New GM SUV, the Hummer H2, irks environmentalists
Date: 13-Dec-01
Country: USA
Author: Michael Ellis
The Hummer H2, resembling the U.S. military's Humvee vehicles seen fighting in Afghanistan, will get around 13 miles per gallon when it goes on sale next summer, GM officials said this week.
But similar to the Ford Excursion, a full size sport utility vehicle which some environmental groups dubbed the "Valdez" because of its gas-guzzling weight, the Hummer H2 is so heavy its falls outside U.S. regulations on fuel economy.
"I think most Americans will agree that the Hummer (H2) is more appropriate for driving around Kabul than Kalamazoo," said Dan Becker, director of the global warming and energy program with the Sierra Club. "This is a gas-guzzler par excellence. Here we've got people in Afghanistan fighting, partly because of our oil dependence."
Since the corporate average fuel economy standards, or CAFE, were adopted in 1975 as a response to the oil embargoes, automakers are obliged to meet certain average fuel economy ratings for their cars and light-duty trucks. Trucks with a combined weight and payload capacity above 8,500 pounds, which at that time were commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks, were exempt from the restrictions.
But the five-passenger Hummer H2, which will have an optional third-row seat for a sixth passenger next to a spare tire, has a combined weight and payload capacity of 8,600 pounds, just 100 pounds above the cutoff point. The Ford Excursion also weighs and holds 8,600 pounds for the two-wheel-drive version.
"We're not technically part of the CAFE equation," said Hummer division General Manager Michael DiGiovanni.
That gives some environmental groups more ammunition in their fight to strengthen fuel economy regulations. GM has long claimed that federal fuel economy regulations don't work and should not be raised.
"Maybe they ought to change the name for the Hummer H2 to the Guzzler H2," said Michelle Robinson of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "One of the things we want to see happen is to see the system take into account the trend for these much larger, heavier vehicles."
Jim Kliesch of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy said the launch of the H2 will force him to revise the annual list of the "greenest and meanest" vehicles on the environment for the group's "Green Book" environmental guide to cars and trucks.
Adding to the vehicle's weight is steel and thick aluminum skid pads running under the vehicle and rocker protectors along the side to protect the H2 from boulders and tree trunks along the roughest trails. The H2 also has a steel reinforced chassis to withstand extreme twisting pressures.
Befitting its larger-than-life image, the new Hummer H2 stands 6-1/2 feet (198 cms) tall, without a roof rack, and is 6-3/4 feet (206 cms) wide. It captures the Humvee's slab-sided look, with a near-vertical windshield that sacrifices aerodynamics for style.
Although sales of the Excursion have been much fewer then expected, GM's large Chevrolet Suburban SUV is enjoying a record year, and GM expects Hummer H2 to also be a hit.
GM could sell as many as 40,000 Hummer H2s a year, and expects Hummer to become a very profitable division for the automaker.
GM acquired the rights to the Hummer brand name from AM General in 1999 after research showed that the rugged Hummer H1 and the military's Humvee captured widespread acclaim among younger buyers.
With a price tag of about $50,000, DiGiovanni believes the H2 will appeal to buyers aged about 38 to 45, who are successful risk-takers with an average income of about $180,000.
With gas prices at their lowest levels in three years, such people probably don't care what environmentalists think, said Joseph Phillippi, an independent automotive analyst.
"I really don't think that buyers of this vehicle think about or care about what it costs to run one," he said. "I don't think it's any sort of issue at all for these buyers."