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