2008 Hummer H2 Sut on 2040-cars

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Mercedes moves R-Class production to AM General in Indiana

Go back a decade or two and you'd have seen the SUV market polarizing in opposite directions: hard-core off-roaders like the Hummer on the one hand, and passenger-focused crossovers like the Mercedes R-Class on the other. Now their fates are set to intertwine, at least as far as manufacturing is concerned. No longer producing Hummers, AM General (which designed and originally produced the Hummer) has been assigned the task of manufacturing the R-Class at its underused, 675,000 square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, IN – part of metropolitan South Bend. The decision was undertaken to allow Mercedes to free up production capacity at its plant in Tuscaloosa, AL, where it also produces the M-Class, GL-Class and C-Class, and where it will soon begin manufacturing the GLE Coupe. The vacation of the R-Class assembly line could be earmarked to make room for that new slant-roofed crossover (which was originally thought to be joining the Tuscaloosa plant as a fifth model) or could pave the way for another model to reach Alabama altogether. The multi-year arrangement to manufacture the R-Class makes AM General the first manufacturer contracted to build Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the US, but hardly the only one in the world. The G-Class – which could, incidentally, be characterized as the German equivalent of the Hummer – is built on Mercedes' behalf by Magna Steyr in Austria, and the company builds many of its passenger and commercial vehicles for local consumption under joint ventures in the Far East especially. The R-Class was first introduced in 2005, and though it's still built in America, it was removed from the company's US lineup back in 2012. However Mercedes confirms that, since 2013, it has been and remains available exclusively in China. That puts the R-Class in the rare position of being manufactured in the United States by (or now for) a foreign automaker but unavailable for sale here. AM General Selected As Mercedes-Benz First and Only Contract Manufacturer of Vehicles in the United States SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AM General LLC and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc., today announced that Mercedes-Benz has selected AM General to manufacture the Mercedes-Benz R-Class luxury vehicle at AM General's world-class 675,000 square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant.

Robby Gordon withdraws from 2016 Dakar after stupid accident

Accidents are bound to happen in motorsports, and for that very reason, modern racing vehicles are built to a very high standard of safety. Unfortunately, the accident that caused Robby Gordon to withdraw from the 2016 Dakar Rally involved a road-going Hummer H2 driven by members of the American racing driver's support staff – a vehicle without racing harnesses or roll cages. As the video above shows, this is one accident that was completely avoidable. According to news reports flowing out of Argentina, Gordon had already finished the 13th and final stage of Dakar and was driving his HST Gordini competition truck on a highway headed to the podium where all the back-patting, trophy presentations, and champagne sprays typically happen. Along the way, someone from Gordon's crew decides to pass some bottles and paper bags, window-to-window, from a support vehicle to Gordon's race machine. At about 80 miles per hour. Does that sound like a bad idea to anyone else? And a bad idea it ultimately was. Gordon swerved one too many times to get closer to his support car, coming into contact with it and causing what looks to be a pretty bad accident. Making matters worse, a member of Gordon's team was hanging halfway out of an open window with bottles in hand at the time of the accident. Reports indicate there were two injuries. Thankfully, everyone will apparently recover. It's not clear where exactly Gordon would have finished had he not withdrawn. It is clear, however, that this was a stupid maneuver that never should have happened. For those keeping track, this latest incident isn't the first time Robby Gordon has been involved in an off-road rally accident, having injured a spectator in the 2015 Baja 500. According to Autoblog.com.ar (no relation), Gordon's Dakar accident is under investigation. News Source: Autoblog.com.ar, YouTube Motorsports Hummer Safety Racing Vehicles Videos Dakar Rally robby gordon

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: