Why are hummers so cheap

And then there are typical "old truck" problems like suspension, and brakes, and rust, and the fact that acceleration happens at roughly the same pace as an old person moving through an airport. Over the last few months, I had four different Hummers checked over by mechanics, and three received a failing grade. One — which looked great on the outside — came with the disclaimer that its issues were "nothing ten grand can't fix. And that brings us to another issue with buying a Hummer, namely: the kind of people selling a Hummer.

Generally, they fall into two categories: one, people who thought it would be really cool to have a Hummer, so they bought one, and then they realized tires cost more than childbirth, so they're panic-selling it on eBay with four total pictures. And two: guys who are incredibly wealthy, and they bought the Hummer three years ago, and they drove it a total of four times, and yes they're selling, but they don't want to really jump through any hoops to sell it, like taking extra photos, or bringing it to a mechanic for inspection, but by the way, their price is firm.

After calling or e-mailing on seven different trucks since December and getting four total pre-purchase inspections, I finally settled on the one I bought: a rare gas-powered model with faded yellow paint and a little surface rust on the body. The central tire inflation system is plugged. There's a Chevy V8 under the hood.

No diesel problems. No cracked cylinders. No complicated modern electronics. No issues, no problems, no drawbacks. It didn't work. He worked as a manager for Porsche Cars North America before quitting to become a writer, largely because it meant he no longer had to wear pants. Also, he wrote this entire bio himself in the third person. You'd think that the top priority for those engineers would be safety I.

Not breaking down in a potentially deadly area why the heck could they not make it simple enough for it to not break. I would have thought they would OVER engineer theses vehicles and their safety factory number being much higher than a typical consumer product, but then again I guess this is the government were talking about The A. Driving a Hummer complemented his Spartan persona and many people who had the money wanted to key into the same image.

The Hummer transcended vehicle ownership; it was the embodiment of the larger-than-life culture of affluent Americans. Not only was it expensive to buy, the Hummer needed more gas and longer time to cover the same distance as more affordable alternatives.

That was what drove GM to buy the Hummer brand from AM General after realizing there was so much money to make despite the low production volume. Buying a Hummer is almost like a boat. It is expensive to purchase and maintenance intensive. But for people who will own one, it can seem like something is missing in their lives.

So why do people still jump at buying a Hummer when there are better alternatives at lower prices? The Hummer may never be produced again, but people who want to live the legend will continue to find ways of owning the vehicle.

Despite being widely popular, the Hummer was made in relatively low numbers. With the low production, the price tag had to include a chunky markup for the manufacturer and dealers to make a good profit.

The vehicle was made exclusively for the US market initially, so overseas buyers had to pay extra premium price tags to own Hummers in their country.

Eventually, GM allowed a Russian firm to assemble the vehicle in Kaliningrad. Later, the company produced the H3 at its South Africa plant for the export market. Matt: So, Americans like big cars; they've always liked big cars.

They're always going to like big cars. People in Detroit at the time, because of how dire the situation got around the financial crisis, were completely freaked out about their futures. And they forgot this. Narrator: But since , the market for big SUVs and large pickup trucks has made a robust recovery. So for Hummer to come back as kind of a really rough-and-tumble luxury platform would probably be a halfway decent idea. Narrator: General Motors is looking to expand its presence in the electric-vehicle market.

And there's been talk that it might be considering resurrecting Hummer to do just that. Matt: The business case for it is strong because it's an iconic brand. Everybody already knows about it. Narrator: Arnold Schwarzenegger has already converted one of his original Hummers to run on electricity. Perhaps paving the way for Hummer once again. Matt: The beauty of the brand is if they could get rid of all the bad baggage and replace and transplant good goodness in it, you know, you still have one of the toughest and possibly long-lasting vehicles ever.

You might be able to operate that thing with regular battery changes for decades and decades and decades. We're fighting global warming right here. Look at this thing, you know, so it's not just fighting wars, it's fighting global warming too.

Narrator: So while people may have once associated Hummers with everything that was wrong with America, it could be time for a second chance. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation.

Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. The first civilian version did not go on sale until spring, , marketed as the Hummer H1. Several different versions were offered including a four-door pickup, a four-door station wagon, a four-door slantback, a two-door pickup, and a four-door pickup with a convertible soft top.

Engines under the hood of the civilian H1 included a turbocharged 6. A gasoline 5. Transmissions were automatics, and included an Allison five-speed toward the end of production, as well as a three-speed and a four-speed earlier on in the product cycle. The civilian H1 was able to ford 30 inches of water, had a central tire inflation system allowing the driver to decrease or increase pressure with a press of a button as an option and also had an available leather interior.

But the H1 was also not particularly roomy inside and not very tall given the height of the floor. The civilian H1 spent 14 years on the market, from through the Sales were actually quite modest in proportion to its popular image. In total, 11, H1s were sold during the year run. A concept shown at the Detroit auto show previewed the Hummer H2, aiming to take the brand mainstream given the rising popularity of large SUVs in the U.

The Hummer H2 debuted for the model year, keeping the H1's general design direction while using a GM truck platform, along with beefy V8 engines. The H2 was also offered as a four-door pickup, even though the H2T's usable cargo room was quite limited.

The SUV and the pickup versions were both lifestyle vehicles, so on-road ability and luxury features took priority over many other considerations, including fuel economy and advanced off-road ability.

Sales were the strongest during the second, third and fourth years of production, but tapered off significantly toward the end of the decade.

During the Iraq War, the vast majority of the Humvees deployed to the country were initially unarmored, and only received improvised armor Army mechanics created later on. Even by the end of , the U. Army had 12, unarmored Humvees in use in Iraq, and only 1, armored ones.