Hummer H2 - Painfully Full

 

Perhaps the Hummer H2 was "macho" and "cool" when first introduced in 2003 but by the time it left the market in 2009, that market had long forgotten what it was all about at first.  Like the 1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, it became something of an icon above and beyond the vehicle that inspired it. With the Monte Carlo, its inspiration was the cars of Great Gatsby era. With the H2, it was the legendary HUMMVEE or H1 of Desert Storm fame (Hummer being derived from HMMWV, High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle). Unfortunately, just like the Monte Carlo, the H2 also became something of a joke as well.  Shame, too considering how capable and well engineered the H2 was.

 

 

Contrary to what some may believe, the H2 was not a GMT800 (Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban) with a different body bolted down on top of it. Although, if you're aware of GM's history of cost savings/cutting corners, you could fathom how many may have thought that and in many ways wonder now why GM didn't do that knowing that the GMT800 was such a great platform. No, sir...the H2 was its own massively heavy, gas swiling beast that had a fairly long, unusual and uniquely American gestation period.

 

It all started with AM General, the old military vehicle producing arm of of the Kaiser-Jeep  corporation. AMG had long been building large, powerful and supremely capable vehicles for the military and began selling a civilian version of the HMMWV (Hummer H1) a year or so after it became famous during the much televised coverage of the first Persian Gulf War in 1991. In 1999, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketing rights to "Hummer" while AM General continued to manufacturer the vehicles at a specially constructed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana. To broaden the market appeal of Hummer, AM General, under contract with GM and with copious amounts of help from GM, debuted the Hummer H1 inspired H2 in 2003. It was a very substantial vehicle made up of 3 sections. The front used a modified GM 2500-Series utility frame, the fully boxed midsection was  exclusive to the H2 while the rear section used a modified GM 1500-Series frame. Frankentruck to say the least although it's difficult to believe many buyers of an H2 cared about such details. With a Hummer H2, it was all about The Look. Such is the case with most SUV's but with the H2, it was more like going back to the buffet table even after you were already painfully full than most other SUV's of its ilk. Somehow, though, it worked. To a point.

 

 

It worked to a point only inasmuch as if there was a market for vehicles that weighed more than three tons and had a sticker price north of $50,000. As you can imagine, that market is somewhat narrow. Bundle polarizing styling, horrible gas mileage, skyrocketing gas prices and a cratering economy and you have a recipe for a GM investment that got shown the door quickly during reorganization.

 

 

The late Chuck Jordan, GM's President of Design from 1986 through 1992 remarked about the tailfins of the 1959 Cadillac and chucked that, "It seemed like a very good idea at the time". History repeating itself once again; you have to wonder what he'd say about the Hummer H2.