haven't we been tortured enough?

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/20/h...d-for-detroit/

 

By the time the H8 or so, it will about the size of the MINI

 

At this rate, the H7 will be pedal-powered.



But still cost 50 grand.

 

What I want to know is why are they able to make the front of trucks/SUVs like these so flat and upright but they can't make the Mini's front end more vertical like that to make it more akin to the classic design? I think it would be so cool if the Mini bonnet was snubbier and the headlamps more upright..

Anyway, I digress - I only hope with the future Hummers they make the windows bigger to help people see out of those things.

PS: Have you seen the "Nitro" - it's so funny how they make the trucks look more like toy big-rigs and give them names like wrestlers to try to make people feel macho

 

I suppose it will bring happiness to an even larger number of Americans by allowing them to emulate their favorite hip hop or rock star. The only difference is that rather than 24 inch spinners, they'll be rollin on 15s...

 

How is that different than a British company building a small car and calling it a MINI so ppl think the name is so cool

 

Huh A Mini is mini, it is descriptive - does the Nitro explode or act as a vasodilator?

Might give people heart attacks with that mug instead

 

Did you read the article, its a Wrangler competitor, which means they may go back to making off road capable vehicles (I know I'm probably dreaming) this could actually be fun, now if it ends up being a Nissan Amigo competitor well then all I've got is for anyone that buys it.

 

not again the h3 is ugly enough. I love the h1 too bad they dont make it any longer

 

Its the same marketing hype. Truck looks tough ... makes the buyer think hes macho as you described.

MINI "sounds" cute ... ladies love it. Guys hate it being called cute (not me).

It all part of advertising game. Get you to buy something ... Follow the money

 

See my last post I'm hoping we may see a smaller H1 capable off road and reasonable in the city and burbs, just like the Jeep Wrangler

 

Oh, I understand the marketing angle, I just find it funny that it has become so extreme and extra manly with something that is basically being used like a minivan. (Don't you find "Nitro" comical -isn't it really a wrestler? ) The orginal Mini, as I recall though, was a utilitarian car and actually a 'Morris Mini Minor' I think, Mini sticking as a nickname and becoming official later on - I don't know how much marketing Sir Issigonis had in mind when naming it.

So, is there anything about the retail Hummers directly related/the same as the real military machines they are named after, or is it all marketing?

Edit - I think the Morris may have been another car... but in any case, I don't think it was named explicitly to appeal to the ladies

 

I checked Wikipedia for the heck of it, since it came up I was curious and am posting in case anyone else is :

The name Mini did not appear by itself immediately — the first models being marketed under two of BMC's brand names, Austin and Morris. The name Austin Seven (sometimes written as SE7EN in early publicity material) recalled the popular small Austin of the 1920s and 1930s. The other name used in the United Kingdom, Morris Mini-Minor, seems to have been a play on words. The Morris Minor was a well known and successful car, with the word minor being Latin for "smaller"; so an abbreviation of the Latin word for "smallest" — minimus — was used for the new even smaller car.

Until 1962 the cars appeared as the Austin 850 and Morris 850 in North America and France, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner (until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). The name Mini was first used to name the car in 1961,[8] somewhat to the surprise of the Sharps Commercials car company (later known as Bond Cars Ltd) who had been using the name Minicar for their three-wheeled vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted,[9] and BMC used the name Mini for the remainder of the life of the car.[10]

 

H4- another substitute for the *****-deficient.
If you want a Hummer, man up and buy an H1.
Otherwise, go play in the kiddie pool.
IMHO, H3s are the most ridiculous poser-mobiles imaginable.

 

This was from the Autoblog comments section:
http://sidesplitters.catastrophe.net...ut-hummers.jpg

To be honest, I have pretty much the same reaction every time I see a yellow H2...

 

Yeah its a wrestler. Yeah, I think the commercial is lame but they are going after a target audience. Lots of people like 4 x 4s, trucks etc. You can like a truck AND a MINI ... they are not mutually exclusive.

The H1 is the military vehicle. Now only sold as the "alpha" but probably no more. The H2 was marketed as costing less ... and as the MOST utilitarian 4 x 4 by far. Tests showed it was "almost" as capable as the H1 and better than a jeep.

Unfortunately, I think professional athelete and some singers bought them and blinged them out ... changing the original intention of the vehicle.

When used as intended, it is WITHOUT peer.

As to all those who think people are buying them as poseurs. Maybe. But others buy them to be used as intended.

 

And for those who use as intended, I'm thankful ( H-1) that it didn't have a 50mm machine gun option.

But seriously, I'm glad Hummer is downsizing. I'm very tired of seeing America littered with oversized, menacing death machines. I know it's a free country and all, but let's be real... Why do the owners of these tanks, including Excursions, Escalades, Yukons and Navigators, buy the friggen brush gaurd battering ram options? (I'm not talking about the 5% who actually drive these monsters while cattle ranching in Montana).

Anyone remember the movie "Mad Max?" Strange how society evolves.

 

I have a better idea, If you want a Hummer, "man up" and join the US forces in Iraq.

 

Maybe they'll just rebadge the Geo Tracker and sell it as a Hummer

It will be interesting to see if it can compete with the Jeep Wrangler as an off-road vehicle, if it is capable off-road and is used in that way then I could respect it. But I suspect that it will mostly be bought by those who can't afford an H1, H2, or and H3, yet they still want the "Hummer image" ie. to make them look gansta or just look like a bad @$$(or would it be dumb @$$? )

 

I know the answer to that. I actually read it in a not to be disclosed forum. Its all about parallel parking. Some of the owners are fed up with people who don't know how to parallel park so they just back up until they hit the front end of the SUV. It also provides for a convenient place to mount driving lights.

 

That is so funny, large tough trucks whose bumpers are higher then most and take up large amounts of parking space (in all directions, those super wide ones like the H2s are a real hazard parked on city streets) getting big metal bully bars to fend off poor parkers Then use them to add the driving lights at eye blinding level

The sad part is that not only do the bush guards add weight, probably increase the already long stopping distances, they cause more damage to people/cars/motos/cyclists/anything hit by them. The crumple zones/give designed to help save pedestrians, etc is compromised for that, nice...

 

Remember eVal, this is a free country, we can do whatever we want! To heck with everyone else!

IMO this is the underlying attitude of many big truck and SUV owners.

 

Thats too funny because in the same thread they talked about weight! Seems like the heavy bull bars put too much weight up front destroying the overall balance on a finely crafted 4 x 4 that comes from the factory perfectly balance

BTW, "Crumble Zones" are for those who don't know how to use Heavy American Steel to build bigger and better

Oh dude ... are we going to get into that here? Its been discussed so many times

Although I do not have a big truck, I do have a SUV and it serves its purpose well (i.e., smoking MCSs).

No seriously ... every serviceman who ever died for this country did so for the American Way ... freedom to choose. You (and I chose) an itsy bitsy car. They choose and Escalade (hey, someone on Deal or No Deal was hoping to win an Escalade). There choice ... America ... land of the free

 

Without turning this into a full-blown brawl, my point was that while we are free to choose, we should make responsible choices. Choosing to mod any vehicle in such a way that it makes the road less safe for others is irresponsible. Even if someone is "free" to do it doesn't mean I have to like it.

And as for the SUV thing, I just picked on SUVs and trucks because I generally don't like them. I have my reasons, none of which I feel the need to get into at this time. If you own an SUV, that's fine, it is your choice to do so...

 

And this is where the discussion have digressed in the past.

Who is to say what is responsible and what is not? You? Me? Society?

The bottom line is that some people have legitimate needs and reasons to own whatever they own. If I lived out west, I'd own a true 4 x 4 in a heartbeat. I'd be on the Moab trails having a ball. Since I don't, I have a softroader, perfect for dirt, gravel, and snow. Despite some people claims that MINIs are perfect for snow ... ah NO. 4" and its done. Way too low. It would be a plow. So for the rare snowstorms in "our", yours and mine area, its a no brainer. I haul stuff all the time ... the wife LIVES in Home Depot. In fact, except for hauling the dogs to the Vet (and no dogs were going in my MINI) I just leave the back seats down ... drive it like a sports car, and on weekends ... its back to hauling lumber, dirt, mulch, brick stones, or whatever the wife buys ... Trust me ... its endless ... she got so many landscaping idea it scary. And rebuilding our deck is a "full-time", part-time spring/summer job for Mr. HandyMan (aka useless handy man ... me)

BTW, I also get 22 - 29 MPG according to the EPA ... not according to how I drive in the city

If your referring to the poseuers imitating the professional atheletes and blinging their H2s or Escalades ... well, I cant and wont speak for them "To each their own" but I see it no different than someone blinging at $22K MCS into a $45K MCS and wondering why they cant get the money back on aftermarket parts. Their money, their choice as if why do they "need" to get 0.3 sec quicker 0 - 60? You can't say that is any more responsible or less responsible.

America is about freedom of choice. I will defend their right to buy whatever they want if its sold in the free market.

I dont have to "like" their choice and may think their choice "ugly" or not for me. But I will defend their ability to choose. If we have fewer choices in the world, all of our society would be poorer for it

YMMV ... and I defend YOUR right to hate them