Hummer: The Military Assault Vehicle of the Suburbs

As I drive around town in the suburbs of Atlanta, I am constantly amazed at the number of people driving Hummers back and forth to Target. Next to that military assault vehicle, my puny little pickup truck looks like a matchbox car. I know living in the suburbs can seem a little bit like an upscale war. We fight crowds at Walmart, enact military maneuvers to grab the last empty parking space at the mall, and decode the mysterious terminology that comes out of the mouths of our teenagers. However, I do not see any reason why a person would require a military assault vehicle to drive their kid to soccer practice. Sure, some of the moms out there are scarier than a 5 star general but are the roads so bad we need a Hummer to make it over the potholes? I really don’t think so. Yet every time I head out to run errands in my suburban neighborhood I find people driving vehicles that could literally flatten me should I make one wrong move! I have to wonder every time I see a Hummer whether or not those people are heading out for a tour of duty after picking up milk and eggs!

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Hummer The Military Assault Vehicle of the Suburbs

Hummer The Military Assault Vehicle of the Suburbs

A story circulated a few years back about the environmental impact of the Hummer as compared to the Prius, a car often promoted as ‘green’. Oddly enough, many people who actually study such things insist that the Prius is bad for the environment. Something having to do with production processes and the nickle in the battery. I was a little surprised to be honest…you look at a Prius compared to a Hummer and which one do you think is doing more damage to our planet? Guess we just have to trust the scientists on that one.

There are also a number of people who are trying to make the Hummer run on alternative fuels. Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger told a conference in New Delhi back in February that huge American cars aren’t responsible for global warming. Not sure I want to believe Arnold when it comes to climate change data analysis but he brings up a good point. If you can create a Hummer that runs on alternative fuels and creates NO greenhouse gas is it any worse for the environment than any of the other cars out there on the road?

Think About This: According to AM General, about 240,000 Hummers have been sold around the world since their introduction in 1985. The Toyota Prius is the world’s third-best selling car and in  JUST the first quarter of 2012,  a whopping 247,230 were sold worldwide. Compared to the Prius there really aren’t a lot of Hummers on the road…just seems like it I guess because they take up so much space!

 

Clearly, there are a lot of people who are trying to make a greener choice by buying the Prius but maybe they just realize that there is no reason to actually OWN a military assault vehicle unless they are attempting to outrun terrorists in the desert. Most of us are just trying to outrun the red light and make it to church on time.

What do you think…if the Hummer ran on alternative fuels would you buy it? 

 

 

5 thoughts on “Hummer: The Military Assault Vehicle of the Suburbs”

  1. No, I wouldn’t buy a Hummer, even if they made it run on alternative fuels. It’s too big . I can’t see any reason to own one of these. As a matter of fact, a lot of my neighbors and residents in my little city (suburban) area have switched to golf carts to drive around town. I still walk!

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  2. We were just speaking about this today how ridiculous it is for people to drive a Hummer. It has become a status symbol for people who obviously want more attention than what they are getting.

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