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A Look At The History And Potential Future Of Hummer: Video

General Motors purchased the Hummer brand from AM General in 1998 and quickly capitalized on the opportunity by introducing the H2 and H3 in 2002 and 2005, respectively. But as the 2008 financial crisis struck and gas prices began to rise, having a brand dedicated to expensive, gas-guzzling SUVs made little sense, and Hummer was dropped from GM’s brand portfolio.

However, as gas prices have returned to a more reasonable level, consumers have begun to flock to larger vehicles once again, with crossover, truck and SUV sales surging in recent years. If the rumors are true, this change in consumers’ tastes has prompted GM to consider bringing the Hummer brand back – but this time as an electric vehicle. While GM has yet to confirm rumors of Hummer’s revival, it hasn’t denied them, either, so it seems there is at least some credibility to the hearsay.

With the rumors of Hummer’s potential comeback going mainstream, CNBC recently took some time to delve into the brand’s past and look at what initially made it successful, what led to its demise and why GM is looking at bringing it back once again. For its video report, CNBC spoke to Edmunds‘ executive director of industry analysis, Jessica Caldwell, who believes there’s enough demand for large, capable vehicles to justify Hummer’s return.

“I think that (reviving Hummer) does make sense from a manufacturer standpoint, but also it seems like the consumer base is there,” Caldwell said. “I mean how much hype was there over the Jeep Gladiator launch? Tons, I mean people are still very excited about that vehicle a year later.”

The Gladiator, while an all-new product for Jeep, is technically a revival of the brand’s older pickup models. Jeep has a long history of building pickups, but stopped after Chrysler decided to make it an SUV brand only and leave the pickup market to Dodge/Ram. Similar to what GM may do with Hummer, though, FCA revived the Jeep pickup to capitalize on newfound demand for larger vehicles. The major difference is that GM is looking to shake off Hummer’s negative image of being a wasteful gas-guzzler by making it pure electric.

While this strategy may be a risk, the new electric Hummer SUV will allegedly share a platform and the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly line with a number of other large electric GM vehicles, including its future electric pickup truck. That way, if nostalgia for the Hummer is lower than GM thought, it will at least spread some of the cost around between its electric pickup and its other large new EV programs.

Whether or not Hummer truly has a future remains to be seen. For now, check out the CNBC report below for a quick backgrounder on Hummer’s past and additional insight into where the brand may be headed.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. If done correctly, GM will be printing money from a Luxurious Off Roading EV Hummer Pickup, SUV, and a Wrangler Competitor if money starts pouring in.

    Reply
  2. A 20mpg turbo v6 makes more sense than a ev.

    Reply
    1. As vehicles get larger, gasoline engines are less efficient and will waste more. The two largest vehicles in the U.S. are not gasoline powered. As a fact (you can look them up), they were built in 1965, can carry ten million pounds, have been carrying every spaceship since 1967 and will carry the next generation of spaceships from the VAB to the launch pad. They are the twin NASA Crawler Transporters in Florida. They have eight electric motors to move their load, since NO ENGINE can move such weight on land at all. The only difference from a true electric is that instead of carrying more batteries, they have four large Diesel generators on board, so they are serial hybrids. But only electric motors have the power and torque to move such loads under precise control. All the cargo trains are either full electrics or hybrids, too, because they generate enough torque to pull their heavy loads slowly at first then faster. And when hybrid or electrics slow down, their motors become generators, and charge all that kinetic energy as electricity back to the battery. Can your gas engine regenerate fuel when slowing down??

      As another fact, all large NAVY ships and private cruise ships are electric powered or hybrids, only using Diesel or nuclear power to supply electricity to the motors.

      So if GM wants to reintroduce the Hummer, they have to do it either electric or a serial hybrid. Gasoline engine are obsolete since Victor Wouk made the first modern hybrid in 1976 (and Toyota used his ideas to produce the Prius).

      Reply
  3. You missed the earlier part of the history when AM General (an American Motors division dedicated to governmental sales of the Jeep), and the creation of the HUMVEE (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) in 1983 after the U.S. Army gave AM General the specifications in 1979. And all that began when Willys-Overland Motors won the original General Purpose vehicle (GP, later Jeep) contract in 1941 for the beginning of the Second Words War. Even Ford was involved when the U.S. Army gave Henry the second contract to produce the Jeep in volume (some of the Ford versions are still around). So, in a few words, five U.S brands (Willys, Ford, American Motors, Chrysler, and GM) are in the Hummer’s life.

    The Hummer’s history is over 75 years old!

    Reply
    1. You forgot that (Willys) Overland dates back to 1914 and is the genesis of the history of Willys, Jeep, Hummer et al.

      Reply
    2. Nobody cares about 30 40 50 years ago we care about the recent history and what is coming in the future.

      Reply
      1. Hell yeah bring back the Hummer I own one and I’ll buy another one

        Reply
  4. Bring back the H2 with a Duramax Diesel, the 10 speed Allison transmission with 2wd/4wd selector. 20 plus miles to the gallon and the demand would greater than ever. EV in a hummer is laughable.

    Reply
  5. Please build the 400 mile range EV Cadillac Escalade as promised!

    Reply
  6. EV Hummer vehicles if done right by GM will make some serious money for the Company.

    Reply

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