Hummer - Everything You Need to Know | Up to Speed

- Squarespace brings you this episode of Up to Speed. (engine revving) It's not a car, it's not a truck, it's not just another four-by-four, it's a wolf in wolf's clothing. It's a car-shaped tank shaped like a tank! It can go over anything, up anything, and through anything. It wasn't made for us, it was built for war. I don't care what you drive, buddy. It's bigger, stronger and the only reason we can buy one is because the Terminator said so. This is

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with the Hummer. (upbeat electronic music) In the early 1980s, the US military was bidding for a new transport vehicle that could transport troops and heavy cargo anywhere.

In other words, they

need

ed a high-mobility, multi-purpose wheeled vehicle, or himovv, himvr, what, how do I say this wrong? (the man speaks indistinctly) What, H-M-M, hummv? The H-M-M-W-V, hmmwvr. The winning bid went to AM General Corporation, which created a machine that had the stark presence of a nuclear explosion. It could carry heavy equipment through the worst terrain. It could cross rivers and climb slopes that would stop basically anything else. It had a switch that could inflate or deflate the tires on the fly and its axle track was designed to be so wide that it could slide between the tracks left by tanks, tanks!

Additionally, it could be launched from an airplane with its own parachute. AM General was awarded a billion dollar contract to mass produce the Hmmwvr for the US military. And by the end of the 80s, they were already in the field. They called it Humvee, because it was easier to say than Hmmwvr and it accompanied US troops during the invasion of Panama in 1989 and during the Gulf War in 1991. The Humvee was adapted for all types of functions. The ambulance, the communications station, and my personal favorite, the damn rocket launcher. Let me make one thing very clear: the Humvee was a military vehicle, designed for military use.

It's like a Black Hawk helicopter or an aircraft carrier, an F18 Superhornet. The Hummer was never meant for ordinary people or ordinary roads (burp), but there's one thing the US military never saw coming: Arnold freaking Schwarzenegger! (laughs) It's 1990, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the biggest action movie star in the world and not just physically but also physically. As he takes a break from filming the classic Kindergarten Cop, "Are you eating other people's sandwiches? Stop." - For. - And somehow, Arnold says, "Uh, I, like, "I'm in this situation now, I love your mom "and I'm your kindergarten teacher, "it's time to karate fight your mom's boyfriend "My mom had some boyfriends and I wish there was an Arnold to kick them.

Luckily, I'm the Arnold now, so I'll buy you a plane ticket, Steve, and take you to Los Angeles to kick them. You (bleep) . Steve is a real guy. (whistle) Steve (bleep), I hate you. Arnold met his spirit animal when he saw a convoy of Hummers next to him on the road. "Hey, what is it. That jeep so big that it looks flat? "That's the perfect car for me, can I get one?" Hey, are you Arnold Schwarzenegger? "Yes, I am." Listen, man, I'm glad you like my car and all, but you can't buy one of these because it's only for military use. "I'm Arnold Schwarzenegger, I can have whatever I want." AM had already tossed around the idea of ​​a civilian model, but with Terminator's backing they put it at the top of his priority list.

In 1992, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Olympia, received the first civilian version under the name Hummer; of course, as a civilian model, this one had no rocket launcher. - Ah, there is no rocket. They forgot to put the rocket there, man, I'm so sorry. - But it was more or less the same general design. Therefore, it could still climb, over and through anything. He could still inflate or deflate his tires while traveling and he was still very, very, very big, like my father. Remember that right now movie heroes are huge masses of muscle. The Soviet Union had just collapsed and the United States was fucking excited.

Gas prices were cheap; In other words, subtlety and moderation were not words in our national vocabulary. America wanted big, it wanted bold, it wanted a Hummer, who cared if it weighed 10,000 pounds and got 10 miles per gallon, (laughter), literally. In fact, in a very real sense, that was the point. It cost around $50k and barely fit in most garages. The Hummer wasn't expected to be a mass-market car and that also became part of the appeal. A Hummer badge was like a Ferrari badge. If you had one, it meant you had money and you weren't afraid to spend it.

It was a manageable luxury. By the end of the 90s it had become a hallmark of celebrities. Everyone from Coolio, Ted Turner, Tom Clancy, Andre Agassi, the four coolest and most famous guys of all time, drove Hummers. The Hummer was a metaphor for 90s America. Huge, expensive, rugged, unstoppable, gas guzzling, decadent (thunder) and in your damn face. And as you can imagine, not all of them turned out very well. The Hummer became a symbol of excess and selfishness and environmentalists absolutely hated its fuel consumption. Still, whether respected or reviled, there aren't many cars that have elicited such strong reactions from so many people in such a short time.

That was the pure presence of the Hummer. In 1999, GM bought the rights to the Hummer from AM General, where AM General put its military machine in the exclusive hands of a few, GM wanted Hummer to become a true mass market brand. The result came in 2002 with the launch of the car's little brother, the H2. This Hummer model was agile and toned rather than muscular and bulky. Weighing 8,600 lbs. Schwarzenegger, never one to miss a sequel, was personally involved in the development of H2. As much as he loved the raw size of the original, he wanted the H2 to be a little more tractable on the road and also compete as a modern luxury car.

People bought them in droves. Once again, the issue of excessive gasoline consumption caused a backlash from environmentalists and some of them went crazy over it. In 2003, 40 Hummer H2s were set on fire at a California dealership in an ecoterrorist attack carried out by the Earth Liberation Front. What is more serious and sad is that these were not the only terrorists the car was facing. The original military Humvee was now deployed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and believe it or not, despite its incredible ruggedness, the Humvee was never designed to be shot at. As improvised explosive devices became increasingly common in war zones, lightly armored Humvees simply couldn't protect their occupants.

The Pentagon began searching for a new transport vehicle and the Humvee was relegated to rearguard duties. At home, people also started looking for new models. Rising gas prices and growing environmental awareness deeply affect the Hummer brand. The heavy days of '90s excess were a distant memory and the Hummer now looked flashy where it once looked flashy, but in a good way. Plus, with two wars dragging on, military elegance is kind of silly. - Yes? - General Motors tried to save the brand with the launch of the H3 in 2005. The smallest Hummer model of all time.

Weighing 5,800 pounds. The smallest one weighed three tons. And GM increased fuel economy to a whopping 16 miles per gallon. Hummer also tries to prove that its cars are for more than just big guys by making ads for women too, but it was too little, too late and in 2009, the global financial crisis made any kind of luxury spending unpalatable, as well as leading to General to bankruptcy. Engines. As part of GM's Chapter 11 restructuring, they attempted to spin off the Hummer brand to a new owner and actually found an interested party in rural China. Unfortunately, the Chinese government intervened and ended the agreement.

China was in the process of cleaning up its environmental image, and purchasing the world's most polluting car brand didn't exactly fit that ideal. With no options, General Motors closed Hummer for good. In the end, the Hummer was about pure presence. Nothing looked like it, nothing towered so high above the traffic. It was a four-wheel drive release. It was a car that said, "I'm huge and I like big things," (blinks) Jessica. It served the United States and its allies in times of war and at home was a symbol of luxury whose excess would be its own undoing.

The Hummer is a visual icon like almost no other vehicle has ever been. It's not a car, it's not a truck, it's not just another four-by-four, it's a Hummer. Squarespace brings you this episode of Up to Speed. Whether you need a domain, a website, or an online store, get it done with Squarespace. If you don't have a website today, you're playing yourself. Don't play yourself, get a website. The easiest way to do this is with Squarespace using their amazing templates. You can create a beautiful website with its all-in-one platform. You don't even have to install anything on your computer.

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Support Squarespace because Squarespace supports us. If you create a website, I will go to it. I'll make a t-shirt and wear it. This is

everything

you need to

know

to get up to

speed

with the Hummer. What is your favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Do you think I should become super buff? (laughs) What's the biggest car you've ever owned? Follow me on Instagram @JamesPumphrey. Follow Donut on Instagram @DonutMedia. We have a dot donut dot media merchandising store.