World's Fair

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A while back, I was trying to think of phrases that “sound pleasant but are actually maybe bad” and I remember one of the silly ones I thought of was:

Hummer coming through.

Get it? “Hummer,” as in a person who hums (yes, I know – kind of lame). Just for the record, this post is about the car not people who make sounds with their mouths closed.

Anyway, this subject came up because recently I read that the Hummer will be discontinued, and also I was surprised at how seeing a Hummer (the car) on the road really kind of bothered me. In fact, I could not help but assume the driver was of a certain sort – you know, someone who craved attention and was self centred enough to drive such a huge car. Some might even go so far as to assume the driver is a “idiot,” noted because when you search the word “hummer” in Youtube, an significant number of videos have the word “idiot” in the title.

Regardless of what others think, this reaction is odd for me, because I’m basically a very laid back individual, and the analytical side of me obviously knows that just because someone is driving a particular car model doesn’t mean that they are of a particular personality or mindset. Maybe, they’re in a line of work that requires that sort of car.

It got thinking though. Is this something that a lot of people equate with when they see a Hummer? Is this something that the manufacturers (General Motors) who make Hummers are concerned over generally? For that matter, do the Hummer drivers know this, and just don’t really care?

As well, do similar gut negative reactions occur with other cars? Maybe more importantly, do people who drive “hummers” think the same of me as I move around in one of those MPV minivans? More so, since admittedly you could argue that minivans are not exactly the most environmentally friendly vehicles either.

(Image as seen from Treehugger)

Comments

#1 Donna B.
May 31, 2010

What’s strange to me is how few Hummers I see on the road since I live where they are made. For some time, I figured the few that did drive them had to in some way.

I just completed a 2400+ mile road trip and saw only one Hummer. I think the real reason for that is that they are ugly and awkward, as well as expensive. I think this also the reason I don’t see many Land Rovers.

So basically I’m surprised when I see one but not necessarily bothered. And I save my wondering about drivers’ personalities for those who drive vehicles they have deliberately altered to make a statement. I especially wonder about this when the alteration makes the vehicle less driveable.

The last Hummer just rolled off the line about a week ago. It was part of fleet order of 849. I wish I knew who placed that order!
#2 Murfomurf
May 31, 2010

Grrrr…Hummers and those minivan/bus/monster 4-WDs with far too much rubber all thoroughly tick me off! I think the people who drive them are all horribly selfish and disrespectful of the planet! So there! Why do any of you NEED anything larger and gruntier unless you’re tradespeople?
#3 elspi
May 31, 2010

“minivan/bus/monster 4-WD”

Minivan is the opposite of monster 4-WD. Anyone who uses them as if they were the same is a twit.
#4 george.w
May 31, 2010

A few years ago J.D. Powers published a list of the cars that got the most complaints in the first few months of ownership; the Hummer led the list. The two most common complaints received about the Hummer? Wind noise and bad gas mileage. So the “idiot” assumption may not be far off.

The Hummer is discontinued within a month of the cancellation of that corrupting broadcast pestilence, 24. Good riddance to them both.
#5 eNeMeE
May 31, 2010

Maybe, they’re in a line of work that requires that sort of car.

Pretty sure that sort of line of work doesn’t exist, since the military versions don’t really resemble the consumer version. Unless idiot counts as a line of work…
#6 Russ Finley
June 1, 2010

Here in Seattle you can practically walk across town on the tops of Priuses. Drive ten minutes across a bridge to a wealthy suburb and you can do the same on the tops of Hummers.

I once took a picture with my cell phone of a yellow Hummer parked next to a yellow Cherokee (the original SUV):

http://home.comcast.net/~russ676/photo/yellowhummer.jpg

Just another arms race.

Biodiversivist
#7 Karen
June 1, 2010

Murfomurf @2: my husband and I drive one of those big 4WD trucks on occasion, because we like to haul a slide-in camper when we go vacationing out in the boonies; we like to haul remodeling material home from Home Depot; etc. But most days you’d find my husband on a bicycle and me in a little fuel-efficient Mazda. So, please don’t paint everyone with the same brush.
#8 IanW
June 2, 2010

Hummers are not going away. They’re evolving into stealth Hummers such as the new Dodge Nitro and the Chrysler 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Rest assured, America’s love affair with shameful gas guzzlers will not disappear until gas itself disappears.
#9 Dunc
June 3, 2010

There is no line of work that requires that sort of car. People who need 4-WD or cargo capacity for work drive more practical vehicles, like vans or pick-ups. Or tractors.
#10 susan
June 24, 2010

I once threatened to organize a protest group who would track down people in the process of test driving new Hummers and run them into ditches. I think people typically end up using them to “haul” their egos around which is actually kind of sad. The day they discontinue Hummers should be a national holiday (IMO).
#11 pleksi
July 8, 2011

we actually have a carpet cleaning business, and that European countries are interested in just do not have a site related to the presentation of his work seo.
#12 boyaci
August 5, 2011

Is this something that the manufacturers (General Motors) who make Hummers are concerned over generally? For that matter, do the Hummer drivers know this, and just don’t really care?
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