Hummer is a brand of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) sold by General Motors, also known as GM. They are based on the military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee. The Hummer is one of the larger SUV types, with commensurate high fuel consumption.

Hummers were originally built by AM General Corporation, formerly the military and government vehicle division of American Motors, in its South Bend, Indiana assembly plant. AM General had planned to sell a civilian version of the Hummer as far back as the late 1980s. In 1990, two matching white Hummers were driven from London to Beijing over the rough roads of central Soviet Union. The Hummers made the trip with ease, for they were built to drive on off-road terrain. The highlights of this journey were broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This publicity would pale in comparison to the attention that the HMMWV received for its service in Operation: Desert Storm the following year.
In 1992, AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Hum-Vee) vehicle to the public under the brand name “Hummer”. According to legend, they began doing so after Arnold Schwarzenegger asked them to; apparently, he was impressed by a convoy of HMMWVs that drove by during his filming Kindergarten Cop in 1992. In 1998, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors but continued to manufacture the vehicles. GM is responsible for the marketing and distribution of all Hummers produced by AM General. In the next few years, GM introduced two new homegrown models, the H2 and H3, and renamed the original vehicle H1. AM General continues to build the H1 and is contracted by GM to produce the H2. The H3 is built in Shreveport, LA alongside the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups.

2006 Hummer lineup: H3, H1, and H2 (L-R)
As of 2006, Hummer has gone international with selected importers and distributors in Europe and other markets.
Since October 10, 2006, GM has been producing the Hummer H3 at its Port Elizabeth plant in South Africa for international markets.[2] Hummers at the Port Elizabeth plant will be built both for local South African consumption and for export to Australia (for the 2008 model year), Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. As of October 2006, Hummer vehicles are marketed by about 300 dealers in 34 countries. 173 of those are in the U.S.
The H2 is also assembled in Kaliningrad, Russia, by Avtotor, starting in June 2004. The plant produces a few hundred vehicles annually, and its output is limited to local consumption (five dealers in Russia initially).
On May 12, 2006, GM announced it would cease production of the original H1 Hummer.[3]
GM CEO Rick Wagoner has said the Hummer brand of trucks will run on Biofuel Powertrains in Last Year’s Los Angeles International Auto Show. Schwarzenegger has subsequently had one of his Hummer’s converted to run on biofuel and now promotes this approach.

Source: Wikipedia

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by Alex Nunez

Automobile magazine has kissed the 2008 HUMMER embargo good-bye, so here’s the skinny on the ‘08 H3 Alpha.

For 2008, HUMMER has addressed one of the sticking points many people have had with the smaller H3 model, namely, the lack of a V8 engine. While the 3.7L inline 5 has adequate power to shuttle the H3 around, the burble of a V8’s exhaust note and the associated extra thrust would certainly have been more in keeping with the brand image created by the monster-sized H1 and solidified by the more-realistic H2.

With the return of the Alpha moniker last seen on the top-end H1, HUMMER fixed the H3’s biggest problem. The Alpha, you see, has 5.3 liters of V8 power underhood. Read on after the jump.

[Source: HUMMER]

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by John Neff

As many of you know, I hail from Cleveland, OH where only two things I know to be certain: the Browns will forever suck and LeBron James will forever be king of the smallest big city in the U.S. We weren’t always sure he would become our king, however. James’ mom presented him with a HUMMER H2 on his 18th birthday, which caused the Ohio High School Athletic Association to investigate the matter to ensure the SUV wasn’t an inappropriately accepted gift. The turmoil surrounding the SUV almost prevented our dribbling deity from entering the NBA.

LeBron still drives that HUMMER, although it has received a makeover by Unique Autosports of Long Island for the season premier of Unique Whips on SPEED. The HUMMER got a new paint job, new grille, new wheels and a custom interior with enough gadgets and technology to make a West Coast Customs guy cry. James already received the redone H2 at his home somewhere in the “Heart of it All” Ohio, but you can watch the transformation of this infamous ride in the premiere of Unique Whips on Feb. 21st at 10PM EST on SPEED (check your local listingsv - isn’t that what they always say at this part?).

Check out the full press release after the jump.

[Source: Unique Autosports]

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by John Neff

HUMMER announced this morning a new version of its H2 SUV called the Victory Red Limited Edition, which is marked by its bright “Victory Red” paint job that extends to body-color fender and rocker moldings. Available for the H2 and H2 SUT, the limited-run package also includes a low-profile, roof-mounted light bar, chrome bits dotting the exterior and 17-inch chrome wheels. We take umbrage with the decision to use carbon fiber appearance accents on the interior, but dig the rear-vision camera system that displays video from a camera out back on a 3.5-inch display that slides out the side of the rearview mirror. Other premium touches include a heated windshield wiper system and rear-seat DVD entertainment system with headrest-mounted screens and wireless headphones. All these premium bits add up to a premium price tag, with the SUV starting at $66,030 and the SUT at $65,575. That’s a pretty big jump over the $54,255 base price of a standard H2 SUV, though even those can be optioned up with packages to hit $60k pretty easily. We’ll likely see the “Victory Red” at the Chicago Auto Show, and it will be arriving in dealerships sometime in February.

Check out our high-resolution gallery of the HUMMER H2 Victory Red Limited Edition and GM’s official press release after the jump.

[Source: GM]

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Boomerang Enterprises teams up with General Motors to offer their full line of distinctive soft spare tire covers and hybrid rigid face tire covers to North American Hummer dealers.

Boulder, CO (PRWEB) December 14, 2006 — In 2006, as a result of overwhelming market response to their products, Boomerang Enterprises (www.boomco.com) teamed up with General Motors to offer their full line of distinctive soft spare tire covers and hybrid rigid face tire covers to North American Hummer dealers.

Boomerang is the only licensed supplier for soft and hybrid spare tire covers. Therefore, they are the only supplier authorized by GM to distribute trademarked product for these types of cover

“Boomerang is the only licensed supplier for soft and hybrid spare tire covers. Therefore, they are the only supplier authorized by GM to distribute trademarked product for these types of cover,” states Diane Mahoney, General Motors Licensing Manager. The licensed products include Boomerang soft vinyl tire covers, including their patented reflective print tire covers, as well as their unique line of hybrid rigid face tire covers for Hummer H2 and H3 vehicles.

Since 1995, Boomerang Enterprises, Inc has been an automotive accessories manufacturer specializing in designing, manufacturing and selling custom rear mounted tire covers to both automotive dealerships and manufacturers. Within a few years of entering the market, Boomerang became the leading supplier by innovating new product concepts in a market that had seen little innovation historically. “Other players have consistently attempted to copy our innovations, but generally fall short,” states Gene Fischer, VP of Sales and Marketing.

Boomerang’s rigid face tire covers are truly a hybrid between traditional vinyl tire covers and all plastic covers. Christopher Fischer, President, states, “We developed and perfected this versatile line of tire covers over a number of years and officially launched the product in 2005.” The covers are unique in that they are constructed of a durable UV resistant, thermoformed ABS plastic face that is sewn to a heavy duty vinyl side band that stretches around the tire’s tread. Customers love the versatility of these covers. A dealer can order the tire cover in standard black textured version or in a color matched painted version. “Both options look great on the back of any Hummer, come with our standard 3 year warranty, and like all of our products, can be customized with dealer logos,” according to Jessica Flynn, Creative Director. There is even an option for a stainless steel painted or unpainted ring if the customer requests it.

Boomerang’s multi-step painting process is top quality. Each tire cover is properly prepped, base coated, and clear coated resulting in a very attractive tire cover. “Boomerang uses only top of the line, premium PPG automotive paint and unlike any of our competition, we have a proprietary screen printing process that permanently seals the printed graphics under the clear coat giving the painted Hummer tire cover a very impressive and durable finish,” states Christopher Fischer.

For more information on Boomerang Enterprises and their innovative products, please visit their site dedicated to Hummer H2 and H3 Tire Covers.

Contact:
Christopher Fischer
Boomerang Enterprises, Inc.
2885 Wilderness Place
Boulder, CO 80301
303-447-0902 x304

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By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

For sleepless car owners who decide they need to check their tire pressure in the middle of the night, General Motors has a solution.
GM (GM) plans to introduce a remote-control key fob next April that will allow drivers to not only determine the pressure in each tire, but also check the odometer reading, see if there’s enough fuel in the tank to make it to work in the morning, change the radio station settings and see if they remembered to lock the car doors, to name a few.

The device will be a $150 option on Cadillac Escalade luxury SUVs and other full-size GM SUVs, pickups and crossover-utility vehicles.

“One of the overarching themes people told us they wanted was security and safety,” GM spokesman Tom Henderson says. Being able to reassure themselves about their vehicles without leaving the house is one way to satisfy that.

The feature builds on GM’s expertise as the first automaker to introduce remote start, which made its debut in the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu and now is available from other automakers and as an add-on accessory.

GM says it will be first to offer remote two-way communication with the vehicle using a liquid-crystal display on the fob. The fob will operate at four to six times the range of competitors’ keyless entry systems, GM says.

Automakers have been giving the remote-control key fob more and more tasks beyond the ability to lock or unlock the doors from a distance. Some will operate the power windows. Others are keyed to a car’s memory settings and reset seats, mirrors, stereo and other functions to the driver’s preference after a different driver has been using the vehicle.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer systems that adjust a vehicle’s seats and mirrors to a drivers’ personal preferences not from the fob, but as soon as the driver touches the outside door handle.

Volvo is planning a keyless entry system that can detect a heartbeat and alert the driver if someone is lurking inside the car. That’ll be introduced on a new version of the S80 sedan in the USA in February. The same technology, with some changes, should eventually be able to remind drivers if they forget and leave children in the car.

GM says its two-way fob will cost less than $100 to replace if it’s lost or broken. And it should be hard to break, Henderson says. For testing, it’s been dropped, dunked underwater and sprayed with saltwater.

GM says the feature probably will be considered a bargain. Consumer test panels showed that interest in the feature rose, rather than fell, when panel members were told what GM planned to charge.

[Sorce USA Today

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