R.I.P. Hummer
The symbol of the myriad things that are wrong with our approach to transportation in the U.S. is finally falling by the wayside. All I can say is, “Goodbye and good riddance.”
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15 Responses to “R.I.P. Hummer”
Amen!
Hooray!
I was also glad to see that Saab got purchased, I missed out on hearing that.
As long as we don’t believe that it was the only model out there that represents what is wrong with auto makers
@tdp
Yup, you got that right. Still, as a symbol for the mindset, it was (glorious past tense) hard to beat. Is Ford still making that godawful Excursion? Just as bad.
Scott
My personal Most Hated is the Escalade, as it entirely dispensed with the “rugged SUV” trope and just went for the pure urban luxury market. Repulsive. I doubt Cadillac is selling many of them anymore, though.
You could probably make a lot of bicycles out of the materials that go into one hummer. Now there’s a happy thought!
Sometimes decisions we wish were personal are really collective decisions. If for example we buy a Hummer rather than buy that house or vineyard or orchard we were looking at. Our decision has collective consequences. The Hummer lands up in the landfill very soon,and we all become a little bit poorer as a result. An investment in a home, orchard, or vineyard is an investment that appreciates with time. I love the homes in East Sacramento where I live, even the expensive ones. I can’t say the same for the enormous SUV’s my neighbors own.
Great news. I hope others will follow :)
*hammers nail into coffin and lowers into ground*
Doug, 25,884 Escalades sold in 2009, down from a high of 62,250 in 2004.
Try hooking-up the Airstream to your LHT. I feel bad for the 3000 workers on the line. You think Tiawan will hire those folks to make bike frames? Don’t think so. What kind of transportation is acceptable to everybody. Who benefits? Tiawan and China?
Do bike people want all cars and trucks to just disappear so they can have the road to themselves?
The bike trail you ride on was built with internal combustion, oil and tar! Not to mention some undocumented laborer. The tractor cut the ground. Then it sat there over night leaking oil an diesel into the earth. Then they came back and shot lime into the soil so the dirt and clay wont move around so your bike has a ever so smooth path. So even if the trail disappears nothing will ever grow there again.
You want the government to make you ride a bicycle? Tiawan and China do. Then It wouldn’t be much fun anymore.
Get America back to work. To those Hummer/Cadillac truck driving CEO’s stop using foreign labor.
Let’s have a party!
I have always found Hummer Hatred syndrome fascinating. The vehicle is not my cup of tea, but I am happy for people who derive pleasure from owning one. As I am happy when I see people in their Mini-Coopers, Corvettes, or convertibles if that is what works for them.
The Hummer was not the worst vehicle in its class for gas mileage, so it is not the most wasteful. One can hate cars, or SUVs & trucks in general, but there is a special antipathy for the Hummer amongst some. I think it is more of a psychological pushback, i.e. some people feel the Hummer is an attempt by the driver to peacock his/her machismo around town, and this makes some irritated or threatened.
Just pointing this out as a curiosity, not trying to poke a finger in anyone’s eye here. I know we all prefer cycling, but realistically, most everyone posting here owns a car as a matter of practicality. Why is it so especially upsetting that some people buy a car that looks like a tipped-over refrigerator?
This certainly signals the end of an era.
Hi Gregg,
We certainly feel for the folks who will lose their jobs as a result of the demise of the Hummer, and we hope they quickly transition to some other form of employment.
As for the Hummer, this seems to be a case of the market dictating to the auto makers that it’s time for more fuel efficient vehicles, and fewer low mileage, luxury automobiles.
Alan