Hummer

This article is about the Hummer brand. For the Hummer H1, see Hummer H1.

Hummer is a brand of off-road vehicles sold by General Motors (GM). The original H1 was based on the military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee). However, the Hummer H2 and the Hummer H3 were based on other, smaller civilian-market vehicles.

History

Hummers were originally built by AM General Corporation, which was formerly AMC Jeep's General Products division[1], in its Mishawaka, Indiana assembly plant. They were created on contract for the US Military, and the first model, the Hum-Vee, was available with many different military-based extras. These included troop carriers, gun turrets and radar. The US military, on receiving their quota, have adapted some of the vehicles, including modifying one to facilitate a directional microwave crowd control beam. AM General had planned to sell a civilian version of the Hum-Vee as far back as the late 1980s. In 1990, two matching white Hum-Vees were driven from London to Beijing over the rough roads of central Soviet Union. The Hummers made the trip with ease, for they were built to drive on off-road terrain. The highlights of this journey were broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This publicity would pale in comparison to the attention that the HMMWV received for its service in Operation: Desert Storm the following year. Also, a privately-owned Hum-Vee was modified into the first Snow-Vee, including the addition of caterpillar tracks, a new rear compartment and a new engine. This vehicle was designed for use in and just below the Arctic Circle, and the Antarctic.