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Low gas prices bring the Hummer back to life

It took more than the high cost of gas to kill off the Hummer brand, but the military/civilian vehicle's near-endless need for fuel didn't help sales when gas prices started to climb. Turns out, there is still a thirst for the gas-devouring vehicle in the US. The evidence is anecdotal at best, but since we know prices at the pump can change car shopping behavior in America, the idea that more people want a Hummer now than they have these past few years doesn't surprise us at all. Gas prices in the US are currently sitting at $2.926 a gallon, on average, much lower than the $3.186 per gallon they were a year ago and below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2010. According to the Washington Post, this is causing a slight uptick in used Hummer H1 sales. With a fuel consumption rate of around 12 miles per gallon, every penny drop in gas prices has a big impact on the H1's running costs. Read more on the newfound Hummer lust at the WaPo, including how online interest in H1s was up 11 percent at Autotrader last month. Late last month, TrueCar issued a report on the recent increase in new vehicle sales of large SUVs and pick-up trucks, thanks to falling fuel costs. TrueCar president John Krafcik said in a statement that, "Hybrid popularity is waning, and the country's love of the full-size pickup truck is remarkable.'' Looks like that love extends to the used lot as well. Anyone know someone who has re-joined the Hummer brigade? News Source: Washington PostImage Credit: Carolyn Kaster / AP Green Hummer Gas Prices hummer h1

An all-electric Hummer is reportedly under consideration at GM

GM is reportedly considering a return to the Hummer brand, but not in the traditional Hummer way. No, a report from Bloomberg says that GM is mulling over the idea of building an electric Hummer. The report cites unnamed sources within GM, as the folks prefer not to be named due to the private nature of the conversations. At this point, Bloomberg characterizes the Hummer talks as preliminary discussions. GM is figuring out how it wants to organize its future electric trucks and SUVs, and Hummer is a part of those discussions. Just as anyone would expect, Hummer could be used to profit off the current demand for rugged and tough vehicles. Mark Reuss didn't commit either way to a Hummer revival when asked by Bloomberg. "I love Hummer. I don't know. We're looking at everything," Reuss said. Other GM sources said that the company sees an opportunity to compete with Jeep for off-road vehicles that have creature comforts commanding high premiums. The report states that designers have done work with Hummer concepts, experimenting with Hummer styling to implement it on GMC-branded products, too. There's also the question of whether an electric Hummer is a smart move to begin with. Folks bought up Hummers before because they're big, brawny, good off-road, and gas was cheap. Gas is relatively cheap today, but attitudes around cars that achieve 10 mpg have changed. Rivian thinks that consumers are interested in premium electric SUVs and trucks, and the hype around that company is real right now. An electric Hummer would undoubtedly go after the same space as the Rivian R1S. The number of people willing to drop over $70,000 on an electric adventure vehicle is still untested, though. Even if GM did give an electric Hummer project the green light, we're still years away. We know GM is currently in development of an electric pickup truck platform, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere close to production. We haven't seen a new Hummer since GM halted sales of the brand in 2010. The recession and high gas prices drove sales down so low that Hummer declared bankruptcy in 2009, but GM still kept the brand in its portfolio. It's hard to think of a better time than the SUV and crossover hoopla of today to introduce something like an electric Hummer, but until we hear something more substantial from GM, the vehicle is going to remain a rumor.

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.