Ah, Hummer. Once the select vehicle of the US Army, carrying the message of democracy to the most inhospitable corners of the globe. Then, after CNN's half-year of free advertising, Hummer's owner GM realised the commercial potential of its rugged off-roaders. It marketed the H1 - an enormous, mud-plugging monster for 'civilians'. That was a real hit for torque-loving Yanks keen to dig up their backyards into quarries. But it was niche, and GM knew it. Out sprang the H2 in 2002: smaller but still vast, and toned down to fit in a car wash, which plenty of them visited probably more than once a week. Now we're seeing a new sprog, this time promising to be the real attention-loving teenager of the family, and more of a cheaper, volume-seller for GM.
The H3 has all the Hummer hallmarks - wide stance, low roofline, high shoulders and wheels at the corners. No word yet on powerplants, but GM will build the H3 alongside its Chevrolet and GMC mid-size pickups, and the H3 will share its basic mechanical structure with those trucks. The H3 goes into production in 2005; GM reckons the H3 will boost total Hummer sales from 35,259 to 70,000 units, with some insiders predicting annual sales of up to 100,000 units. That, from selling just a few hundred H1s a year five years ago...
A pick-up version, modelled on the H3T concept we saw in New York earlier this year, is also slated for production.
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