GM Responds To Jeep Wrangler Success; Hummer H4 Gets Green Light

[Hummer Guy]

It will release in 2010, as a 2011 model.

[Shoot]

Some of you guys just disgust me when you think GM can just crap out a brand new vehicle on an unnamed platform and just 'do it now' 'just because' as if you can just do that in one year (eyeroll). YEAH RIIIIIGHT!

[racy]

Originally Posted by adplusone

Typical GM...late to the party.

Their favorite game is "follow the leader".

Hummer dealers are dying on the vine.

2009 Model year?

Oh wait, isn't that when the Camaro is finally due?

...took the words right out of my mouth. Gasoline will be pushing $5/gal by 2009. The odds are not in favor of the H4 nor the Camaro.

[HoeyHimself]

Wait! Where is FordRules?!? He needs to be here for this..seriously..FR what was it you were just saying the other day about Hummer?...

[racy]

Originally Posted by Olds88

I agree, and futhermore, I don't really see the H3 competing with the FJ. The FJ is a pretend offroader , essentially a reskinned 4Runner which competes with TrailBlazer and Explorer. H3 is a purpose built machine, you buy one to go offroad. FJ is a "me-too" reincarnation of an old toyo Jeep clone/rip-off.

Come now, be fair. How many people are actually taking their Hummers off-road? The closest an H2 gets to off-road is the car wash. The H3 with a powertrain equivalent to a Kia Sedona nested in a three ton vehicle is by no means an off-road vehicle either.

And you're right, the H3 is no competition to the FJ...its getting killed. I am no Toyota fan, but their FJ (no matter how much we bash it) is killing us in terms of sales.

[HoeyHimself]

Originally Posted by racy

Come now, be fair. How many people are actually taking their Hummers off-road? The closest an H2 gets to off-road is the car wash. The H3 with a powertrain equivalent to a Kia Sedona nested in a three ton vehicle is by no means an off-road vehicle either.

And you're right, the H3 is no competition to the FJ...its getting killed. I am no Toyota fan, but their FJ (no matter how much we bash it) is killing us in terms of sales.

There are more Hummer off-road clubs and enthusiasts than there are for those FJs, thats fact. And the Kia Sedona can not nearly be driven to places the H3 could, its not supposed to. Also the FJ is not killing the H3, are you delusional?!?!?! The H3 is selling stellar..the FJ wont be around after 08 as I have heard from browsing in ToyotaNation.

[camaro_freak]

Originally Posted by acorvettekid

How can GM get a H4 to market by 2009 ? That's only one year (fall of 08).... how long has it taken to get a Camaro here ? Geez

Wasn't it because the H4 will be built on a existing or modified platform and the Camaro will be built on the new ZETA architecture?

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Late to the party? Yeah, I guess you can look at it like that....60 years late?
The Wrangler is like the 911. There is a gentlemans agreement that the other Big 2 wouldnt make a car to compete directly with the Wrangler...oh well, thats over.

The H4 has been ready for a while now, but the green light has yet to be given. MY2011? Thats too late. MY2009? That sounds about right. Show it off in Detroit or have a MASSIVE launch at SEMA with aftermarket parts and other stuff ALL READY set for it.

What GM should do is make an H4 but be designed and built like the H1. IFS/IRS with everything tucked up and away. Since the original Hummer replaced the Jeep as the off-road, do anything military vehicle, the H4 will do the same!

Really, what will this H4 be able to do? Will it have IFS? Will that hurt sales vs the solid axle'ed Wrangler? I see that none of the dealer people took a look at that, as there was no mention of that.
Looks like an enclosed dune-buggy with exposed shocks and massive tires eh?
Looks like the Rubicon will be facing some serious competition. If this car is 3 years away, that means that we are getting an all new chassis.

The Wrangler also is not even a Chrysler invention, so they have little claim to it. AMC has a little more, and even when they gobbled up Kaiser-Jeep no one cared. Jeep didn't become big money until the later 1980's.

BTW this is old news, at least if you read industry insider information.

[PontiacBixler]

Here is my reason for my comment that GM is late again:

GM had a great little SUV back in the day. Many of you might remember it, it was called the Tracker.

It embodied many of the things that people who have driven Wranglers in the past have liked about it:
- Fun to Drive
- Open air feel in the 2 Door model
- Enough ruggedness to get you through the woods or snow if need be, especially in a ZR2 model.
- Hell, people used to call it a JEEP anyways! (check wikipedia if you don't believe me on that one)

So what happened to the little beloved Tracker? It went the way of everything else GM has killed off for less than appropriate reasons.

GM has NOT had their thumb on the pulse of the SUV market for some time now, contrary to many opinions. Point being, GM killed the Tracker to bring the focus upon the Equinox, which was larger, actually almost the size of the TrailBlazer.

Why did GM have to bring out a completely new vehicle to replace something that had name recognition and staying power? It sounds an awefully lot like when the F-Bodies were killed because "sales of this type of car were not good enough" and then a year later the GTO, which filled that gaping hole, is brought over from Oz Land.

If GM had only put the time and money into the current vehicles at the time, like the Camaro/Firebird and the Tracker and try to evolve them, then we wouldn't be sitting here WAITING for our Concept Camaro and H4 to come out to go against the Mustangs and Wranglers, which NEVER left the playing field in the first place!

Another instance of GM backpedaling due to poor decisions leaving us coming late to the party.... The Sunfire killed only to bring an ugly rebadged Cobalt/Pursuit back out into the small compact "sporty" car market in the US.

I'll give you one awesome concept that could have easily become the Tracker for a new age and a TRUE contender to the Wrangler..... the Chevy Borrego.

With some minor tweaks and nudges here and there, this thing could have become a 2 door Wrangler killer in a heartbeat.

I understand that GM might be trying to shift its "rugged outdoor" look over to Hummer, but the fact is that we, being the GM faithful, do not have an option to turn to if a Wrangler is what we want. So now we must do what we have become accustomed to doing as GM fanatics and faithful..... we wait, while everyone else enjoys their party.

[parakleets]

I just purchased a 4 door Wrangler, a few weeks ago. It is great, and everything that I expected. This is my third Wrangler, and 4th Jeep, so I am a bit of a loyalist! To improve upon the Wrangler, I would suggest several things to GM/Hummer (and Chrysler). More horsepower and better fuel economy would be issue(s) number one. A turbodiesel would do wonders, in this regard. Slightly better (less sensitive to nicks and scratches) interior plastics. The Wrangler's interior looks great, but the plastics could be just a little better. Easier convertibility of the roof would be welcome. Putting up the top, on the 4 door, is a heavy affair, and leaks can occur if it is not done right. Befitting a luxury brand, Hummer should have powered sliding panels (like the SRX or G6), which could stack at the rear edge of the roof, by the D-pillars. Even a power, roll-back, fabric roof, of a similar concept to the G6's hard panels, would make top operation easier and more fun for women buyers, who might lack the upper body strength to wrestle with the Wrangler's top.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by CADILLACSIXTEEN

They may be "late", but they are the only brand attempting to aim at the Wrangler. So, call it what you want.

And dont come at me with FJ Cruiser B*ll *****....
Besides its hideous, would-be-bashed-if-it-were-a-gm-product looks, it competes against the H3, and actually won in a comparison ONLY because the FJ had better on-road manners--the H3 outperformed it off-road.....

I didnt know off road vehicles were considered suppior due to their on-road mannors.... hmm....

And many of the long-term reports on the FJ are reluctantly positive at best and reveal that vehicle is as polarizing as its looks. The blind spots and awkward ergonomics really turned me off while I found the H3 to be a lot more manageable on road, if a little stiffer.

[parakleets]

The Equinox is a far better than the Tracker ever was, and I'm sure that the sales figures support this. Also, the Equinox is an in-house GM product, rather than a rebadged Suzuki, which was leftover from the "Geo" days.

Originally Posted by PontiacBixler

Here is my reason for my comment that GM is late again:

GM had a great little SUV back in the day. Many of you might remember it, it was called the Tracker.

It embodied many of the things that people who have driven Wranglers in the past have liked about it:
- Fun to Drive
- Open air feel in the 2 Door model
- Enough ruggedness to get you through the woods or snow if need be, especially in a ZR2 model.
- Hell, people used to call it a JEEP anyways! (check wikipedia if you don't believe me on that one)

So what happened to the little beloved Tracker? It went the way of everything else GM has killed off for less than appropriate reasons.

GM has NOT had their thumb on the pulse of the SUV market for some time now, contrary to many opinions. Point being, GM killed the Tracker to bring the focus upon the Equinox, which was larger, actually almost the size of the TrailBlazer.

Why did GM have to bring out a completely new vehicle to replace something that had name recognition and staying power? It sounds an awefully lot like when the F-Bodies were killed because "sales of this type of car were not good enough" and then a year later the GTO, which filled that gaping hole, is brought over from Oz Land.

If GM had only put the time and money into the current vehicles at the time, like the Camaro/Firebird and the Tracker and try to evolve them, then we wouldn't be sitting here WAITING for our Concept Camaro and H4 to come out to go against the Mustangs and Wranglers, which NEVER left the playing field in the first place!

Another instance of GM backpedaling due to poor decisions leaving us coming late to the party.... The Sunfire killed only to bring an ugly rebadged Cobalt/Pursuit back out into the small compact "sporty" car market in the US.

I'll give you one awesome concept that could have easily become the Tracker for a new age and a TRUE contender to the Wrangler..... the Chevy Borrego.

With some minor tweaks and nudges here and there, this thing could have become a 2 door Wrangler killer in a heartbeat.

I understand that GM might be trying to shift its "rugged outdoor" look over to Hummer, but the fact is that we, being the GM faithful, do not have an option to turn to if a Wrangler is what we want. So now we must do what we have become accustomed to doing as GM fanatics and faithful..... we wait, while everyone else enjoys their party.

[ByTheLake]

Originally Posted by thehunter

If it doesn't have some sort of removable top, they may as well not even bother.

That's what I was thinking, too. Wrangler drivers are unique, and so many that I know drive without the top as long as it's above 50 degrees.

If it's a truly rugged Wrangler competitor, bring it on! If it's just a smaller SUV, then it will get lost in the crowd.

[GM-10]

Duh. Duh.. Duhhhhhh

Hello Renaissance Center,... this is the land of the patently obvious calling.

We are patiently awaiting the 2013 H4

[momolos]

Originally Posted by Olds88

I agree with you but I think you misunderstood me. I was referring to the onroad behavior of the TB vs FJ/4R. The TB is an onroader for sure and it rides far smoother than the 4runner and outperforms it too. I was trying to point out the bias in the review. The FJ was chosen over the H3 in an offroad competition due to onroad abilities. By that logic a TB would be chosen over an FJ in a similar comparison.

I see what you are saying....sorry
I hope that GM gives the TB a new interior and some minor redesign front and back.