Overview & Reviews

Few vehicles are as instantly recognizable as a Hummer SUV. Unapologetically boxy and impossibly wide, these rugged vehicles were originally built for military use, and it shows. For Hummer aficionados, the fact that these mammoth rock-crawlers are tank-like both in appearance and nature is a selling point, not a flaw. Go to a Hummer dealer and all you'll see are SUVs. There is no such thing as a Hummer car, at least not yet.

The Hummer brand can actually trace its roots back to another military icon -- the Jeep. Designed by the Willys-Overland company in the 1940s, the Jeep became so popular that when Henry J. Kaiser purchased the Willys-Overland company in 1953, the name was changed to Kaiser-Jeep. In 1970, American Motors bought Kaiser-Jeep and renamed it the Jeep Corporation. At that point, Jeep was producing vehicles through two divisions: the Commercial Products division in Toledo, Ohio, and the Government Products division in South Bend, Indiana.

A year later, the Government Products division was spun off as a wholly owned subsidiary known as AM General. In the early 1980s, the company, now owned by the LTV Corporation, designed a vehicle to compete for a contract offered by the U.S. Army. Called the High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee, as it came to be known), it was designed to serve as the military's main light tactical vehicle. AM General won a 1983 production contract (the first of many with the U.S. Army) that required the delivery of 55,000 vehicles over a five-year period.

AM General's Humvees distinguished themselves in active duty during the Persian Gulf War in the early '90s. The vehicle's wartime prowess garnered a great deal of positive publicity, and not just within military circles. As a result, AM General (now under the ownership of the Renco Group) decided to introduce a civilian version of the Humvee, dubbed the Hummer, in 1992. In 1999, General Motors bought the rights to the Hummer brand name and became responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of future Hummer SUVs.

The original Hummer, called the H1, was sold for a few years as the brand's flagship vehicle. Production ended after 2006, but Hummer has been expanding its vehicle lineup to include vehicles that still possess the Hummer bravado but with more civilized road manners.

User Reviews:

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  CAN YOU SAY G-500 OR RANGE ROVER? - 2003 Hummer H2
  By Terra-Crawler - November 22 - 10:00 am

  I expected more power for the money. I expected more colors (int. & ext.)for the money. I expected a more substantial air-conditioner for the money. I expected a more solid front end (nose) for the money. The truck was billed as more tamed and agile for everyday driving. This is not the case. It is clearly more suited for off- roading. I need off-road and everyday driving balance. As one other reviewer suggested, I shouldnt have bought it! However, I will replace my H2 with a Mercedes G-500 or Range Rover AS SOON AS I CAN UNLOAD THIS QUEEN OF THE PIGS!

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  Buyer Beware - 2006 Hummer H3
  By Hummer problems - September 3 - 8:06 am

  I have a H3 that has been in the shop for 37 of the 65 days I have owned it and still counting. They are replacing the rear trans axle for the 3rd time. I also have had the rear sub replaced. They are now trying to find some strange noise that is in the engine compartment. They have 2 techs working on it and 2 engineers from GM. The catalytic converter had something wrong with it and was robbing power. I am trying to get them to buy it back as we speak. Its not that I want to drive something else I just dont want this one. If you start hearing a whinning noise at about 35 mph you have the same problem.

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  Too Bad - 2006 Hummer H3
  By Ralph - July 22 - 5:00 pm

  Bought the H3 with lots of anticipation. The vehicle looks great and rides very nicely. Fun to be seen with. BUT, at this point I would not recommend it. I do not need a rocket ship, but this H3 is so under powered that it is simply not acceptable. The engine is not up to the car. Slow is an understatement. Had GM had any sense they would have put a Chevy V8 in the H3 and then you would have had something wonderful. As it is, the H3 is just terrible only because of the weak engine. Would not tell anyone to buy it.

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  Looks Nice - Do Not Buy It - 2006 Hummer H3
  By Ralph - July 13 - 1:06 am

  Just bought the new H3. The new Hummer looks great; nice fit and finish; the engine is absurd. The H3 barely moves. You cannot safely merge into high speed traffic; any incline and you feel it constantly downshift. What was GM thinking? This engine cannot move the H3 safely. Do not buy this vehicle. Shame on General Motors.

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  Price is right, everything else is not - 2006 Hummer H3
  By jersey_emt - August 24 - 5:00 am

  Many Sport Utility Vechicles have neither sportiness nor utility. Luckily, the H3 at least has utility. Like the other Hummers, it performs admirably on unpaved roads and dirt trails. But there is definitely no sportiness to this SUV. It handles horribly. The ride quality is extremely rough. Visibility is extremely poor. It is still too big to comfortably fit in a standard-sized parking space. Forgot about parallel parking this thing. The engine is sorely underpowered for the weight of this vehicle. An 11-12 second 0-60 time is unacceptable and extremely unsafe. I do not recommend this SUV.

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  dont bother - 2006 Hummer H3
  By yellow enzo - January 29 - 11:13 pm

  This is car is sooo slow trying to drive it around a city you might as well walk or risk being rear ended. The H3 so uncomfortable. its loud, tippy and drives like a milk truck, it had 1,800 miles and looked as if it had 40,000 the interior was already falling apart. Ohter than that the fuel economys not bad and it looks like a baby H2 if you like that sort of thing buy anything else