Which is the largest road going vehicle ever made? Which vehicle has the reputation of having the worst fuel average in the world? Which vehicle weighs 2,700 kg, making it technically illegal for street use? Which vehicle, because of its weight, is not able to stop in emergency braking situations? Which vehicle lacks basic safety features such as child locks, side airbags and stability control? Which vehicle is impossible to park because of blind spots? Which vehicle has no crash test data available? Which vehicle is exempted from Department of Transport (DOT) safety regulations? Which vehicle can take credit for driving General Motors into the ground? Which vehicle did MS Dhoni buy recently? So many questions but the answer to all of them can be in one word — Hummer.
Like all projects, this one had a practical aim, may be even a noble aim. But over the years, due to misuse and abuse, the aim was lost, and the Hummer emerged as a disaster of humongous proportions.
After World War II, General Eisenhower said that there were two items that helped the Allies win the war — the jeep and the Dakota. The love for the iconic jeep and its amazing qualities has never faded. So sometime in the 70s, the US army decided it needed a newer and updated vehicle — a high mobility multipurpose-wheeled vehicle, HMMWV, or Humvee, as it came to be called.
After much rigorous testing and changes in the design and demands by the US army, in 1981 the US army placed an order for 55,000 Humvees with AM General, which bagged the contract. The Humvee first saw combat in 1989 in Operation Just Cause, the US invasion of Panama.
The Humvee became the favoured vehicle, and was the backbone of US forces around the world. It was used with some success in the battle of Mogadishu, and later on in Operation Desert Storm, but there were many shortcomings in its performance. In spite of all the R&D carried out on the Humvee, it was not able to operate in low-intensity conflicts and urban warfare. It was not designed for this type of operation.
Ten thousand of these Humvees in 17 variants were deployed in Iraq. Here a serious flaw was detected. The Humvee could withstand attacks from all sides but not below. This soft under belly, literally, was exposed in guerrilla warfare. Terrorists used improvised explosive devices (IED) and explosively formed penetrators (EFP), which entered the cabin area from the ground level.
To overcome this “under belly”, the US forces improvised floor board strengthening, known as “hill billy armour”. It did provide extra protection but there was a serious side effect. It increased the weight by up to 500 kg, upset the centre of gravity, and adversely affected acceleration, braking and the reliability of the Humvee. The extra weight, basically, juggad, overstressed the suspension. After millions of dollars and years spent on R&D, the Humvee was really not combat worthy.
Not to worry. Sell it to civilians. This gave rise to models called H1, H2, H3, and the civilian name Hummer.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the first to buy one. A spate of sales to VIPs followed. The Hummer was a status symbol. Then came the recession. Hummers went out of style.
In 1998 AM General was sold out to General Motors. It was a downhill drive. In 2008, GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced to shareholders that the Hummer brand was being reviewed with the possibilities of even a sellout. Our very own Mahindra and Mahindra were interested. Fortunately, good sense prevailed and they backed out.
In June this year GM declared bankruptcy, and the Hummer was planned to be discontinued. The nightmare had ended.
The same month GM revealed that a Chinese company, the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, was buying Hummer. However, Chinese state radio announced that the company would be blocked on environmental grounds. The National Development Commission also blocked the sale on the ground that Sichuan Tengzhong lacked experience in car production.
No one wants a millstone around his neck. It would seem that the concept of the Hummer, both in design and execution, was flawed. May be it was the wrong vehicle at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons. It will be relegated to the dustbin of history, and share space with the Ford Edsel in museums. The Edsel is considered to be the best ‘dud’ Ford produced.
Happy motoring.
