Hummer ain't going under

A Hummer takes to water. Photo / Supplied

Reports that Hummer is going under are exaggerated. Sales of General Motors' all-American truck have certainly slumped in the past year, and GM has said it wants to sell off the brand as part of its restructuring. But hardy groups of owners in the United States reckon the Hummer is the meanest, toughest dude on the planet. They got together at the "Hummer Happening" in Veracruz, Mexico, an off-road excursion through sand, surf and rough country where these pictures were taken.

They reckon Hummer will be around for a long time yet. GM's plant in South Africa has just ramped up right-hand-drive production to meet demand for the new V8 example, a 5.3-litre unit which replaces the five-cylinder 3.7-litre H3 model that sells here.

Hummer has also taken the covers off a petrol/electric model. It teamed with US company Raser Technologies to produce a hybrid H3, which the company claims can do 8 litres/100km, or 36mpg. "Most people attack big cars," said Raser chairman Kraig Higginson. "They say the solution is to buy small vehicles which get better gas mileage. But no, we need a better technology."

Hummer says the hybrid H3 can cover the first 65km on electricity alone before its 195kW four-cylinder petrol engine kicks in to run the car and recharge the batteries.

The H3 hybrid takes about eight hours to fully charge in a standard wall socket. There is another downside - the battery pack weighs 272kg. Hummer expects to have the H3 hybrid on sale in 2011, priced at US$50,000 ($85,100). Already 17,000 Americans have placed orders, it says.