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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  Base Hummer is the Best Deal - 2007 Hummer H3
  By JD - March 10 - 8:39 am

  You can Bling it out or go with a Base model like I did, LESS is MORE for me the chrome package does not make it run any better. It will get you through all the Snow and Ice and rough roads and trails you can throw at it, This is one of the better built GM autos I have owned, You can find flaws in it. I have found Flaws in my Honda, another well built auto. 19 MPG Hwy 15 in city.

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  I Like - 2006 Hummer H3
  By Dieter - February 28 - 8:30 pm

  Had to convince my wife to buy it but now she is a convert. I love the looks both exterior and interior and the quality of the build. The turning radius is impressive for the Hummer-- Tighter than some cars. Power could be better but, if you are not towing something it is adequate. Gas mileage is decent for an SUV its size. Only 2 negatives in my book---More space between the seat and door for making adjustments to the seat and having an option for driver seat position memory. 24,000 miles later, I am very happy that I own an H3.

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  005 Hummer H2 - 2005 Hummer H2
  By Kevin - February 17 - 2:00 am

  Love it. Drives excellent, Attention Getter. You either love it or Hate...and the Tree Huggers Hate it., of course. I wave when they go by.

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  Hummer H3 2007 - 2007 Hummer H3
  By R.Wiles - February 10 - 6:34 am

  My only issue so far was the factory did not program the security codes in the computer and the vehicle would sometimes start, and other times not start. The dealership quickly fixed the problem. It is difficult to get into and out of, but a set of side step bars works well on entry and exit. A great style of vehicle that not everyone has, that is what I like.

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  H3 Problems - 2006 Hummer H3
  By H3 PROBLEMS - February 7 - 9:22 pm

  My H3 has been in the shop 4 times with the same gasket leaking problem, now its in the shop again. Why? cause its leaking again, in the same spot, and now it formed another leak this time under the middle of the truck. It only has 7,000 miles on it, and it has never been four wheeling.

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  warkid - 2006 Hummer H3
  By warkid - January 25 - 6:35 pm

  We love it. Its great off road, fun to drive, pulls a 19 travel trailer, and it will plow thru 3 feet of snow with very little effort. It is a very stable and safe vehicle. Thinking of buying another one. It truly is a little monster.

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  Loving the Hummer - 2007 Hummer H3
  By jodoan1 - January 19 - 2:24 pm

  I didnt have high expectations after buying only Honda cars for the past 10 years. Sounds silly that you buy a car for style as opposed to reliability, quality and resale value, but I DID! After 2 months of ownership, I am happy to say that the car has exceeded my expectations in quality and "Fun-to-Drive" factor. There was one small problem I noticed after taking delivery of the car, but the dealership drove 50 miles to my work place to fix the problem. It was a missing screw in the rear driver side door moulding.

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  Hummer H3 "Mixed Feelings" - 2007 Hummer H3
  By mmorrismm - January 18 - 6:03 pm

  Well we picked up a 07 H3 Lux loaded with everything except Nav on new Years. Beautiful Boulder Grey metallic. So far, what a vehicle as far as build quality. A blast to drive and true a lot of looks. May mess up my raise this year as people think it cost over $50K...LOL Gets better gas mileage then our 2000 Cherokee which this replaced. A beast in the snow which is why we got it living in Minneapolis. I really think Hummer (GM) chose to be cheap on a 40K truck and things I took for granted (Should have heated mirrors, RDS even though it has XM, cheesy Tire Pressure system should show separate for all tires,Remote Starter etc) But I would buy it again.

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  Overall - 2006 Hummer H3
  By Danny - January 10 - 2:11 am

  Im very pleased with my H-3. Its a little under powered, but with all the gears its fine. I wish they had beefed up the front end a little. Tie rods look small and worry they may break under heavy offroading. Bigger motor would have been nice, but the mileage would have been a lot worst.

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  2007 H3 after one weekend - 2007 Hummer H3
  By MLP222 - December 11 - 6:41 pm

  I purchased a 2007 H3 for my wife and may never be able to get her out of it. She loves everything about it. The styling is certainly unique and the fun to drive factor is off the scale. Interior design and layout along with the fit and finish is the best Ive ever seen on a GM vehicle and this is my 14th. Im 63" and my wife is 5"0" and we both find comfortable seating positions and all of the controls are well placed. Im not a fan of the combo turn signal, CC and wiper stalk and the radio controls are a little small. Even with the new 3.7l engine power is "adequate". We purchased the H3 after the lease was up on a 2003 4 Runner. the Toyota got 20 mpg vs. 15 and had much better power.