The Return of Hummer?
Hummer H2. (from Wikipedia)
Some years ago I was taking a week long class on some engineering software when, during a break, I got to chatting with the instructor. It turned out that he had formerly worked for General Motors and I asked what that was like. One thing he said in response really struck me. “When GM killed the EV1 and started Hummer I knew that we were doomed.” Indeed, GM killed the EV1 program in 1999, about the same time they bought the Hummer brand from AM General, manufacturer of the military HMMWV (aka “Humvee”).
Under GM, Hummer would sell three primary models: H1 (a civilianized Humvee weighing about 8000 lb), H2 (a large, approximately 6500 lb body on frame SUV based on GM’s full size truck platform), and the H3 (a medium sized, approximately 4600 lb SUV based on GM’s compact truck platform). The H3 stayed in production through the 2010 model year, at which point Hummer was effectively shut down.
Fast forward to June 2019 and Automotive News reports that GM is considering bringing back Hummer in the form of battery electric SUVs to compete with Jeep. They report:
Over the past few years, GM has been watching the growth of Jeep, the crown jewel and moneymaker of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and wondering if Hummer might win a piece of that market, said the people familiar with the brand discussions.
GM sees an opportunity to compete with Jeep for off-road vehicles that have creature comforts commanding high premiums, two of the people said. The company’s designers have done work with Hummer concepts and have experimented with Hummer styling cues on future GMC brand models.
Looking at the positive side first, a premium brand could theoretically help customers swallow the higher cost (for now) of an EV. SUVs remain popular and if you want to switch those customers to an EV, which we do, a little brand sugar isn’t such a bad thing. From an environmental aspect, if you insist on driving a massive SUV I’d rather you drive an electric one powered by renewable energy.
On the negative side, we have to talk about Hummer as a brand. Much of the commentary on this topic has emphasized Hummer as a premium off-road brand but this is completely wrong. Hummer is a pseudo-military brand that, by implication, includes off-road capabilities.
A former Hummer dealership. (via Google Streetview)
The military Humvee became one of the dominant symbols of both Gulf Wars. Hummer (the brand) leveraged that not just the visual appearance of the Humvee for the H2 and H3, but the military branding generally. GM even the dealerships designed to look like military quonset huts. The brand deliberately linked itself to military activities of the era.
A similar argument could be about Jeep, obviously. They have not been shy about reminding people of their connection to the original WWII era jeep. Even the steering wheel of my Cherokee has “Since 1941” molded into the material. The difference is that Jeep uses this military connection as their origin story but their brand identity is off-road adventuring. Use your Jeep, the marketing has said for a long time, to explore trails, get to idealistic fishing spots, go camping, and outdoorsy things like that. Even before that, Jeep was about utility, making vehicles for various commercial applications like airport support and mail delivery. They even promoted the Jeep DJ as a resort vehicle.
Jeep DJ Surrey (from Wikipedia)
Hummer came of age in an era of weaponized patriotism. To even question going to war in the middle east again bordered on treason, conservative media argued. This in your face attitude was stoked by Hummer in their advertising, as this New York Times article notes:
The ads often turn on what Ms. Vanzura calls empowerment. “Intimidate men, in a whole new way,” was one line. “Restore your manhood,” went another, as an H3 makes a man swap his tofu for a hamburger. (After criticism this was changed to “Restore the balance.”)
One spot called attention to “real product features,” Ms. Stooke said. In it, a boy builds a wooden replica of a Hummer, enters it in a soapbox derby and wins by veering off the winding road and taking a shortcut straight downhill.
I’m sure that some people honestly consider Hummer’s brand identity to be premium off-roading, something between Jeep and Land Rover. But to a large number of people it’s all about questionable foreign wars, the militarization of society, inefficiency as a virtue, force and intimidation. It’s the “Fuck You, That’s Why” brand.
I’m all for GM selling premium electric SUVs that people will buy, but they already have a brand for that called GMC. Leave Hummer in the ground where it belongs.
