{"id":26187,"date":"2020-10-15T10:55:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T14:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26187"},"modified":"2020-10-22T10:58:49","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:58:49","slug":"how-hummer-fell-from-the-heights-of-notoriety-and-was-reborn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/how-hummer-fell-from-the-heights-of-notoriety-and-was-reborn","title":{"rendered":"How Hummer fell from the heights of notoriety \u2014 and was reborn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gulf War military transport vehicle. Celebrity fashion-statement. Great Recession symbol of excess. For three decades, the hulking Hummer SUV has been one of the most notorious vehicles on the planet.<\/p>\n

When the all-new\u00a0re-branded GMC Hummer EV is introduced Oct. 20 with LeBron James as spokesman, the giant SUV will begin a new chapter in Hummer lore as a more earth-friendly vehicle that’s powered by electricity.<\/p>\n

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Seventeen years ago, James\u00a0\u2014 then a high school senior phenom in Akron \u2014 drove to school in his new\u00a02003 Hummer H2. The bling-tastic, gas-guzzling\u00a0$50,000 Hummer equipped with a custom sound system, three TVs\u00a0and a video game console drew the attention of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, which wanted to know\u00a0where the money came from.<\/p>\n

Today, the reborn Hummer EV fits Hollywood celebrity LeBron’s green lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Buzz \u2014 whether good or bad \u2014 has always followed the Hummer.<\/p>\n

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Originally manufactured by American Motors\u2019 AM General subsidiary in 1981, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle became the U.S. military\u2019s mainstay transport vehicle. GIs quickly gave it the nickname of Humvee or Hummer. In 1990, the Hummer became synonymous with the divisive Persian Gulf War as the U.S.\u00a0led\u00a0an international coalition of forces into battle to reverse the Iraq invasion of Kuwait.<\/p>\n

Operation Desert Storm \u2014 or the \u201cVideogame War,\u201d as some called it \u2014 made the Hummer a TV star as Americans followed the action from their living rooms. While high-tech stealth fighters ruled the skies, Humvees were ubiquitous on the ground, carrying troops across the desert warscape.<\/p>\n

Hollywood took notice. While filming \u201cKindergarten Cop\u201d in Oregon, actor and former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted a convoy of 50 Humvees on their way to a nearby military base. He was smitten.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe just went ape for that machine,\u201d his agent, Lou Pitts, said in Schwarzenegger’s unauthorized biography. \u201cI mean, it was big, it was unique, and it was something that was larger than him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwarzenegger wanted a military Humvee for the street,\u00a0complete with camouflage paint\u00a0and a gun turret. AM General balked. But after flying to South Bend, Indiana, to meet with company executives (and signing a lengthy liability waiver), the Terminator got his way. Schwarzenegger had the hulking vehicle customized in Michigan to make it Los Angeles street-worthy.<\/p>\n

Schwarzenegger, then at his peak\u00a0as America\u2019s action hero, saw a business opportunity. He lobbied AM General to make its war hero available to the general public.<\/p>\n

The AMG Hummer was introduced to the civilian market in 1992. It dwarfed anything on the road.<\/p>\n

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Upgraded slightly from the spartan\u00a0military original, the Hummer came in eight colors. The interior was dressed with carpet, stereo and cloth or vinyl seats. Options were few.<\/p>\n

Its diesel V-8 guzzled 10\u00a0mpg, but given its military heritage, it had capabilities to die for in disaster-prone California\u00a0with its fires, mudslides and earthquakes. The all-wheel-drive beast had an insane, 72-degree approach angle and could run on four flat tires. It came\u00a0with a built-in air compressor to inflate or deflate the tires while moving.<\/p>\n

Most buyers just drove it on the boulevard, reveling in all the attention.<\/p>\n

Sales started slowly for the $65,000-$90,000 truck. But its profile grew as it was embraced by celebrities. Roseanne Barr got one.\u00a0Mike Tyson bought six. Owners included CNN boss Ted Turner, talk show host Montel Williams, tennis star Andre Agassi, novelist Tom Clancy,\u00a0Dennis Rodman\u00a0and a squad of other\u00a0NBA stars.<\/p>\n

By the time LeBron James got his as a teenage basketball star, the Hummer had become a macho status symbol.<\/p>\n

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Credit that in part to General Motors,\u00a0which bought the brand in 1999 and turned it over to its corporate marketing machine. GM called its Hummer flagship\u00a0the H1 and launched a brand lineup:\u00a0The smaller H2, built on the Chevy Tahoe chassis, rolled out in 2003 with a 6.0-liter V-8. The \u201centry-level\u201d H3 arrived in 2006; it shared the Chevy Colorado’s pickup frame.<\/p>\n