Katrina vanden Heuvel (The Nation): The End of the Hummer?

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Nation
Dated Tuesday May 16

The End of the Hummer?
By Katrina vanden Heuvel

The good news out of Detroit is that the largest version of the Hummer – the 10,000 pound, less than 10 mpg, $150,000 Hummer H1 – is being scrapped by General Motors due to lagging sales.

But, on the flip side, sales for the entire Hummer fleet – including the H2 and H3 models which boast whopping 13 mpg and 16 mpg fuel efficiencies, respectively – TRIPLED nationally between March 2005 and March 2006. According to The Wall Street Journal "people are buying Hummers precisely because of high gas prices – buyers want the world to know they can afford the gas." (If you were wondering who the 29 percent of Americans are who still support George Bush, look no further!).

And, despite recent election year grandstanding, the Bush administration is doing nothing of significance to push for improvements in the fuel efficiency of the gas-guzzling, light trucks category (SUV's, minivans, and pick-ups).

Read more.

[WCGreen]

1. I still can't see why people would drive a vehicle....

Named after a certain act of oral sex.....

[Kutjara]

2. You've obviously never driven...

...the Dodge Feltch.

[evlbstrd]

4. Beautiful!

Thank you.

[DainBramaged]

3. ROFLOL

No, why would MALES with SIZE problems need to own such a LARGE vehicle. In realizing what kind of trouble GM is in (I actually looked a a friend's Honda Ridgeline (which is a miniature Avalanche) and even though gas millage isn't that great it is a great value. The Hummers, just GM head in the sand engineering to Republicans.

[TomInTib]

5. I have a car that gets horrible mpg and it is named after a flying rodent

But I have always loved the 'hummer' parallel.

Man, those things are ugly.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. On the other hand . . .

. . . anybody self-important enough to drive something that gets 8 mpg as peak oil approaches probably thinks the rest of the world owes him a hummer.

[WCGreen]

9. Good.....

That is wonderful.....

[LouisianaLiberal]

7. A classic case of conspicuous consumption.

Veblen wrote about this over a hundred years ago - "According to The Wall Street Journal "people are buying Hummers precisely because of high gas prices – buyers want the world to know they can afford the gas."

It's as if the people who buy these things never grew up.

[DainBramaged]

8. These stupid flaccid bastards could buy better cars

BMW, Mercedes, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar all vehicles that at least are opulent and sexy, not trailer trash lottery kitsch.