What exactly causes Hummer's stigma?

[Exploder]

I truly do not understand why Hummers are so incredibly despised by the public and many auto enthusiasts.

Look at any news article which talks about Hummers not doing well in sales, for example, and there'll be 2000+ comments all cheering at it's death, how Hummers are low-quality vehicles, how Hummer owners deserve their misery, the list goes on forever.

Objectively speaking, what makes a Hummer worse than other SUVs? Take the H2. It has really bad fuel economy, even for an SUV, true. It has bad visibility, yes. But should Hummers be evaluated on fuel economy alone? Because that's the impression I'm getting. The low fuel economy seems to offend and insult them so much like a kick to the balls that they begin spouting lies about how Hummers can't go offroad (Which is as false as the statement that Hummers are more environmentally friendly than Priuses; there, I'm objective!) and that Hummers are low-quality (which is not true for the 2008 and beyond versions). As for the H3, it does have serious packaging problems and not very good engine choices, yes, but those can be fixed! And if they're fixed, what about the H3 that is so horrible?

Then we come to, of course, the owners. Really, how worse are Hummer owners compared to other SUV owners or gasp, luxury cars? Is there some sort of statistic for this?

And finally, the ultimately hypocrisy: Why are Land Rovers not getting the same heat as Hummers? They virtually come from the same page as Hummer: Both started out as military vehicles, then began selling civilian versions. Land Rovers are more luxurious and expensive than Hummers, but in the end, both target the same group of buyers. But Land Rovers, somehow, get a free pass from the same people that torch Hummer dealerships? Why?

I will get crucified for saying this anywhere else but I think Hummers are great vehicles. If they have to die just for the sake of preserving GM's image and reputation...I will reluctantly let it happen.

[johnstarnes]

For me, personally, to see the market success in America of a gas-guzzler that mimiced a military vehicle used to aid in the unwarranted attack of an oil rich Muslim country that had nothing to do with Al Qaida or 9-11 was deeply embrassing and said alot about my countrymen....I could understand how the success of Hummer here could be seen around the world as tacit approval of American colonial expansionism "neccessitated" by our already renowned gluttony for global resources....conceptually akin to WWII era German citizens buying back yard barbecue grills designed to look like mini-crematoriums.

[RamJet502]

Enviromental nutjobs

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by Exploder

And finally, the ultimately hypocrisy: Why are Land Rovers not getting the same heat as Hummers?

Range Rover is the quintessential English gentleman's shooting-brake. It coupled the Landy's unbeatable capability with sophisticated comfort. It quickly garnered an association with the "Lord of the Manor" image.

Hummer is all bling-bling, dollar-dollar-bill, y'all. All show and no go.

Range Rover is James Bond wearing a Savile-row suit.

Hummer is a Fubu-wearing rap star with diamonds in their teeth.

Ditto Escalade.

[mgescuro]

Check out my commentary.... HUMMER: The Best of GM’s Brands on the Cusp of Being Thrown Away

It is incredibly stupid for GM to just throw away or shut down it's most high profile, image laden brand.

A lot of the crap Hummer gets is from the environmentalists who believe Hummer is the root of all evil. And that is rooted in stupidity. ANd it's illogical.
Part of it is also from the media fueling the fires.

But when it comes down to it, Hummer really is in the same ballpark as Land Rover and other SUV's. It just takes the brunt of the damage.

I still firmly believe GM needs to keep HUMMER, but refocus it on specific niche markets that depend on the ruggedness of HUMMERs. And should people want to buy a HUMMER for other reasons, then so be it.
Plus, GM needs to launch an entire diesel lineup, as well as smaller alternative baby HUMMERs.

GM just isn't smart enough to realize the potential it has on hand.

[member12]

3 types of people hate Hummers:

-Left wing types that either hate the image that Hummer portrays or hate the environmental stigma- which is also not deserved.

-Ford guys who hate anything GM makes.

-T-Rex, who likes BMW and hates republican-mobiles. He can't help it. He was abused as a child by some Cajuns who took his lunch money.

Originally Posted by t-rex

Range Rover is James Bond wearing a Savile-row suit.

Hummer is a Fubu-wearing rap star with diamonds in their teeth.

We can't help the fact that Ghetto-Stars are buying Escalades and the occasional H2 just to show off. I won't argue with your summary of the Escalade.

For it's intended engineering purpose....off roading....they do very well. Where Hummer failed a little was the overdone details- like the chrome grille and "fancy" touches. Hummers should be of extremely high quality, but they don't need to be tricked out. This is why I prefer the H3 to the H2.

In fact, Hummer's styling are a bit more blingy than they should be, but they are a lot more "go" than any of the newer Land Rovers save for maybe the Defender, which they don't even bother selling here.

[tholland]

Whether it's backlash from urban culture flaunting their wealth or because it's the poster child for everything wrong with American culture for evironmentalists... relishing in the demise of the brand and it's owners is as equally unbalanced as the behaviour they despise. I just can't help thinking how damn cool and capable they are and that I hope this madness keeps up so I can buy an H3 real cheap in a year or so.

[T-Type]

I believe it all comes from the original H1. That was a giant vehicle that came to symbolize excess. That stigma got attached to the Hummer name so that even when smaller versions came out people still associated Hummer with excess. Of course it doesn't help that though shrinking, they're still pretty big looking (H4 where are you?).

The irony of it all is that the H1 is not made anymore.

[eurohazard]

"Hummer" is a mixed bag for me. Hindsight is 20/20, but I honestly think GM creating Hummer at the time was a good idea. I mean what if gas stayed at $2.25? Hummer might be the envy of the auto industry for all we know.

- One reason the Hummer stigma came about is the fact very few went off road.....and I know it's not fair, because many other SUVs never go off road too. You'll never see my Armada on the Rubicon! But I do tow a lot, and I go through snowy passes.
- Then there's the "bling bling" crowd. Hummers on 30" wheels, Hummers with Superman logos owned by multimillionaire sports figures, Hummer in music videos with 17 LCD TVs. Yikes, stigmas develop; think "Miata", "Camaro", "Civic".
- Then there's the whole tax credit debacle. Who here knows someone who "bought" a Hummer (or did it yourself), but was able to take advantage of massive tax credits simply because the vehicle was so damn heavy? That never made sense to me. Why did the government allow people to write off a big wasteful (unless you needed its capability) vehicle? At the peak, I saw florists, bail bondsmen, housekeepers, etc driving Hummers.
- Land Rover shouldn't get a "free pass". I thought I remembered a Land Rover dealership getting vandalized in the NW somewhere.....I'd have to look though. But I think they do get a "pass" with some folks because they've always built SUVs. Hummer was a '90's brain child by a GM executive (I'm assuming here) for 2 reasons: 1) to give a cool vehicle to the public, and 2) to make money. Who can blame them?

So in the end, Hummer deserves credit where credit is due...they made highly capable off road vehicles. But most buyers didn't use it as such, and the stigma grew.

[kilcher]

The typical Hummer owner.

[wescoent]

The simple catch-all reason is that they symbolize excess more so than other large SUVs, and the problems go from the H1 down to the H3.

A Hummer is worse than other SUVs because of their design, which clearly tries to evoke a military vehicle, but also because they are less functional and less practical than other SUVs, while consuming more fuel.

The overall message the Hummer owner is conveying is that he or she is obnoxious, wasteful, and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about it.

Compared to say, a Chevy Tahoe, which is more practical, more fuel efficient, and obnoxious, just not in a "rub it in your face" kind of way.

Think about it this way. A Tahoe owner would punch a liberal in the gut, and just walk away. A Hummer H2 owner would punch a liberal in the gut, push him to the ground, spray paint "HUMMER" on his tie-dye shirt, then pee on him.

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by wescoent

The simple catch-all reason is that they symbolize excess more so than other large SUVs, and the problems go from the H1 down to the H3.

A Hummer is worse than other SUVs because of their design, which clearly tries to evoke a military vehicle, but also because they are less functional and less practical than other SUVs, while consuming more fuel.

The overall message the Hummer owner is conveying is that he or she is obnoxious, wasteful, and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about it.

Compared to say, a Chevy Tahoe, which is more practical, more fuel efficient, and obnoxious, just not in a "rub it in your face" kind of way.

Think about it this way. A Tahoe owner would punch a liberal in the gut, and just walk away. A Hummer H2 owner would punch a liberal in the gut, push him to the ground, spray paint "HUMMER" on his tie-dye shirt, then pee on him.

An Armada owner would just...

[FenwickHockey65]

Hummer is a very unique brand that has the "OMGZZZ IT KILLS THE EARTH" stigma. Land Rovers, in comparison, don't look big and bold like an H2 does, so it gets spared the torch. Hummers, on the other hand, are friggin' massive with an "in your face" style. They LOOK like they're gas guzzlers.
In reality, it's just the damned environmentalists that have everyone pissed at Hummer. Sure, they get crappy fuel economy, and sure, the majority of Hummer owners are rich, stuck-up snobs, but if it weren't for the enviro-nazis going crazy over it, I don't think many people would care.

I think that just to spite them, GM should make a civilian version of this...



Ha! Try torching that, enviro-nazis!

[ZillaZ]

According the US government, the Audi S4 Avant (V8) has the same fuel economy as the H3 Alpha (V8) at 13 mpg. See the second last item in this list:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bestworst.shtml

As for the off-road capabilities, H3 just won Off-Road magazine's 4 Wheeler of the Year award which is based on lots of off road capabilities. They said it won hands down.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests...ear/index.html

Here's my take on why the Hummer is hated so much.
When the H2 was first released, it got a lot of press. The only previously available Hummer product was the H1, which is very wide. So, a big part of the news stories was it's size and that lead to it's fuel economy, which GM did not publish because it's size made it exempt from EPA publishing regulations.

People began to speculate, magazines have reported anywhere from 8-15 mpg city. Because there was no published number, everybody uses the lowest reported number. Because this vehicle had so much buzz, more than any other large SUV, it gets talked about and the thing that everyone talks about is it's size/fuel economy. Since no one really knows what the fuel economy is, they exaggerate about it (for humor) and this eventually leads to it being "truth" in many people's minds. This "truth" then leads to hatred.

Nobody actually does any research, so it never really gets debunked. The new Hummer commercial that says the fuel economy is equal to "many suvs" and that H3 won the 4 wheeler of the year award is a great start. They need many more commercials like this, including some cheesy "ford like" candid commercials where they test fuel economy, give the vehicle to current SUV owners for a week to compare...etc.

For me, I live where there is a lot of snow in the winter. My wife has an AWD Saturn Vue (2008) and it handles the snow without too much problem... but it could be better. An H3 handles the snow much better, it's the right tool for the job and if anyone has a need for 4 wheel drive then I can see why they would want the best vehicle they can get (whatever that is).

Some people live in: flood prone areas, mountains, dirt road access areas, desert, snow covered (full time or seasonal) or have jobs that mean they see a lot of these terrains. These are the people who need this type of vehicle and see the value in the Hummer vehicles, but may be afraid to buy them because they feel like their neighbors are going to hate them or their vehicle will get scratched or vandalized at the mall.

A change of public opinion needs to happen for potential Hummer owners to be comfortable with their purchase. The only way to influence public opinion is by getting the actual information out there to debunk the opinion that this vehicle is unnecessary and any less fuel efficient than other vehicles that nobody has a real problem with. Sure, most people don't have a need for it but other people do and they shouldn't be afraid to buy them for fear of backlash. Hopefully they spend some serious money trying to change opinion rather than just selling or killing off this brand.

EDIT: Added links

[Quickening]

I don't understand the hate either. I actually like Hummer and my brother just bought an 08 H2. Grey exterior with sedona interior, picking it up in a week

http://images7.ecarlist.com/cgi-bin/...ir=1233_111406