2005 Hummer H2 Luxury Adventure! Dvd! Chrome! 4x4! 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.

This modified Hummer hybrid will go to the South Pole on biofuel

One modified Hummer H1, traveling with another vehicle that looks like a modified Hummer H1, will spend six to 10 days driving to the South Pole, two days camping at the Pole, and take another six to 10 days driving back to the coast of Antarctica. Assuming all goes well. That's not guaranteed, since this blue beast really is - fundamentally, at least - a Hummer H1, not just Hummer-like bodywork over non-Hummer internals like you'd find on, say, the Dakar-winning "Mini." The Zero South team has been working on this vehicle for seven years (we checked it out at SEMA in 2008 and in 2010). The frame, suspension, axles, hubs, differentials, and the body are pure 1998 Hummer, the funky bodywork being from an insulated H1 ambulance, the uprated driveline from an armored H1. The original H1 used a 6.5-liter V8, but here that ICE engine has been swapped for a 3.2-liter turbodiesel V6 straight-six that will run on aviation-grade biofuel pulled from two 30-gallon tanks. Called the Hybrid Polar Traverse Vehicles, the serial hybrids use that engine to power a 216-horsepower electric motor that juices up a 24-kWr battery stored in an insulated, five-foot-long battery box between the frame rails. That battery powers two 200-hp electric motors, one at each axle, that will keep the tracks going through the Antarctic December half-light. We aren't sure what the second vehicle is based on, but its internals mirror the Hummer's, it has the exact same specs, and it looks almost the same except it's painted orange. They will pull a modified Airstream trailer called the "Snowstream," and are planning and eight-episode TV series as well as a feature film to document the expedition.

Hummer officially returns as an EV with 1,000 hp in Super Bowl ad

Hummer, the iconic, controversial and long-dead truck and SUV maker, returned this Sunday in a Super Bowl ad that previewed its comeback under the GMC brand. General Motors announced the move and teased the vehicle with a series of clips (below) Thursday morning, confirming reports of Hummer's resurrection that have simmered for months. The bane of environmentalists in the early 2000s, Hummer is recast as an electric-only truck capable of a jaw-dropping 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 lb-ft of torque (we believe this figure to be wheel torque) and a sprint to 60 mph in 3 seconds. “We came to play ball,” a spokesman deadpanned in an interview with Autoblog. Electric range was not revealed. The teaser shots show a grille that recalls old Hummer vehicles, though the look is updated with flashy lights. GM will build the reborn Hummer at the Detroit-Hamtramck factory in Michigan that was once thought to be set to close. It will be revealed May 20 at an event, possibly in Las Vegas. The truck will be available in fall 2021. “GMC builds premium and capable trucks and SUVs and the GMC HUMMER EV takes this to new heights,” Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global Buick and GMC, said in a statement. “We are excited to debut our revolutionary zero-emissions truck during the biggest night in TV advertising.” The Super Bowl ad aired just before halftime in the United States and featured Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.  In a statement, he said: “Teaming up with GMC to introduce the Hummer EV is a natural fit. Everyone knows about my love for Hummer since high school and IÂ’m proud to be a part of announcing the new EV model. The truck may be quiet, but the performance numbers speak for themselves.” Hummer will take aim at a slew of electric truck and SUV makers, including Rivian, which announced Wednesday plans to help build LincolnÂ’s first electric vehicle in its partnership with Ford Motor Co. Hummer will also face off against the Tesla Cybertruck, BollingerÂ’s EVs and other competitors.    GM shuttered Hummer in 2010 after trying to sell the brand to Chinese investors as it shed units during its historic bankruptcy and restructuring.  With today's announcement, GM issued a truckload of videos on the new Hummer: