It’s not a big surprise, really, but according to the WSJ, the Hummer name will reappear in GMC showrooms as a line of EV pickups and SUVs. And no, the Hummer HX in the picture above, which is actually a legitimate EV sold in the UK as a Hummer, having bought the rights from GM to use it as a low-speed neighborhood EV (NEV), is not going to be part of the lineup.
So the big question will be, just what will the neo Hummers look like?
I’m going to guess that they will have very distinctive styling elements to set them apart, as did the original Hummers. And that the Tesla Cybertruck will influence that look. The Cybertruck essentially is an EV Hummer, in my opinion, so it will be interesting to see what GM comes out with. Will it be a mildly worked-over Chevy/GMC pickup/SUV, as Ford’s F-150 EV will be, or something more radical?
The Hummers will be built in GM’s Hamtramck plant, where at least four new EVs will be built, as announced previously by GM. The company is investing some $3 billion into the plant to build electric trucks and vans. The strategy is to build high-end EVs, as their potential to turn a profit is considered much better than in the low end of the market, which continues to be very sluggish except for Tesla. Chevy Bolt sales are modest, and were down in 2019.
I’ve seen that Power Wheels Hummer at Wal-Mart for years. Usually it has a big steering wheel coming out of the top.
The name is another huge mistake for GM. “No, no, it’s not a lefty tree hugger hippie electric car – see, its name is Hummer, like three ton drive over anything military machines. You can’t see out, it’s way smaller inside than outside, and it has the aerodynamics of a barn!”
And if the Tesla truck is serious….they might as well call it the UnTesla.
Looks like a Cybertruck that went through the dryer.
I am a Left-Coast tree-hugger leftie and I only see negative connotations in the Hummer name, though I personally found the H3 somewhat appealing, and I’ve even driven one. I think the Hummer name carries more baggage with the general public than Vega or Chevette, even Citation. But if the naming strategy reflects an angular, Cybertruck-ish design that may help acceptance … of the Tesla.
Is it April 1st already??
The HX reminds me of the proposed International Scout III concept from the late 70s.
Also reminds me some of the Hanomag 2/10 “Kommissbrot”
Yes, with the upright windshield, two box profile, and wheels pushed to the four corners. The ‘cab’ also reminds me of a Matchbox die cast released almost 20 years ago (2001) of an off road foam fire truck. Just lower the roofline somewhat. Fender flares are quite similar, and same ‘wheels to the corners’ design.
I know “2/10” unpacks to two fiscal and ten real horsepower – but it sounds like the critics’ rating of it.
Chevy Bolt sales are sluggish (in my opinion) due the facts that they carry the Chevrolet label and that a Toyota Yaris sized vehicle in the U.S. doesn’t get people excited about writing at $35k check the way something decently attractive like a Tesla does.
Drop the Bolt drivetrain into something that actually looks desirable and upscale-ish, lose the brassy goldish Chevy logo in favor of maybe….You know, I blanked right here, five minutes of thinking and I don’t really know which brand they could use. Saturn might have worked if they hadn’t screwed that over, but that’s not an option. Cadillac doesn’t, not hip or dynamic enough.
Hummer isn’t the right one though, waaaayyyy too much baggage and nobody wants to explain that they don’t have the bad baby-seal-killer Hummer, they got the new good save-the-turtles Hummer, people will just avoid it. And those that would buy a Hummer don’t want an electric, they want “Moar Engine”. I guess the GMC brand might be best. Maybe. Or actually use the Denali sub-brand to create a mini-electric showroom offshoot or something.
I agree with you generally except about the Chevy label. The Volt sold quite well for a few years to folks who would typically never by a Chevy. And there’s no doubt that a lot of Bolt buyers are in that same camp. There’s a fair number of Bolts around here (and Volts), but you’ll never find a Chevy sedan unless it’s an old rental.
This issue gets back to the one about Saturn. One of the big rationales for starting that boondoggle was that a lot of folks, especially on the coasts, would never buy a small Chevy. So the solution was to spend $5 billion to set up a new company that was destined to fail, because it’s image was going to be acceptable to those buyers.
In reality if Chevy had come out with a truly competitive small car, it might have taken a couple of years or so, but those buyers would quite likely have come back, or at least some of them. It would have been cheaper and more productive in the long term than losing $12 billion on Saturn.
The Nissan Leaf isn’t exactly selling any better either.
Nissan seems to have its own image problem for various reasons…
True re: Volt, but it was also the only real game in town beyond the Prius and the only one that could run to any decent range without the gas engine. I’ll certainly give GM credit for that and admit that it slipped my mind completely (others as well, perhaps?)
GM failed to capitalize on the Volt by giving buyers an upgrade path. The Bolt appeared smaller (although it did seem larger on the inside) and basically looked like a small hatchback, a la Leaf. I don’t see the case with anyone who has a Volt or a Bolt that also has another car as having purchased another Chevy, and there’s a couple in my neighborhood (not data, I know). The first Volter I knew is a client, I don’t see him ever driving a Hummer, certainly not as the dean of the School of Natural Resources at the local University. 🙂
The Bolters I know well and upgraded from a Leaf. Their other car is a newer Subaru Outback, also no way in hell are they buying anything labeled Hummer.
The Leafers around the corner went from a Prius to a new Leaf last year and got the long range one. Again an Outback is the other car.
Thinking about it, they’d probably all buy a Subaru E-back if such was offered. Actually GM should have kept their stake in Subaru and tried to buy more…
I thought the Leaf sold far better than the Bolt, but could be mistaken.
Hasn’t the Leaf sold over 400k worldwide with almost 100K in 2018 alone? (Not sure about 2019 but that was the year it finally got acceptable/good range in the top version option). The battery tech in the Bolt is far better than that in the Leaf and the range was never a real issue either. The Bolt should have outsold the Leaf in significant numbers if based purely on the engineering differences. Perhaps it was build-constrained.
How about this: The Chevy badge is not actively helping sales. The Hummer badge will actively hurt sales.
“In reality if Chevy had come out with a truly competitive small car, it might have taken a couple of years or so, but those buyers would quite likely have come back…”
I couldn’t agree more, Paul.
GM had damaged a brand that remains, to this day, a Pop Culture icon. I believe…still believe, the damage can be fixed. And in some ways it is being fixed today. (Leave Silverado out of this equation for now, LOL)
It’s a simple – and as complex, as building vehicles that match or exceed the perceived heritage and then marketing them properly.
Sinking $5B into THAT instead of creating Saturn would gone a long way toward saving at least a portion of the General’s once-insurmountable market share.
Hummer doesn’t have that kind of cache. And as seen in these comments, it’s POLARIZING.
GMC is a far better place to roll out an electric truck, but don’t wait too long to share the technology with Chevrolet.
I agree 100% with Jim, including the “Chevy” name problem. I went through the same thought process about what name they could use and likewise came up empty with the possible exception of “GMC”. It’s close to the “GM” brand they put on the pioneering and infamously crushed EV1s.
Never “Hummer”, what are they thinking? Sure it might be OK for a large portion of the SUV and truck market. But surely not the early adopters needed in the EV brand’s first years. I wouldn’t be caught dead in anything called “Hummer”.
Compare with Ford’s partner Rivian, who’s offering electric SUVs and pickups next year. They’re putting forward a subtle but green outdoor adventure image, which is broadly attractive. I’m not an SUV or pickup customer anytime soon, but if I were considering a Rivian vs a Hummer I know which way I’d go.
Better than that photo, here’s the Rivian home page today. A decidedly non Hummer-like slogan. (Yes, even though I’m not a truck guy I am a Rivian fan.)
I’ll be a dissenter here, and say that the Hummer name just might work out. It certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for a name, but I think there is some logic to it.
As EVs become more common, not everyone will be buying them because of the environmental benefits. Plenty of folks will want various EV models because they’re the latest hot item. Right now, where I live Teslas are popular, but I don’t associate their drivers with being tree-huggers. Many, in fact, act and drive similarly to Hummer drivers from 20 years ago.
So, in my opinion, what we call baggage here, might just work out to GM’s favor.
I’ve been feeling the same way for some time. It feels to me like the Tesla Cybertruck has the potential to appeal to a whole new EV clientele, meaning guys who like big brash trucks. And the Hummers, depending on their looks, may well do the same thing. It’s irrelevant that Mike and Jim’s neighbors aren’t going to want a Cybertruckof Hummer; what counts is that there are enough guys who are into trucks that can see the light about EVs, as in being faster and cooler.
These two trucks have the potential to break down the current strong negative tension that current big truck drivers have about EVs. Trucks coaling Teslas, and blocking their Superchargers is a real thing, and pretty pervasive. If the Hummer can be seen as cooler than a Raptor or diesel Ram, then it will be a great breakthrough, as far as I’m concerned. It might take a while, and undoubtedly there will be hard-core hold-outs, but I can genuinely see the former Hummer demographic going for this, at least some, to start with, and more with time.
It isn’t that my neighbors may not want a large Electric SUV or Electric Pickup Truck (they possibly may especially if there is no pollution stigma) but they would avoid it with the Hummer name as it immediately conjures up a negative connotation to anyone at all environmentally sensitive. Why deal with the baggage? The CoalRoller crowd especially and many if not most of the rest of the diesel truck crowd that isn’t using them for actual work is often buying the diesel specifically FOR its sound, otherwise they’d get the 250 or 2500 in the gasser version.
I’m with you I think reviving the Hummer brand as a dedicated EV brand is a good idea. The name still carries goodwill to many people and I’d say more people than the ones that would be put off by the name. They did command a premium in the past and I believe can again. IF of course it is done right and carries some historic styling details.
Mike, what’s more important than what you’re likely to buy (or not) is what hundreds of thousands of die-hard gas/diesel truck/SUV buyers might buy. If they go for electric Hummers (or Cybertrucks), I say bring it on! The more the better. I’m not a fan of coalers and sitting next to un-muffled diesels in traffic.
I’m totally with you Paul on electrifying the most obnoxious trucks. But I agree with Jim that their owners buy them because of the size, aggressiveness, weight, noise and smoke, and will keep buying them regardless of brand name.
A another reason for Hummer hate was their extreme hulking size, and the obnoxious way many were driven in traffic. Can’t see around a Hummer, and good luck getting out if you find yourself parked next to one. Which is to say that a lot will depend on just what kind of vehicle a Hummer EV turns out to be. If it’s just like the others’ electric pickups and SUVs then the name won’t matter as much.
Lots of people buy Teslas for status but it was the performance that earned that status at least as much as its greenery. Tesla’s genius is realizing that a big battery for range has big power for speed, showing how driving an EV can be a superior experience to driving an ICE. Ludicrous mode did as much for the brand as its climate-saving virtue. Tesla’s image is incomparably more exciting than Prius’s. My point being that if a truck has ultra-high performance, like the ability to tow a long freight train (a recent Ford stunt), plus all the other benefits of driving an EV, it will get sales no matter what it’s called.
So I still think Hummer’s a poor brand choice, but now I also think it may not matter that much. It all depends as always on how GM executes, which history has shown is impossible to predict.
I had thought that the Hummer name had been passed to the Chinese to continue production of the Hummer, HII, Humvee, etc. I may be mistaken. In any event, I’m sure that by now that phase of building those over there has now passed, and GM can reclaim the name.
Never happened.
From a marketing point of view, there’s plenty or residual brand recognition in the Hummer name, a product of the investment GM made in the division years ago. It makes some sense they’d try to benefit from this by resurrecting the name.
As for the product, I still maintain electric cars are the future but buyer resistance (ha!) is stubbornly high. GM has dropped the ball on so many initiatives over the years, I’m expecting the worst. Hopefully I’m wrong, though.
I never liked Hummer and it’s brand baggage in the almost polar opposite way I never liked the Prius and it’s brand baggage during the 2000s, but I always felt the brand had very strong equity and dumping it was either a sacrificial lamb for positive PR during the bailout or a shortsighted belief that the SUV age would remain extinct post-great recession.
Now a days it’s quite a noticeable absence from the SUV/Crossover market, it’s one of the most instantly recognizable nameplates in that category. If GM can manage to cash in while this market is still hot and isn’t quite yet oversaturated they’d do well.
Have you ever stood next to an electric-car charger that was in use? It does give off a solid hum. Perfect name.
Yes! I am honestly wondering if this was part of the decision process, or at least seen as a bonus double meaning.
And to those above debating whether the Chevrolet name is limiting Bolt sales, I would say it can actually lower barriers in some ways. I actually bought a Bolt in October, and aside from being an excellent car, I feel like the Chevrolet name and look makes it more acceptable to more conservative relatives and neighbors who might have otherwise reacted negatively to a Tesla, BMW i3, or even a Nissan Leaf. Just being another Chevy can sometimes be a good thing.
I will vote with the contrarians here. EVs already have strong support among the traditional fans of electric vehicles – those who tend to be lumped into the “coastal left environmentalist” demographics. A vehicle that can make the EV desirable among those on the other end of the spectrum (maybe the inland right Foxnewser?) might be good for expanding the brand. Whether we like it or not, certain brands have connotations which either attract or repel different demographics. The ability to get some guy in a Ford King Ranch truck to at least consider an EV might not be a bad thing, and a Hummer sub-line at a GMC dealer might be a way to do it.
I think the more serious problem with the Hummer name is that it was associated more with “look how much money I have and how I substitute it for good taste” crowd than with “look at what a badass truck I have” crowd. But then taking money from insecure people with too much of it has never been a terrible business plan.
That Tesla truck is so friggin’ ugly it’s a joke. I can not imagine this monstrosity to be the blueprint for any future car design, not even an electrified Hummer. In fact, if this thing ever reaches production stage -and people will actually start buying it- it will mark the end of car design and the beginning of an era where cars will be nothing more than anonymous electrified, autonomous pods bringing you from point A to point B. Not really something to look forward to.
X2.
Where’s your lawn? I want to make sure to stay off of it.
I’m having an internal debate to decide if the usage of the Hummer name is a good idea on this new vehicle. During the days of the Automotive Task Force, GM was forced (heh!) to close divisions in order to secure funding. Hummer was one of them. Many have posited that a Hummer revival would be best accomplished attached to GMC rather than a stand alone brand. In that regard, this makes sense.
Hummer is still a brand that stirs controversy; there are definite lovers of the Hummer image and folks who abhor the vehicles (I should mention I wasn’t really a fan myself). I’m not sure the Hummer lovers will necessarily adopt the BEV Hummer as a legitimate heir to the Hummer legacy. I’m pretty sure the anti-Hummer folks’ attitudes will remain unchanged, even after a decade and a change of propulsion.
I’m something of a fan of Tesla’s car efforts, but the Cybertruck leaves me cold. It really looks more like a styling exercise than an actual production ready vehicle. I think of all of the near-production BEV pickups/SUVs, the Rivian is closest to being acceptable and functional. Not that Rivian doesn’t have it’s own issues (not the truck itself, but the organization of the company), but the investment from Ford and Amazon lend it a lot of credibility, IMO.
All we really have to go on are the initial press releases, so it’s difficult to make any kind of value judgement on whether this will work. If GM can pull this off, it would be an impressive achievement.
The 2000s Hummers were manifestly vehicles for dickheads. You can equip a Jeep or a Super Duty with the same attitude as a Hummer, but it isn’t standard equipment. Women and gentler folk don’t automatically think of Jeeps as cars for dickheads because not all Jeeps are cars for dickheads, even though Jeep began as a military vehicle, like Hummer. The Hummer name has some positive connotations, like Jeep. So don’t reinforce the negative by being 100 percent dickhead.
Since the original Hummers were a design knockoff of the HMMWV, maybe GM will emulate the JLTV.
I don’t think the JLTV is iconic enough for something like that to work. The HMMWV seems to be much better known by the average person.
The Hummer EV will sell.
It is a brand that wears renouncement of community as a virtue.
Rather despairingly, the times will suit it.
Just saw this over on Autoextremist about the Mercedes Vision AVTR concept unveiled at CES last week:
“The only detail about this thing that interests us? The VISION AVTR concept vehicle is projected to use a revolutionary battery technology based on graphene-based organic cell chemistry that is completely free of rare earths and metals. The materials of the battery are compostable and therefore completely recyclable. In this way, electric mobility becomes independent of fossil resources. As a result, Mercedes-Benz underlines “the high relevance of a future circular economy in the raw materials sector.”
Could this be the breakthrough in battery technology that will eventually bring mass adoption of BEVs?
That’s as much wishful thinking as that car itself. It’s still Futurama, for some folks. I almost barfed when I saw this thing.