1 minute read
BRAND OVERVIEW
On this day in 1983, the Pentagon did awards a production contract worth more than $1 billion to the AM General Corporation to develop 55,000 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV). Nicknamed Humvee and designed to transport troops and cargo, the wide vehicles entered the spotlight when they were used by the American military during the 1989 invasion of Panama and the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s. then in 1992, civilian version of the Humvee known as the Hummer, went on sale. The real hulking, and attention-grabbing road warrior tipped the scales at about 4.5 tons got less than 10 miles per gallon. It’s an early hit with Hollywood celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, who went on to own a Hummers fleet. In December 1999, when the economy was strong and gas prices were relatively low, General Motors purchased the rights from AM General to market and distribute the Hummer. In 2002, the Hummer H2, a smaller (some 8,600
pounds), less expensive version of the original model, debuted. The Hummer became the symbol of America’s supersized lifestyle; however gas-guzzling vehicle was a target of heavy criticism from environmentalists. According to a 2008 report on Salon.com, in August 2003, “Hummer-hating eco-vandals 4 car dealerships in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, destroying, defacing, burning dozens of Hummers and other SUVs, while scrawling love notes like ‘Fat, Lazy Americans’ about the
Advertisement
premises.” And in 2005, the Hummer H3, an even smaller, more fuel-efficient (16 to 20 miles per gallon) vehicle was released. The following year, GM ended production of the original Hummer, due to low sales. In 2008, Americans face growing economic crisis and rising gas prices, with increasing environmental concerns, Hummer sales shrunk more than 50 percent. In December 2008, GM, that hard hit by the global recession slumping auto sales, received a multibillion-dollar federal bailout loan in
order to stay afloat. On June 1, 2009, the auto giant, which until 2008 had been the world’s top-selling maker of cars and trucks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The following day, GM announced that as part of its reorganization plans it would sell the Hummer brand to a Chinese company.
