Uh-Oh! We're in Trouble!

[Queen Sheba]

And so it begins......

Feds to Tighten Fuel Rules

We have a nice shot of the SUT there. Why are HUMMERs always the first ones to be picked on? Or is that obvious?

"I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or to make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make you feel"

[Queen Sheba]

And so it begins......

Feds to Tighten Fuel Rules

We have a nice shot of the SUT there. Why are HUMMERs always the first ones to be picked on? Or is that obvious?

"I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or to make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make you feel"

[devilsfan]

I think the H2 is fair game. I absolutely love my truck, but 12 MPG really is abysmal. Hummer/AM General has the capability to do better, and I think it would benefit the consumers.

2003 yellow Lux series
Sunroof, 3rd row seat, yellow painted dash, locking gas cap
Tree-hugger embedded in grill

[KenP]

What does the NHTSA have to do with CAFE standards. Or is their real motivation to decrease the size of vehicles on the road.

H2 does not weight 8500lbs.

I do not think 12 mpg is that bad. If I did I would not have purchased the truck.

Black Lingenfelter Lux

[Klaus]

History is about to repeat itself. You young folks don't remember the era of the muscle car. They were big sellers, in high demand. Then the government targeted them, passing regulations that made it impossible to build them. In a year or two, they ceased to exist.

Get ready to see that happen soon with trucks...

Klaus

"God made some men big and some men small, but Sam Colt made them all equal."

[luckydog]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KenP:
H2 does not weight 8500lbs.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
They are referring to the GVWR.

If I'm not back in five minutes... wait longer!

[Queen Sheba]

I am all for the environment. I volunteer to plant trees every year in parks, at high schools and other places. Plus I recycle when possible. However, I don't think it right to target people and businesses who have the money to purchase these vehicles. Tree HUGGERS: GO AWAY!

You guys are doing your part to help the economy. Some make it seem like HUMMER is a Martian and they're here to take over Planet Earth. Run fo' yo' livez!

"I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or to make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make you feel"

[MAC]

To be the target is the price of success or the chosen one must pay.

If you are doing well at work and promoted, some people will be saying something bad about you behind your back. If you are rich, somebody will be making fun of you or try to take your money legally or illegally. If you are the winner, some people will be trying to talk you down. If you don't share the same opinion as the majority, some will attack you. If you are an American, some people in this world will hate you for being an American.

There is no surprise why Hummer is the target, because Hummer is the Chosen one. It is The biggest and most expensive American auto, it does not blend in but it stand tallest among all, it screams "I am the biggest, I am the best and I am the King!" Why won't the mob attack Hummer?

The question is, are you worthy to be a Hummer? can you handle the success and all the attention it attracts? are you a strong and confident man to withstand the insults and ridicule? does the King change his course or get into a argument with jesters?

In the end, the weak and the impostors shall retreat, only true knights stand tall on the hill.

[H2 REGION RATS]

RIGHT ON-

[Steve R]

We're just the consumers, we bought these toys because of what they are, not on account of their mpg statistics. I think we all basically relegated the fuel issue as being circumstantial.

Diesel engines have been proven to get substantially better mileage AND lower/cleaner emmissions as well. Beyond that, there's all sorts of alternative fuels and super-efficient designs out there. Let the gov't fund research and offer incentives towards better engines and means of powering vehicles.

I don't want to sound like one of those conspiracy theorist, but the technology is out there...there's just too much oil-related economic interest to allow better technology to flourish just yet.

And for the record, ANY 8-cylinder engine is basically getting the same mileage as we are...we just stand out more on account of our width & height.

[89vette]

Oh good. I love government intrusion. I mean how would we ever know what was good for us if we did not have them to tell us?

03 Sunset H2!
89 Vette
02 Escalade

[Drag]

Oh great moderator, I do hesatate to disageree here but when you say <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Diesel engines have been proven to get substantially better mileage AND lower/cleaner emmissions as well <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
What do you mean? Diesels are filthy engines, and there are currently three, yes only 3 engines that meet post 2005 emissions laws anywhere in the world. One is Volvo, one is Mercedes-Benz, and one is Mitsubishi-Heavy Truck. No others emit the small amount of sulfur that is allowable in the US after the 2005 Model Year. Isuzu is working on the next generation Duramax, and it is (according to rumor) going to be available on 05 or maybe 06 GM vehicles, but current diesel engine technology is filthy with Nitrogen Oxide (NOx).

The rant starts here. Many thanks to Car and Driver editor in chief Casba Csere for suppling the majority of the real rant! For a link to the whole article that I lifted parts of, go to th bottom of this rant.

NOx is one of the major precursor emissions to smog. The federal Tier 2 emissions standards, which began their five-year phase-in in 2004, will cut allowable NOx emissions by 75 percent to 0.05 gram per mile per vehicle. NOx is created during peak combustion temperatures and pressures, and since diesels run compression ratios roughly double those of gasoline engines, they have trouble meeting this standard. This lofty compression ratio, however, is also one of the key factors behind the diesel's high efficiency. Another component of diesel efficiency is lean combustion, which precludes the use of the three-way catalysts that control NOx so effectively in gasoline engines.

Particulate emissions are the black haze that we see in diesel exhaust, especially from heavy trucks operating at full power. The color comes from tiny particles of soot produced during combustion. It's a problem inherent with diesels because the fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber at the end of the compression stroke and has very little time to mix with the air in the cylinder. By contrast, in a gasoline engine, the fuel is injected while the air is rushing into the cylinder during the intake stroke and can disperse even farther during the compression stroke. Even though diesels burn lean overall, without this opportunity for thorough mixing, there are invariably tiny pockets of rich mixtures, which generate soot.

Modern diesel injection systems—similar to gasoline electronic fuel injection except that they operate at a fuel pressure of 20,000 psi rather than 50 psi—have greatly reduced this soot generation. Still, the Tier 2 standards mandate a maximum particulate emissions level of 0.01 gram per mile, which no current diesel can meet. To solve this problem, the industry has been fooling around with particulate traps for years. These devices sift the soot from the exhaust and periodically burn it off. But getting these filters to operate for 100,000 miles has been a major challenge.

Furthermore, environmentalists have been calling for even stricter particulate standards. The current Tier 2 limit applies to particles of soot larger than 10 microns. That's four ten-thousandths of an inch, or about one-fifth the thickness of human hair. But there's talk of including particles as small as 2.5 microns. This would exacerbate the particulate problem exponentially.

This utter rejection of diesels by U.S. environmentalists is in stark contrast to attitudes in Europe, where the diesel has been accepted with open arms. About one-third of the new cars and light trucks sold in Europe are purchased with diesel engines—a choice undoubtedly motivated by the fuel costs in Europe of $4 to $5 a gallon. Moreover, upcoming European NOx and particulate limits are four to ten times higher than ours will be. European diesel fuel is also better, with significantly lower sulfur content and higher cetane (a measure of a fuel's affinity for ignition, it's the opposite of octane).

European environmentalists, who are numerous enough to support powerful Green parties in several countries, seem to accept these concessions for diesels. They feel the diesel's benefits in reduced fuel consumption, and the associated CO2 emissions, outweigh the potential health effects of their particulate emissions. Then again, the Europeans have barely discovered no-smoking sections in restaurants.

Car and Driver Magazine

Yes, this is my truck. No, I will NOT help you move.

[ckhagman]

Diesel just looks dirty. How come CARB (the governing body of the EPA for fueling standards) has not went after diesel like it has with gasoline. How come there is no ORVR requirements for diesel.

[SONA]

great thread...

"Life is tough... tougher if you’re stupid." "Just think, right now, all over the world there are people exercising bad judgment. Somebody, right this minute, is probably making the mistake of his life

[Guido]

It seems everyone wants to make an issue of gas mileage with the Hummer H2 just because you can tell just by looking at this vehical that it will not get 20 MPG. My previous vehical before I bought my H2 was a 2001 Dodge 5.9l V8, 1500 4x4 Quad Cab with the "Off Road" package. It was a beautiful truck but it didn't do anything well and it got consistantly 10-11 MPG on the highway. I complained to the dealer about the gas mileage and he replied all "Off-Road" packages are that way because they have a 4:10 axle ratio. The Dodge Ram is the Number 3 best selling vehical in the world. They have sold and continue to sell millons of these super gas guzzlers but people still single out the low production Hummer. AT least now with my H2, I get a little bit better gas mileage, I can tow my trailer, I have a much more capable vehical off road and I really enjoy driving my car. So to those who think Hummers are going to destroy the world I say take your battle elsewhere. It's not the Hummer thats causes you so much grief, you just need a kick ass looking vehical that everyone wants and talks about but few can afford so people will read your stories! Hummers draw attention "Like Nothing Else"!

[89vette]

The sad reality is that if H2's got 20mpg and the rest of cars out there got 40mpg, the H2's would still be under fire. These liberal ecoweenies just need somehting to bitch about to justify their exsistance. Great point on the Dodge Ram truck.

03 Sunset H2!
89 Vette
02 Escalade

[Queen Sheba]

Why HUMMER?

To the Moon with 'em, Alice!

"I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or to make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make you feel"

[Drag]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Why HUMMER? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Because it's a symbol of conspicuous consumption, that's why. Plus, these eco-wenies don't like the fact that something that goes so visibly against their goal of "Anything but the automobile" is so damn popular. Let's face it, people love the H2, even people who don't own one. It's a love it or hate it proposition no matter what. Either that, or they're compensating for being so....."small".....in other areas


Yes, this is my truck. No, I will NOT help you move.

[H2BIG]

I'll give the H2 another 5 years before GM shrinks it. I'm betting that in time my 03 will become another "American Classic" like the muscle cars of the 60's and early 70's.

Brian
03 Pewter H2 Lux, Sunroof, Airaid filter/MIT, Nology Wires, Corsa Touring