About Hummer
Hummer is a brand of large off-road vehicles (H1) or sport utility vehicles (SUVs) (H2, H3, H4) sold by General Motors, also known as GM. They are based on the military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee). The Hummer is one of the larger 4x4 types, with commensurate high fuel consumption. In most countries, a hummer is considered to be a truck, rather than a regular SUV as it does not meet environmental protection standards. In some countries, including New Zealand and Australia, a truck licence is needed in order to operate the Hummer.
History
Hummers were originally built by AM General Corporation, formerly the military and government vehicle division of American Motors, in its South Bend, Indiana assembly plant. AM General had planned to sell a civilian version of the Hummer as far back as the late 1980s. In 1990, two matching white Hummers were driven from London to Beijing over the rough roads of central Soviet Union. The Hummers made the trip with ease, for they were built to drive on off-road terrain. The highlights of this journey were broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This publicity would pale in comparison to the attention that the HMMWV received for its service in Operation: Desert Storm the following year.
In 1992, AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Hum-Vee) vehicle to the public under the brand name "Hummer". According to sources, they began doing so after Arnold Schwarzenegger asked them to; apparently, he was impressed by a convoy of HMMWVs that drove by during his filming Kindergarten Cop in 1990.
In 1998, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors but continued to manufacture the vehicles. GM is responsible for the marketing and distribution of all Hummers produced by AM General. In the next few years, GM introduced two new homegrown models, the H2 and H3, and renamed the original vehicle H1. AM General continues to build the H1 and is contracted by GM to produce the H2. The H3 is built in Shreveport, LA alongside the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups. Unlike the H1, which is a true off-road vehicle the H2, H3 and H4 are SUVs.
