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Maniac intentionally crashes Hummer into Virginia diner

A Virginia man is in police custody today after ramming his SUV into a restaurant and causing a massive fire. Employees at the Silver Diner in McLean, VA were in the middle of the lunch rush when around 12:30 p.m., according to NBC Washington, a gray Hummer crashed into the restaurant's front door. The SUV driver backed the vehicle up and rammed the building again, striking a patron and trapping him between the SUV and the door. The driver rammed the restaurant a third time and his Hummer burst into flames. "There was total pandemonium in the restaurant," Will Yeatman, a witness who was having coffee at the diner at the time of the incident, told NBC. A chaotic video shot by Yeatman shows people in a state of panic, screaming, or dragging the wounded away from the burning vehicle. Some witnesses tried to save the Hummer driver from his burning vehicle, but he tried to fight them off. "He was fighting," witness Janie Watkins told NBC. "He said, 'Get away from me. Leave me alone, leave me alone." He was eventually extracted from the vehicle after witnesses cut his seat belt and pulling him out. The driver, whose name has not been released, was identified as an employee of the restaurant who had taken bereavement leave on April 5. He had been an employee of the restaurant for two years, and in an official statement the Silver Diner stated that the company had "no indication that the employee would harm himself or others." The unnamed employee was fired in the wake of the incident. Three people were taken to a local hospital, and one victim was treated at the scene. Police have not indicated yet whether the driver will be charged with a crime. Related Video: News Source: NBC Washington Weird Car News Hummer Driving Safety SUV Videos car fire

GMC Hummer EV will weigh 9,046 pounds

In the 2000s, Hummer's unique breed of off-roaders summoned a dark cloud of disapproval from environmentalists because they were gas-guzzling SUVs with mammoth dimensions. GMC's born-again Hummer EV will escape the gas guzzler label by running solely on electricity, but it will be even bigger and much heavier than its predecessors. Enthusiast site GM-Trucks reported the Hummer EV will tip the scale at 9,046 pounds (4,103 kilos if you're outside of the United States) in its quickest configuration, and a GMC spokesperson told Autoblog that figure is accurate. For context, the H1 Alpha released for 2006 (and often considered the ultimate Hummer) weighed 8,113 pounds, the H2 checked in at 6,614 pounds with the 6.2-liter V8, and the H3 was comparatively light at 4,600 pounds. When it lands, the Hummer EV will be one of the heaviest new cars sold in the United States. Part of its plumpness can be attributed to its colossal dimensions; it measures 216.8 inches long, 86.7 inches wide, and 81.1 inches tall. In comparison, the H1 stretched 185 inches long, 87 inches wide, and about 78 inches tall. The electric powertrain also played a major role in slinging the Hummer's weight into dually pickup territory. Batteries are heavy, and the Hummer EV's Ultium pack reportedly has a capacity of over 200 kilowatt hours. It has three electric motors, too. Note the 9,046-pound figure applies only to the sold-out Launch Edition model, which will offer 1,000 horsepower, the aforementioned 200-kilowatt battery, and the supercar-like ability to hit 60 mph from a stop in three seconds. GMC will launch cheaper, slower, and presumably considerably lighter variants of the truck in the early 2020s. Although SUVs are often heavier than comparable trucks due to the additional sheet metal, the people-hauling Hummer should weigh less than the cargo-carrying variant. As we reported in April 2021, its output will be limited to 830 horsepower because it's 20 inches shorter than the truck, and the bigger battery pack doesn't fit in this footprint.

GMC Hummer EV coming to Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing

The electric off-road racing series Extreme E is getting another famous face. This time it's not a person, but rather a vehicle: the GMC Hummer EV. GMC announced that it will be the main sponsor for the Chip Ganassi Racing Extreme E team. With the sponsorship, GMC gets to tweak the Extreme E Odyssey 21 race SUV to look more like the Hummer EV pickup and SUV that starts production late this year. The changes are subtle but effective, with the nose getting a full-width light-bar motif. Of course the race SUV is vastly more rounded than the road-going truck. It also features a standardized chassis from Spark Racing and a battery pack from Williams. The team is able to provide its own electric motor, though, which the series limits to 550 horsepower. The GMC Hummer EV race SUV will make its competition debut alongside several other pedigree teams at the first Extreme E event in Saudi Arabia this April. Three teams are operated by Formula One drivers including Sir Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, the latter of whom will be driving. Andretti United will also field a team, a familiar competitor to Chip Ganassi in other racing series such as IndyCar. As for drivers, two World Rally Championship champions will compete: Carlos Sainz and nine-time consecutive champion Sebastien Loeb. The series will feature five races and with the way the competition is shaping up, they should be very interesting to watch. Related video: