With 'iconic' Hummer H2, GM designer helped create SUV like no other

[Klaus]

With 'iconic' Hummer H2, GM designer helped create SUV like no other


By CHAZ OSBURN | Automotive News <>




GM designer and California native Clay Dean, on his Hummer H2: "It's iconic. It doesn't have to change."



Remember that tough kid in eighth grade, the one with the mustache? Sat in the back. Wore a jean jacket.

When he walked down the hall, you got out of his way. There was just something about him - an edginess, a rawness. He was cool.

Not everybody is cool. Neither is every car. But Clay Dean knows how to create one. He designed the Hummer H2. For many, the H2 is the ultimate expression of coolness.

On a snowy day at the General Motors design center in Warren, Mich., Dean talked about the styling of what is arguably the hottest SUV in America. Dean says the H2 owner - GM is targeting buyers between 30 and 44 who earn at least $150,000 annually - is not content to be lumped in with the masses.

"Look around today," says Dean, 40. His voice fills with intensity, and he spreads his arms like a conductor. "Everything is predictable. You can park a Navigator, an Expedition, even a Suburban and Denali and an Escalade side by side. And you can drive a doggoned H2 right up next to it, and it isn't like any of the others. It says, 'Look, I'm not like you. I'm something very different. I require special things, and I have special values and special preferences.' "

The H2's design language, with its large tires, upright windshield and boxy shape, are immediate cues that it belongs in the Hummer family, alongside its big brother, the H1.

"It has no tumblehome on the body side," says Dean, a California native with a goatee and dark hair, save for a wisp of gray in the back. "It's almost a box. There's no overhang on the front and rear of the truck. It's very, very short. There's a lot of ground clearance in the middle of the truck. It's got a mechanical feel. It almost doesn't look styled."

For that reason, the H2's design will stay that way for years.

"It's iconic," Dean says. "It doesn't have to change. Certain designs stand the test of time." But, he concedes, "There'll be things that we do to freshen it, maybe give it a little more steroidal appeal."

There will be additions to the Hummer line, including the H2 SUT, a pickup based on a concept shown at the 2002 New York auto show, and an H3, expected in the 2006 model year.

Dean says GM hasn't scratched the surface on what the Hummer brand can be.

"That's one of our next targets to address," he says. "Where do we take Hummer - to allow people to experience the Hummer lifestyle when they're not driving it? It can be apparel. It can be boots. It can be a number of things that allows us as designers to do something unique."

Whatever that turns out to be, expect it to have an edge. Just like that kid in the eighth grade.

[Klaus]

With 'iconic' Hummer H2, GM designer helped create SUV like no other


By CHAZ OSBURN | Automotive News &lt;&gt;




GM designer and California native Clay Dean, on his Hummer H2: "It's iconic. It doesn't have to change."



Remember that tough kid in eighth grade, the one with the mustache? Sat in the back. Wore a jean jacket.

When he walked down the hall, you got out of his way. There was just something about him - an edginess, a rawness. He was cool.

Not everybody is cool. Neither is every car. But Clay Dean knows how to create one. He designed the Hummer H2. For many, the H2 is the ultimate expression of coolness.

On a snowy day at the General Motors design center in Warren, Mich., Dean talked about the styling of what is arguably the hottest SUV in America. Dean says the H2 owner - GM is targeting buyers between 30 and 44 who earn at least $150,000 annually - is not content to be lumped in with the masses.

"Look around today," says Dean, 40. His voice fills with intensity, and he spreads his arms like a conductor. "Everything is predictable. You can park a Navigator, an Expedition, even a Suburban and Denali and an Escalade side by side. And you can drive a doggoned H2 right up next to it, and it isn't like any of the others. It says, 'Look, I'm not like you. I'm something very different. I require special things, and I have special values and special preferences.' "

The H2's design language, with its large tires, upright windshield and boxy shape, are immediate cues that it belongs in the Hummer family, alongside its big brother, the H1.

"It has no tumblehome on the body side," says Dean, a California native with a goatee and dark hair, save for a wisp of gray in the back. "It's almost a box. There's no overhang on the front and rear of the truck. It's very, very short. There's a lot of ground clearance in the middle of the truck. It's got a mechanical feel. It almost doesn't look styled."

For that reason, the H2's design will stay that way for years.

"It's iconic," Dean says. "It doesn't have to change. Certain designs stand the test of time." But, he concedes, "There'll be things that we do to freshen it, maybe give it a little more steroidal appeal."

There will be additions to the Hummer line, including the H2 SUT, a pickup based on a concept shown at the 2002 New York auto show, and an H3, expected in the 2006 model year.

Dean says GM hasn't scratched the surface on what the Hummer brand can be.

"That's one of our next targets to address," he says. "Where do we take Hummer - to allow people to experience the Hummer lifestyle when they're not driving it? It can be apparel. It can be boots. It can be a number of things that allows us as designers to do something unique."

Whatever that turns out to be, expect it to have an edge. Just like that kid in the eighth grade.