Sunday.

,April 20, 2003 SPRING AUTO PRFI|EW'

AY MASARAH I/AIU EYCK

.fi r t ; a pit til .yn. spapen
ln the land of opportunin', thc
nev Hummer FiZ is huilr ro prorecc
our right to life. liberw and ihe pur-
suit of . . well, just airout anr:thing.
For D.J. Ahrcns, general manage r er
Bergstrom Cadillac-FIummer-
Oldsmtibile of \[a,.lison, norhing sa,vs
"get the heck out of mv rvav" rluite
likc a Hummer.
First built in 1985 b.;,,\II Gcneral,
the "High Nlobilin Nlultrpurpose
Wheeled \:ehicle" (Htrl\tW\'), or
"hum-r'ce," becane popular in the
1990s, ll'hen it rvrs ieatured rvidelv
(1.\-N during rhc Cult'\\'.rr.
'rn
CrleLriities like :\rnold
Schu'arzencgger made thc irrst ci-"il-
ian-owned F{ummer. rhe l'11. a
I'Iull.,rvocd prop. In 1999. General
.\lotors seized on rhe popularicl of
thc Flummer and ncgoriated a cr:n-
tract rvirir Gcnerrrl. Thev nrlrr'
'\\1
mrke both thc [{i und the neivlv
reieased, rrrore srrect-i'riendlv H2 oui
of a neu ANf Ccneral-orvned nlant
in lndi:rnl.
,\ccording to Ahrens, rt'hose deal-
ership bcgan seliing Hrrmnrers in
Januan', the i{2 is a l'a.st improve-
ment over its predccessr:r. which uas
prohibitivel"' lo,-rd and rode "rough."
"lbu can't tlrrre dow'n the highwev
and calk on rhe phone in rhat beasr,"
he e:iplained. T'he qrriercr. non-
diesel H2. i)n the other hand. aims
for a balance betrvee n che stark urili-
ri'of the FI1 and, weli, rhe sport of that tcrrrurcs iike the optionrl heared takes up niost o1'rhc back rarrd alsr; jrrsr lti rnches r-rfground clearance,
im SIJV conrenders. icathcr seats, high-tech aurjin sys- impedes rear lisibilirr ) che Hl h,rs a sree lplate bolred to it.s
Indeed. the H3. sometimes cslled rem. tiual-zone climate conrrrrl ind a [,est l,ve tbrsct irs origins, ihe Fi]'s he ll-,' t;r shreid ic from rough rerrain.
polve r sunroof. lbt. while rhe I'11 can m0ie unlilLlc fc,tiures still sar L,ikc ir-s predecessor, the H2 can ford
the Babv Hummer, forges a neri'
path fbr luxun vehicles. lVhile less hold sir adrrks ione in thc single "Descrt Srornt." 'Ihese include en ,Jecp rvater iup co Z0 inchcs), cilmb
than half the price r:f the Hi. rt sdll third-nrrv 1ump seari to the til'-. ,,'n-boar.J air r-.ompressr)r to arljusl 1o-inch :iieps cr rocks and even rack-
star$ at around $50,000 fbur, it has t'ar less st,rrlge space rhan wheel infiation, tirg iamps, ;rnd. of lc a Ji.r-dcgree slope. Still, rvirh rwo
add rr.i
- SUVs. mostlv because the spere tire coursc. the rrertrcai windshielLi. \l'ith child se'rr tcthers srrndard in the
 Page 1l

back sear, $e H2 is likalv nor head-

cd for cq:mbat *nycime s(}On.
While ,r felv inchcs narrriv'er an'l
750 p*unds lighter than the H1, rhe
F{?'s smnce is no less Powerfui. \Yitl:
a *tr16-horsepnrver, 6.0-liter V'B
engine tnd .i6ti pound-feer ':i
torque, ihe H2 hardly says "subur-
hran." And that rdge, says i\hrens, is
ils rnain appeal.
Indeed, for most l{ttmmer owntlrs,
the H?'s i:ff'road capabiiities are of
secondary importance, When asked
what L{ummers add to the daily
cornm$rr tirat SllVs can't, .{hrens
dcclares'-rlniquenes,9,"
""bu rvillldi:'r bpliev* riic lor:ks
you gct trhen you driv'e it. I'r'e nevet
seen ihe reacticn I get when tr drive
a !{urnmer, it reali-v stand$ out."
The reaerion is overwhelmingiY
positive, he insisrs, excepf for
e nvironmenmlists"
Given the low gas rniieage r:f t|re
li? {i{i miles per gallan in the cit'r
and 13, nt fi{rst. on the highwav)
environrnetttaiists have stimething to
criricizo. Whlie the H2 wr:n't win
anv {wards for environmcnml-fiiend-
liness, Ahrcns shrugs, "lt'.s what pea-
ple rvant. And i{ peopie want it and
thel: crn a{ford it," he reasoned,
"chsn who are [environmentalists] to
say rhev ean't have iti"'
This appeal ro rebelliousness,
machisrno and above all, Personal
-
freedam is at the heart of rhe
Hurnrner's popularity. Iniieed, per-
hapr nothing is more patencly lnd
oatrioticall-,',\merican thln a car
*hnt* tagline promises "an incredi-
ble fceling r:f freedom" and the
*pponunity
-'tr: 'r
sxperience the world, and your plac*
in it. like neyer before."f