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Sunday.
,April
20, 2003
SPRING AUTO
PRFI|EW'
AY MASARAH
I/AIU EYCK
.fi
r
t
;
a
pit
til
.yn.
s
papen
ln the land
of opportunin', thc
nev
Hummer FiZ is huilr ro
prorecc
our
right to life.
liberw
and
ihe
pur-
suit
of .
.
well,
just
airout
anr:thing.
For D.J. Ahrcns, general
manage
r
er
Bergstrom Cadillac-FIummer-
Oldsmtibile of
\[a,.lison,
norhing sa,vs
"get
the heck out
of
mv rvav"
rluite
likc a
Hummer.
First built
in 1985 b.;,,\II
Gcneral,
the
"High
Nlobilin Nlultrpurpose
Wheeled
\:ehicle"
(Htrl\tW\'),
or
"hum-r'ce,"
becane
popular
in the
1990s,
ll'hen
it
rvrs
ieatured rvidelv
'rn
(1.\-N
during rhc Cult'\\'.rr.
CrleLriities like :\rnold
Schu'arzencgger
made
thc irrst
ci-"il-
ian-owned
F{ummer.
rhe
l'11.
a
I'Iull.,rvocd
prop.
In
1999.
General
.\lotors
seized
on
rhe popularicl
of
thc Flummer
and
ncgoriated
a cr:n-
tract
rvirir
'\\1
Gcnerrrl. Thev nrlrr'
mrke
both
thc [{i
und the
neivlv
reieased, rrrore srrect-i'riendlv
H2 oui
of a
neu ANf
Ccneral-orvned
nlant
in lndi:rnl.
,\ccording
to
Ahrens,
rt'hose
deal-
ership bcgan seliing Hrrmnrers
in
Januan',
the
i{2 is a l'a.st improve-
ment over
its
predccessr:r.
which uas
prohibitivel"'
lo,-rd
and rode
"rough."
"lbu
can't tlrrre
dow'n
the
highwev
and
calk on rhe
phone
in rhat beasr,"
he e:iplained. T'he qrriercr.
non-
diesel H2.
i)n
the
other hand.
aims
for
a
balance
betrvee n che stark
urili-
ri'of
the FI1
and, weli, rhe
sport of
im
SIJV
conrenders.
Indeed. the
H3. sometimes
cslled
the Babv Hummer,
forges a
neri'
path
fbr
luxun vehicles. lVhile
less
than half the
price
r:f
the
Hi. rt
sdll
star$
at around
$50,000
-
add
rr.i
that
tcrrrurcs iike
the optionrl heared
icathcr seats,
high-tech aurjin sys-
rem.
tiual-zone
climate conrrrrl ind a
polve
r lbt.
while
rhe I'11 can
hold sir
adrrks
ione
in thc single
third-nrrv
1ump
seari
to the
til'-.
fbur,
it has t'ar
less st,rrlge space rhan
SUVs.
mostlv because the
spere tire
takes
up niost o1'rhc
back
rarrd
alsr;
impedes rear lisibilirr
)
[,est
l,ve
tbrsct irs
origins, ihe
Fi]'s
m0ie
unlilLlc
fc,tiures
still
sar
"Descrt
Srornt."
'Ihese
include en
,,'n-boar.J
air
r-.ompressr)r
to arljusl
wheel
infiation,
tirg
iamps, ;rnd.
of
coursc.
the
rrertrcai
windshielLi.
\l'ith
jrrsr
lti
rnches r-rf
ground
clearance,
che Hl
h,rs a sree
lplate bolred to it.s
he
ll-,'
t;r
shreid
ic from
rough rerrain.
L,ikc
ir-s predecessor,
the H2 can
ford
,Jecp
rvater
iup
co
Z0
inchcs), cilmb
1o-inch
:iieps
cr
rocks
and even rack-
lc
a Ji.r-dcgree
slope.
Still,
rvirh
rwo
child se'rr tcthers
srrndard
in the
Page 1
l
back sear,
$e
H2 is
likalv
nor
head-
cd for
cq:mbat
*nycime
s(}On.
While
,r felv inchcs
narrriv'er
an'l
750
p*unds
lighter than
the
H1,
rhe
F{?'s smnce
is no less
Powerfui.
\Yitl:
a
*tr16-horsepnrver,
6.0-liter
V'B
engine
tnd
.i6ti
pound-feer
':i
torque,
ihe
H2 hardly
says
"subur-
hran."
And
that rdge,
says i\hrens,
is
ils rnain appeal.
Indeed,
for
most
l{ttmmer
owntlrs,
the
H?'s
i:ff'road
capabiiities
are
of
secondary
importance,
When
asked
what
L{ummers
add
to the
daily
cornm$rr
tirat
SllVs
can't,
.{hrens
dcclares'-rlniquenes,9,"
""bu
rvillldi:'r
bpliev*
riic
lor:ks
you
gct
trhen
you driv'e
it. I'r'e
nevet
seen
ihe
reacticn
I
get
when
tr drive
a !{urnmer,
it
reali-v stand$
out."
The
reaerion
is
overwhelmingiY
positive,
he
insisrs,
excepf for
e
nvironmenmlists"
Given
the low
gas
rniieage
r:f t|re
li?
{i{i
miles
per gallan
in
the
cit'r
and
nt fi{rst.
on
the
highwav)
environrnetttaiists
have
stimething
to
criricizo.
Whlie
the H2
wr:n't
win
anv {wards
for environmcnml-fiiend-
Ahrcns
shrugs,
"lt'.s
what
pea-
ple
rvant.
And
i{
peopie
want
it
and
thel:
crn
a{ford
it,"
he reasoned,
"chsn who
are
[environmentalists]
to
say rhev
ean't
have
iti"'
This
appeal
ro rebelliousness,
machisrno
and
-
above
all,
Personal
hapr
nothing
is more
patencly
lnd
oatrioticall-,',\merican
thln
a car
*hnt*
tagline
promises "an
incredi-
ble fceling
r:f freedom"
and
the
*pponunity
-'tr:
'r
sxperience
the world,
and
your plac*
in it.
like
neyer
before."f