Rare 2003 Hummer H1, Custom And Loaded With Options Roof Rack, Huge Wheels/tires on 2040-cars

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Are orphan cars better deals?

Most folks don't know a Saturn Aura from an Oldsmobile Aurora. Those of you who are immersed in the labyrinth of automobilia know that both cars were testaments to the mediocrity that was pre-bankruptcy General Motors, and that both brands are now long gone. But everybody else? Not so much. By the same token, there are some excellent cars and trucks that don't raise an eyebrow simply because they were sold under brands that are no longer being marketed. Orphan brands no longer get any marketing love, and because of that they can be alarmingly cheap. Case in point, take a look at how a 2010 Saturn Outlook compares with its siblings, the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. According to the Manheim Market Report, the Saturn will sell at a wholesale auto auction for around $3,500 less than the comparably equipped Buick or GMC. Part of the reason for this price gap is that most large independent dealerships, such as Carmax, make it a point to avoid buying cars with orphaned badges. Right now if you go to Carmax's site, you'll find that there are more models from Toyota's Scion sub-brand than Mercury, Saab, Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn combined. This despite the fact that these brands collectively sold in the millions over the last ten years while Scion has rarely been able to realize a six-figure annual sales figure for most of its history. That is the brutal truth of today's car market. When the chips are down, used-car shoppers are nearly as conservative as their new-car-buying counterparts. Unfamiliarity breeds contempt. Contempt leads to fear. Fear leads to anger, and pretty soon you wind up with an older, beat-up Mazda MX-5 in your driveway instead of looking up a newer Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky. There are tons of other reasons why orphan cars have trouble selling in today's market. Worries about the cost of repair and the availability of parts hang over the industry's lost toys like a cloud of dust over Pigpen. Yet any common diagnostic repair database, such as Alldata, will have a complete framework for your car's repair and maintenance, and everyone from junkyards to auto parts stores to eBay and Amazon stock tens of thousands of parts. This makes some orphan cars mindblowingly awesome deals if you're willing to shop in the bargain bins of the used-car market. Consider a Suzuki Kizashi with a manual transmission. No, really.

GM recalls 200k Hummer H3s for fire risk

An issue with fires erupting in some Hummers has prompted General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall for nearly 200,000 vehicles around the world. The bulk of them are in the United States. According to the first statement (below) obtained by Autoblog from GM, the issue stems from the HVAC system in Hummer H3 models. The connector module for the blower motor has, in certain cases, overheated, melted the surrounding plastic, and started a fire. 42 such cases have been reported, including three instances of occupants citing minor burns. GM confirms that two of those three cases lead to the vehicle being destroyed in the fire, but states that no crashes or fatalities have resulted. The issue affects 196,379 examples of the 2006-10 H3 wagon and the 2009-10 H3T pickup, with 164,993 estimated to be in the United States. In order to fix the issue, dealers are being instructed to replace the relevant parts of the connector and harness. In a second, unrelated campaign, GM is also calling in 50,731 Chevy Spark and Sonic small cars – 45,785 of them in the US – due to a software glitch. In those affected vehicles fitted with the base radio and OnStar system, the audio system may not be able to switch out of turn-by-turn direction mode, causing the display to go blank and all sound to mute – including key safety warnings. In addition, the system may not switch off, draining the battery. GM states that no crashes, injuries, or fatalities have resulted from this issue, and all that dealers will need to do in this case is reflash the software. Related Video: General Motors is recalling 164,993 2006-2010 model year HUMMER H3 and 2009-2010 model year HUMMER H3T models in the U.S. In certain vehicles, the connector module that controls the blower motor speed in the heat/vent/air conditioning (HVAC) system may overheat under extended periods of operation at high- and medium-high speeds. The heat could melt the plastic surrounding the connector module, increasing the risk of a fire. Dealers will replace the affected portion of the connector and harness. GM is aware of three reported minor burns and 42 fires but no crashes or fatalities related to this condition. Including Canada, Mexico and exports, the total recall population is 196,379. ### General Motors is recalling 45,785 2014-2015 model year Chevrolet Sparks, and 2015 model year Chevrolet Sonics in the U.S.

2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Edition 1 back on the market after charity auction

The charity auctions at this year's Barrett-Jackson event in Arizona pulled in the usual millions for good causes. Nevertheless, there were no shocking result among the sales like the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette VIN 001 that hammered for $3.7 million in 2022 or the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup VIN 001 that hammered for $2.5 million in 2021. In fact, the best result for hammer prices this year was a GMC Hummer EV SUV VIN001 that brought in $500,000, quite a ways down on its bedded sibling. Seems the purchaser decided a little bit of battery-electric arbitrage might be the play, because the SUV is going back up for sale. As caught by CarBuzz, a new member to the Hummer Chat forum started a thread, "Barrett Jackson VIN #1 SUV available." According to the poster who calls himself Bill, "Tread Lightly, the charity organization that the funds went to, aligns well with our company and we were excited to participate with them, however, the Hummer should go to a true enthusiast or collector." The post says Barrett-Jackson "is interested in" putting the Hummer in front of audiences at the Palm Beach auction event April 13-15 or at the Vegas event June 22-24. The vehicle's apparently been built and will be titled in Arizona. It's a loaded Edition 1 in Moonshot Green Matte with a Lunar Shadow interior and three motors making roughly 830 horsepower. There are transparent sky panels that open to create the open-air "Infinity Roof," 14-speaker Bose audio, Super Cruise, Crab Walk and Watts to Freedom mode. Naturally, the seller is willing to part with this bit of history before April and at first said he is ready to "consider a reasonable offer for the vehicle." We're not sure if that means more than $500,000. If so, and without the charity component — the reason these vehicles bring in so much money so often — we suspect such an asking price would be a tough draw. A look at Cars & Bids results for GMC Hummer EV pickups in Edition 1 trim shows prices that regularly surpassed $200,000 last summer are now down to around $160,000. However, two posts later, Bill says his company is "open to all offers."  The Hummer EV SUV Edition 1 retail version will reach begin reaching owners by the end of Q1 this year, which isn't far away. It cost $105,595 when it could be reserved.