a radio. Seriously, get that basic. Pasint it olive-drab, or flat grey. Don't matter, we are going to scratch the paint anyway.
Rednecks will buy the shit out of them. Seriously, GM, the vehicle isn't anything but an engine, tranny, bare-bones passenger compartment and four wheels. You ought to be able to get the price down where everyone can afford one. Keep the price under $20K and you will have to open another assembly line.
7 comments:
...few lights, coupla gunracks and we got oursel'es a mightee fine huntin' vee-hickle!!
[coughs}
sorry.....
hi pawpaw, saw your link on Upright and Breathing and was intrigued :-)
atm the Toyota pickup is the toughest truck in the world (according to the BBC's Top Gear!) perhaps the new stripped out hummer will best it! :-)
cq
Does the Hummer have a non-slip differential? You know, sends the torque to the wheel with the traction instead of the wheel doing the slipping.
"j said...
Does the Hummer have a non-slip differential? You know, sends the torque to the wheel with the traction instead of the wheel doing the slipping."
I don't know. The suspension on the military vehicles is independent, and it has a half-shaft going to each wheel, so it doesn't have a chunk, like a standard differential. The ground clearance is phenomenal. I never paid attention when I saw one pulling through the mud, so I don't recall, but I never saw one stuck, either.
I was always a fan of the ubiqueous bronco AKA m-151 jeep. I only got one stuck once, and when I did, it took two 5 ton wreckers to get the darn thing out. My only fault with the HMMWV is its size. During my time in the military, I very rarely used the 4wd. In fact, I never owned a 4wd until four years ago when I bought a Jimmy. (it was the cheapest thing on the lot, and I needed a vehicle fast.)
I doubt the HMMWV could climb a tree though unless you can find one that will hold that monster.
I'm an old Land rover guy myself, but you got this one right PawPaw. If whoever makes the Hummer did this, and marketed it to rednecks, the rest would follow. Hell, I can't believe how beat up old 4WD trucks like Broncos, Willys Jeeps and Series Land Rovers have become the trendy vehicle de jour!
Heck, AM General doesn't need to put out that model, all that needs doing is to sell the HUMMWV that get taken out of service on the open market.
Right now AM General has sweet talked our federal overloads in to destroying the Hummers and selling them for scrap. Technically even buying a crushed body panel and banging them back into shape as a body part is illegal.
Folks, that's your and my tax dollars going to waste. Damn shame too.
Hey, I've seen the 6.2/6.5 GM diesel in those things pumped up into a 300 hp turbocharged beasty. Play with the gearing a bit and that ought to make the hummer a bunch more fun to drive.
But yea, it sure is wide. I hear the number one damaged part is the passenger's side fender.
more info: http://www.off-road.com/hummer/general/surplus.html
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