Will Hummer Get Hammered if Humvee Gets Replaced?

[Atomic]

EDWARD LAPHAM COMMENTARY from  Automotive News, 10/10/2006

Will Hummer Get Hammered if Humvee Gets Replaced?

By: Edward Lapham

You have to wonder what happens to General Motors' most rugged and clearly defined brand if AM General loses the firefight for the contract to build the next generation of the U.S. Army's tactical truck.

The current truck is the Humvee, which is built by AM General and is the brand image source from which GM's H1, H2 and H3 Hummer models were derived.

But friend and foe alike have blasted the Humvee in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Critics have questioned its vulnerability to some types of attacks and its spotty record of protecting U.S. service personnel. Protection improved after armor was added to beef up the Humvee, though critics say the vehicle's engine has been too anemic to handle the added weight.

That's why truckmaker Navistar International and other defense contractors think they have a shot at the new truck.

Not worried

Hummer's marketing staffers haven't paid much attention to the firefight over the new Army contract. They're not worried because their brand has developed its own image - which they say didn't suffer when they whacked the H1, which was the civilian version of the Humvee.

Yes, thanks to the licensing agreement with GM, Hummer's brand has developed beyond the warrior image built by the H1, just as Jeep's image survived after it was replaced two decades ago by the Humvee.

But even today Jeep gets a little brand re-enforcement from its replacement.

At the time the Humvee was developed, both AM General and Jeep Corp. were owned by American Motors, so the new vehicle adopted the slotted grille that had been one of Jeep's visual brand cues since World War II. GM slugged it out in court with DaimlerChrysler so it could continue using the grille.

It's hard to image that Navistar, which has its own visual brand cues, would use the slats and slots motif.

There also may need to be psychographic parsing to figure out whether the Humvee's wimpy rep in Iraq eventually will tarnish Hummer in the eyes of its rugged and would-be-rugged buyers.

Sales rise

So far, it doesn't seem to matter. Through September, Hummer sales this year were up 43.8 percent, thanks to the stunning success of the H3.

There is plenty of time for Hummer to hammer home its civilian off-road image.

Even if AM General loses the contract, the Humvee is likely to be in service until around the 2020 model year.

And you thought replacement cycles were long in Detroit.

interesting, eh?! thoughts???

[jadewolf123]

Hmm I really dont give a shit about a car that serves no purpose in civilian life. Also I support defense contractors fighting over the new contract. That'll produce a vehicle safer for our troops, I'm tired of fat cat defense contracts that fill corporate Americas pockets without serving the good of the military.

[IrishGuy]

Hmm I really dont give a shit about a car that serves no purpose in civilian life. Also I support defense contractors fighting over the new contract. That'll produce a vehicle safer for our troops, I'm tired of fat cat defense contracts that fill corporate Americas pockets without serving the good of the military.

You seriously think that it will produce a safer vehicle?

[Atomic]

You seriously think that it will produce a safer vehicle?

good point!

[Atomic]

personally, i'd like to see jeep products called for duty!

[jadewolf123]

You seriously think that it will produce a safer vehicle?

Well hopefully competition breeds innovation. Nothing wrong with keeping em on their toes. Hell if Hummer wins the contract back with innovative safety designs with tactical advantages then shit good for them.

[S204STi]

i agree with Jadewolf, competition improves the breed they say.

[TheIntrepid]

Jadewolf is right.

[93JC]

Ridiculous. No Humvee replacement will ever protect its occupants particularly well from roadside suicide bombers and the like.

They already have trucks that can do that better than the Humvee:



It's just silly to expect a Humvee to survive a bomb, RPG or mine attack unscathed. It was never designed to do that. No replacement will be either, because it would end up looking like this:




The Humvee needs a Duramax. That's it. That will solve its only substantive design fault.

[omicron]

Get Lamborghini to put in another tender!

[Atomic]

how about a hummer compass  ?

[sandertheshark]

Ridiculous. No Humvee replacement will ever protect its occupants particularly well from roadside suicide bombers and the like.

They already have trucks that can do that better than the Humvee:



It's just silly to expect a Humvee to survive a bomb, RPG or mine attack unscathed. It was never designed to do that. No replacement will be either, because it would end up looking like this:




The Humvee needs a Duramax. That's it. That will solve its only substantive design fault.

You got that right.  Maybe a diesel-electric hybrid.  As it is now, the Humvee can carry enough armor to stop a 30mm cannon round, but then too slow to outrun anything. Or it can be stripped of its armor and most of its body panels and then it can run rings around anyhting on the battlefield.  We want it to do both.  A new turbodiesel or high-performance hybrid setup should do the trick.