GM to discontinue H-2

[Incusus]

Relevant content from The BackCountry blog that someone emailed me yesterday... http://thegoat.backcountry.com/blog/2008/03/18/excuse-me-for-a-moment-while-i-beat-this-dead-horse/

I just about choked to death on my pasta laughing
:jump:

 

[maximumrob]

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/350/hummer-h2-eats-it.html;_ylt=AshpV7XDFbOyE8zQMxiumcaAV8cX

Eh, I don't buy it. Those things are EVERYWHERE in the Dallas area. All the moms have one here in the burbs.

 

[Ron B]

I'm with you Andre. I can't believe anyone would buy such a big SUV with such limited room inside. That thing is squished! I can't even adjust the seat so my head doesn't hit the roof! Gas hog yuppie mobile that's a status vehicle around here! Adios...

Bjorn

you must be 7' tall -- I'm 6' 3" and no where near the cieling. I agree about the truck being steered by gm marketing toward the yuppie/poser/soccer-mom folk (look at all the chrome aks available from the dealer) but as far as mpg, maybe you should look at the thread about the other trucks on this forum...you'll find it's not too different than any other gas powered full size truck on 35's.

I think gm is only leasing the hummer name...and AM-General was only contracted to assemble them through '09.

that being said, I don't miss it too much (had an h2 for a year) as I've been wheeling an h1 for 4 years now.

rb

 

[maximumrob]

but as far as mpg, maybe you should look at the thread about the other trucks on this forum...you'll find it's not too different than any other gas powered full size truck on 35's.

Not just full-sizes on 35's get piss poor mileage. Wrangler guys on 35's and low gears probably get the same mileage as an H2. When I hear my fellow Rubicon buddies say they get 14mpg and they have 5.13's and 35's, I assume they must drive downhill to work both ways.


.

 

[Ron B]

Not just full-sizes on 35's get piss poor mileage. Wrangler guys on 35's and low gears probably get the same mileage as an H2. When I hear my fellow Rubicon buddies say they get 14mpg and they have 5.13's and 35's, I assume they must drive downhill to work both ways.


.

agreed. it seems many are in denial about the mpg issue...they are popular to hate though. It's funny that folks laugh when you talk about wheeling h2's but it's cool to wheel a toureg or cayenne -- which are comparable in wieght/cost and might not do as well offroad with their approach/dearture angles/ground clearance/skid plates etc...

rb

 

[toyrunner95]

hahaha cheap gas again! I wow I'm laughing. by the end of august I bet we will never see gas under 3.50 ever again. This economic slump may very well put our power nation status in jeapordy this thing is bigger than we expect. Trust me this wont be over for a while. The fed just lowered interest rates again which is lowering our dollar still. Soon the paso will be better than the dollar. I work for gm and we all cheered when we heard that. Its one of the worst selling trucks in history. The full size won't leave it will stick around with alternative fuels allmof gm's new line is flex fuel even the comaro. And the h3 is selling likenhot cakes plus with the new diesel its pretty cool except for the massive blind spots.

 

[Ivan]

In some part due to oil starting to trade more in some foreign currencies, but last I looked oil was still mostly traded in USD. I guess one could argue however that trading oil in an inflating currency would only inflate the price

Which is why I mentioned that we could see relatively cheap gas again in the future.

That is, of course, if a massive bank run doesn't occur, we get stuck with more stringent lending standards, the public stops buying stuff, and we get thrown into a Depression, part deux.

Oh, wait...

Kinda off topic, kinda not: any news on a diesel making its way to the H3?

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Ivan wrote: "wish they would have built the H2 on the 2500 platform instead of the Tahoe. Methinks the Duramax/Allison combo would have been brilliant in promoting diesels, and would have opened the door to more diesels in smaller vehicles (such as the H3, which is a pretty good vehicle IMHO, and the rest of the platform).

It's a bit of a shame that the H2 is biting the dust. At least they were promoting not only off-roading (to a point), but vehicle-based exploration. What other brand is currently running any ad campaigns similar to the H2? Maybe Jeep, but it's still not in the same spirit, and it doesn't have the clear message of "go out and explore".


I have to agree with the diesel point; although the price of diesel doesn't offset the cost per gallon. And why is it? It always seems like it's the Toyota people (not all of course) who are some of the first to bash any domestic vehicle when in truth their lifted, big tired, somewhat underpowered rigs use way more fuel than a stock Hummer on any given day. I remember toyota's when they were flimsy little pieces of junk that lacked power, rusted out, used cheap materials and who were worn out in 4-5 years. They bore little resemblence to todays product other than by name only. I think that competition has been good for the big 3 as well, as their quality has much improved because of Toyota, Honda, and the rest. It's about a peoples right to choose what they want to drive no matter who makes, even Hummer. I don't hear complaining about how lousy a fuel mileage a Ferrari, lamborghini, etc. gets; not to mention how useful they are. You drive Toyota and thats fine but don't belittle someone else for driving what they like. Keep in mind that gas wasn't really getting out of hand until 2 or 3 years ago. At two dollars a gallon (2 years ago) we could afford to drive SUV's, full size trucks and think nothing of it (it was what we wanted..our schoice), but continuous speculation and competition are ruining a lot of things including driving what we want. Someday, it might be illegal to drive any vehicle modified from it's manufactured state based solely on it's burden to the enviroment and it's viewed waste of natural resources. Who really needs Nascar, Core, Drakkar, the Baja races, Rock climbing, boating etc. Something to think about.

Pete Wilson

 

[4Rescue]

It's a bit of a shame that the H2 is biting the dust.

Why? Seriously, not trying to whack at a hornets nest, but really, what did an H2 ever excell at?

I'd actualy really like to hear from someone who has, and wheels one. It'd be good to hear from an actual owner what their personal likes and dislikes are, and why specificaly they thought the H2 was the rig of choice for what they wanted to do. We can toss around all the theory's we want, but we need an actual testimonial to give us a more "well rounded" discussion eh.

...I remember toyota's when they were flimsy little pieces of junk that lacked power, rusted out, used cheap materials and who were worn out in 4-5 years...

I think you may be confusing old Toyota's with the Corvair...

Seriously, I grew up in an 83 (I think) 2wd Toyota pick-up and that truck was every bit as tough as trucks twice, hell three times it's size. Underpowered yes, but tough as nails.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Ron B]

Why? Seriously, not trying to whack at a hornets nest, but really, what did an H2 ever excell at?

I owned an h2 from Dec '02 to the spring of '04. I bought it because of the camera gear I have to haul around for work and the 6000 lb curb weight write-off (section 179? can't remember). I have to say that at that time it was the most comfortable, most capable off the shelf wheeler available. Not sure what other vehicle has the matching technical specs and the ability to drive off the lot straight to Big Bear and do John Bull in the comfort of an easy chair. No, John Bull isn't one of the Hammers, but it's a pretty tough trail for the bone stock GM piece of shiite everyone thinks it is. 37's fit without a lift as well though I never got that far before I sold it. The truck was top-heavy and had alot of sway, but it took the sideways stuff really well.

The problem with the h2 is that it is comprised of many Tahoe parts (though a Tahoe/Yukon/Silverado it is not). The weakness I experienced in my year of wheeling is that GM used under-sized suspension components (the extra 1000 lbs and 35's took a toll on tie-rods as we all know).

The advantage of the h2 being built out of the afore mentioned undersized Tahoe parts is that the parts are really cheap and can be found anywhere. Beefing up the tie-rod and idler/pitman really helped, and kits finally became available a few years after it's release. The stock tie-rods were about $90 each and halfshafts are about the same so it was no biggie as long as you carried a spare.

GM is not as smart as Toyota in that there was no aftermaket support for the h2's -- it took a long time just for a lift and other goodies to come out. The dealers had all the accessories and charged Hummer prices for them. I came to the realization that it was not the truck for me when I started seeing every other soccer-mom and wanna-be poser buying them. At the time I was investigating a front solid axle conversion ($$$!) and some other goodies when better judgement got the best of me and I sold it (got a '97 h1).

There are plenty of videos and pictures floating around the web of the previously mentioned soccer-moms and posers getting stuck and breaking these trucks. And that's what people think of when they hear "h2." (that and Arianna Huffington's rantings about hummers when she was battling Arnie for the gov of Cali -- though she and most the public still have issues telling the h2 apart from the h1). We all know the mpg thing is bs, it's no worse than any other big truck. I haven't researched the recent numbers, but they only made 40,000 to 60,000 h2's each of the first few years in production (vrs 170,000+ F-150's each year and growing) so there weren't as many on the road as we all thought.

Ron B

 

[Scott Brady]

Nice description Ron.

I have also tested H2s on the trail, and there is NO QUESTION of their capabilities. In stock form, they will give anything but a Rubicon a run for its money.

Ok, so this is my op.ed. on the H2:

Warning: This is just a little opinion piece, which is my assumption of what happened to the H2. It is not a reflection of the capabilities of the vehicle, which I have tested and found to be more than capable. I also did not care for a lot of things about the vehicle in testing, principally it's space efficiency and visibility.

I have mentioned this in a thread before, but where I think everything went wrong for Hummer (the H1 remains impressive and iconic in my mind) was not so much the trucks themselves, but who bought them.

While I am sure an example exists somewhere, I have never once met an experienced 4wd enthusiast that purchased an H2 for a trail machine. The guys that went out and bought H2s were typically non-outdoorsmen who traded in a leased BMW 3 or 5 series, etc. So you end up with this mass of inexperienced drivers (that think they can drive) spinning tires and breaking parts on the trail, and then rolling over and generally causing havoc on Southern California roadways. Those of you who live in So Cal have spent years with the rude "Yuppie" driving the black 325 - well now he is driving a 6,000lb black H2. It is easy to see why the vehicle quickly lost street and trail cred.

I have encountered dozens of H2s on the trail and even had several in my training classes (one was a 16 year old that got a new H2 for his birthday) and they all exibit the same traits. Attitude and incompetence as a driver. Now of course there are likely many competent and pleasant H2 drivers out there, but my experience has shown them to be in rarest of minorities (for example, I am sure Ron is one of those great guys).

So, the downfall of the H2 maybe has less to do with the vehicle, but that it was never accepted as credible. Not by 4wd enthusiasts and environmentalists alike. It just came across as bloated, pretentious and more than a bit silly to nearly everyone.

 

[Ron B]

I agree 100%, nice write-up Scott.

rb

 

[durango_60]

With Scott's comments about capability in mind, will we see the day that H2's are commonplace on the trail and people don't automatically assume the person behind the wheel is a jack@$$? As they plummet in price, and Soccer Mom/Hip Hop desireability, I am occasionaly tempted to see what they are made of.

 

[Streakerfreak]

Nice description Ron.

I have also tested H2s on the trail, and there is NO QUESTION of their capabilities. In stock form, they will give anything but a Rubicon a run for its money.

Ok, so this is my op.ed. on the H2:

Warning: This is just a little opinion piece, which is my assumption of what happened to the H2. It is not a reflection of the capabilities of the vehicle, which I have tested and found to be more than capable. I also did not care for a lot of things about the vehicle in testing, principally it's space efficiency and visibility.

I have mentioned this in a thread before, but where I think everything went wrong for Hummer (the H1 remains impressive and iconic in my mind) was not so much the trucks themselves, but who bought them.

While I am sure an example exists somewhere, I have never once met an experienced 4wd enthusiast that purchased an H2 for a trail machine. The guys that went out and bought H2s were typically non-outdoorsmen who traded in a leased BMW 3 or 5 series, etc. So you end up with this mass of inexperienced drivers (that think they can drive) spinning tires and breaking parts on the trail, and then rolling over and generally causing havoc on Southern California roadways. Those of you who live in So Cal have spent years with the rude "Yuppie" driving the black 325 - well now he is driving a 6,000lb black H2. It is easy to see why the vehicle quickly lost street and trail cred.

I have encountered dozens of H2s on the trail and even had several in my training classes (one was a 16 year old that got a new H2 for his birthday) and they all exibit the same traits. Attitude and incompetence as a driver. Now of course there are likely many competent and pleasant H2 drivers out there, but my experience has shown them to be in rarest of minorities (for example, I am sure Ron is one of those great guys).

So, the downfall of the H2 maybe has less to do with the vehicle, but that it was never accepted as credible. Not by 4wd enthusiasts and environmentalists alike. It just came across as bloated, pretentious and more than a bit silly to nearly everyone.

Very well said, those are my exact feelings toward the H2:26_7_2: .

 

[Ivan]

Why? Seriously, not trying to whack at a hornets nest, but really, what did an H2 ever excell at?

I'd actualy really like to hear from someone who has, and wheels one. It'd be good to hear from an actual owner what their personal likes and dislikes are, and why specificaly they thought the H2 was the rig of choice for what they wanted to do.

Go check out the Hummer section at Pirate. Even though their owners are still a bit prissy, there's no question that the H2 guys posting there like to beat the ever living crap out of their vehicles.

Once you get past the BS, it's a good read.