LeftLane

The United States Department of Defense has commissioned development of two possible flying transport vehicles intended to avoid roadside bombs.

Since GM launched its marketing program that offered buyers the ability to take a special $500 cash incentive or be given the option to return the vehicle within 60 days, GM has sold 222,000 vehicles. Of the 222,000 vehicles sold, 653 customers opted for the money-back guarantee ability over the cash incentive, and of those [...]

Leftlane recently had the opportunity to sample the new Hummer H3T and compare it to what General Motors says will be two of its chief rivals: The Toyota Tacoma and the Ford F-150. The H3T represents a new direction for the smallest of the two Hummers currently offered: A useful pickup variant aimed more at [...]

GM took the opportunity on Friday to announce all Hummer models will have biofuel capability by 2010. The announcement took place at the same time as a Classic Chevrolet / Hummer in Dallas, TX became the first new car and truck dealership in the U.S. to open public biofuel pumps. To celebrate the opening, GM [...]

Perhaps General Motors designer Bob Boniface — the man heading up the Chevrolet Volt design program — said it best: “There’s a little Prius in every vehicle Toyota sells and there is a little Hummer in every vehicle GM sells.”

[Update: Live Images Added] General Motors has officially unveiled its Hummer HX Concept at the Detroit Auto Show, a vehicle sources say is a preview of the new SUV model usually referred to as the H4.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is planning to drive a Hummer H1 powered by hydrogen fuel cells from the McMurdo Station in Ross Island, Antarctica, to the South Pole. ‘Woz’ made the announcement at Stanford’s AlwaysOn Conference in late July. His vehicle will be co-piloted by Buzz Aldrin, the former astronaut who walked on the moon [...]

Environmental groups are appalled with McDonalds for putting toy Hummers in children’s Happy Meal boxes, according to the New York Times. Called the “Hummer of a Summer” promotion, the campaign also features TV and radio ads, which started running this week, feature a family riding in a Hummer on the way to McDonald’s. “The technology [...]

Following a number of complaints about a possibly offensive Hummer H3 commercial, GM has reworked the 30-second spot to be less controversial, reports Automotive News. The ad contrasts two men at a grocery store checkout — one purchasing a container of tofu, the other arriving with slabs of meat. The tofu man is then shown [...]

Federal highway safety investigators are reviewing 25 cases over two years of steering knuckle fractures involving 2003 model year Hummer H2s, according to the Sacramento Bee. The component failure has resulted in several vehicles losing front wheels and subsequently crashing. When testing an H2 in 2002, the the Bee‘s auto editor Mark Glover experienced a [...]

GM’s overall sales for the month of June fell 25.9 percent compared to June 2005. The drop is due mostly to a 37 percent fall in truck sales. GM’s passenger car sales were relatively flat — up nearly 1 percent. Driven by the hot-selling Solstice, Pontiac sales were up 12.1 percent. Similarly, the Sky helped [...]

Some Hummer dealers are so desperate to boost the fuel economy ratings of their vehicles that they’re willing to void warranties — and possibly even break the law. According to a report in today’s Wall Street Jorunal, Detroit Hummer and Hummer of Novi are installing a device called the “Mileage Maximizer” that they claim will [...]

Tuner Geiger Cars has put together a customized Hummer H2 with 598 hp, a seven-inch lift kit, giant off-road tires, and front and rear anti-sway bars — totaling at least $45,000 in upgrades. Despite its massive supercharged engine, the car still takes around 8.5 seconds to reach 62 mph. Massive six-piston, 15-inch brakes keep all [...]

General Motors may dump the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and effectively replace it with a new Hummer model called the H4, according to a report today by the Detroit News. While Chevy will also get a more car-like crossover to fill the gap in its lineup, the midsize body-on-frame truck slot would be filled by the H4. [...]

Hummer today announced pricing on its 2007 Hummer H3x model. The H3x is based on the “H3 Street” concept vehicle shown at the automotive industry’s annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in November. The $38,065 price includes standard equipment such as full-time electronic four-wheel drive and GM’s award-winning OnStar safety and communication system, plus [...]

For the 2007 model year, GM’s popular midsize trucks — the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and Hummer H3 SUV — will get new, larger-displacement inline four- and five-cylinder engines. The new Vortec 2.9L I-4 and Vortec 3.7L I-5 deliver more horsepower and torque than the engines they replace, giving the vehicles increased performance. The Vortec [...]

Hummer Europe executive Pieter Gabriëls told Dutch auto magazine Autovisie that the discontinuation of the Hummer H1 makes room for new models in the company’s lineup. Gabriëls said the “next logical step” would be a pickup truck based on the H3. He also said Hummer is also considering building a model under the H3. (Pictured [...]

General Motors will end production of its gigantic Hummer H1 this summer, the company announced today. The last H1s are expected to be assembled in June. GM has produced about 12,000 of the Humvee-inspired gas-guzzlers since 1992. The 7,800-pound vehicle had a fuel economy rating of around 11 miles per gallon. The H1 has a [...]

Sales of the 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser exceeded Hummer’s combined H1, H2, and H3 sales slightly in the month of April, according to data released by Toyota and GM. Toyota sold 5,643 FJ Cruisers, while GM sold 5,413 Hummers. The FJ Cruiser starts at $21,500, while the Hummer H3 starts at $29,500. Both the Hummer [...]

General Motors is considering axing the Hummer H1, according to a report in the Detroit News. While the H1 is admittedly “very important” to the brand’s rugged image, consumers are increasingly seeing the H2 as the “real” hummer. “In their minds, that’s more representative of the Hummer brand than the H1,” Hummer general manager Martin [...]

Even if you loathe SUVs, there’s no disputing their usefulness for true off-road driving. Oddly, many “SUVs” today put more focus on on-road performance than off-road capabilities. Forbes decided to compile a list of the top 10 SUVs for off-road driving. According to the magazine, they are: Hummer H1 Alpha Hummer H2 Mitsubishi Montero Land [...]

General Motors is not planning to kill its Hummer and Saab brands, according to GM’s North American marketing boss Mark LaNeve. This weekend, LaNeve said that both companies are “intrinsically woven” into GM, and cannot be dumped. The idea of killing the two brands was thrust into the public spotlight when billionaire investor and GM [...]

Forbes has compiled a list of the top ten cars owned by some of the most famous billionaires. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates drives a seven-year-old 1999 Porsche 911 Convertible and a 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe. The other half of the Microsoft duo, Paul Allen, also drives a 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe, as well as a [...]

Portland-based indie rockers “The Thermals” rejected a $50,000 licensing deal from Hummer to use their song “It’s Trivia” in a commercial, reports the Associated Press. Trans Am, an electronic rock band from Washington (pictured right), also spurned $180,000 in ad money from GM for Hummer. The post-punk band LiLiPUT, which broke up more than 20 [...]

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said at the Geneva Motor Show that the Chevrolet Camaro Concept is likely to see production. While GM’s board has yet to approve production of the car, The Car Connection quoted Lutz as saying: “We’re all working on it as if it were an approved program.” Meanwhile, Lutz also said [...]

General Motors board member Jerry York is now convinced the Saab and Hummer brands are good for the automaker, according to a report today by Reuters. In early January, York said he thought GM should kill off at least two brands, naming Saab and Hummer as candidates. Early this month, Mr. York was elected to [...]

Hummer is considering building new models in addition to the H1, H2 and H3, according to AutoWeek. Hummer marketing general manager Susan Docherty said her team is “working on a couple of new entries for the Hummer portfolio.” Docherty did not give any specific clues, but said she feels there is room for expansion. Docherty [...]

Despite calls from billionaire investors Kirk Kerkorian and Jerome York for GM to kill off at least two brands, vice president Mark LaNeve insists it would be a bad move. “In spite of all the great advice we have been getting — and I am sure we will continue to get until we turn our [...]

American Specialty Cars (ASC) will unveil an open-top Hummer H3 at the Detroit auto show next week. Called the Cosmos, the truck features a retractable canvas roof that exposes the entire cabin to the elements. Unlike the 300C “Helios” ASC built last year, however, the Cosmos isn’t a true drop-top, but more like an H3 [...]

A new study by Landor Associates ranks Hummer number six among the top losing brands when it comes to public perception. The national survey that examines Americans’ attitude toward some of the top brands that made headlines this year, and identifies which high-profile brands came out on top in consumer’s minds, which brands suffered. While [...]

Hummer at the Detroit auto show will show two new special-edition vehicles — the Pacific Blue H2 and the Fusion Orange H2. The GM subsidiary plans to build just 1000 of the H2s for North American sales. Both models feature body-color grille and fender moldings, unique brush and taillamp guards with a special finish, a [...]

Less than a year after the H3 went on sale, Hummer is set to launch a new model called the H3x. The model, based on the H3 Street concept shown at the automotive industry’s annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in November, is designed to appeal to buyers with an interest in a customized [...]

The 2008 Hummer H2, which will hit showrooms in 2007, will get a midcycle enhancement that includes an updated interior and an engine upgrade, Hummer general manager Susan Docherty has said. Docherty also reported that a recent survey by the automaker showed that 36 percent of them say they intend to take their vehicles off-road, [...]

Playboy magazine has announced its picks for cars of the year. “The Playboy driving team redlined dozens of top models to find the one car that ruled them all,” the magazine said in its January 2006 issue. Top honors go to the Porsche Cayman S, which was named “car of the year.” The “best interstate [...]

A lot of automotive journalists these days say that if GM only had better products, it wouldn’t be faced with the financial situation it is in today. But GM Vice Chairman and spin-doctor Bob Lutz won’t hear any of it. “I can’t help but notice the perceptions and generalities I keep hearing about our cars [...]

General Motors’ future product plan includes a back-to-basics Hummer H4, according to AutoWeek. One possibility is a compact two-seater “dune buggy” focused on aggressive off-roading. “It’s a matter of finding the right combination of rugged components and how we can package them into a vehicle smaller than the H3,â€? says the source. “The main design [...]

Offbeat news – Celebrity accidents: Yesterday marked the second high profile celebrity car accident in as many weeks, this time involving “Mean Girls” and “Herbie: Fully Loaded” star Lindsay Lohan. Lohan reportedly crashed her $160,000 Mercedes-Benz SL65 roadster while being chased by paparazzi. Photos have surface of the accident. The Superficial also has some pictures [...]

Mercedes plans to cut more than 8,000 jobs in Germany, instead of 5,000 as previously expected, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday. A 2006 limited edition of the Hummer H2 goes on sale this week with a new Pacific Blue color choice and unique features. Ford is handing over the keys to three hybrid hydrogen [...]