Need your Feedback for an article on Hummer-Haters

[hmcoleap]

Hey guys (and gals),

First, despite the fact that I own an H1, I am not an enemy to the H2 drivers... I love its balance of comfort and capability. The only reason I don't own one right now as is because GM hasn't gotten off their butts to offer a 2500 or 3500 model with a larger tow capacity!

I am writing an article on why the H2 in particular has been picked on as the "poster-child" for haters (much like the Excursion was before that). There are so many articles out there with an anti-Hummer bias, I want to get something out there that is more fair and includes the perspective from the other side.

What I would like to know from you is:

1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular?

2) If YOU only had one short sentence to work with, what is the one thing you would say to those haters to explain why the H2 is a good truck for you?

3) Any good "hummer haters" stories or anecdotes to share?

If you respond to this thread, I am assuming it is ok with you if I quote you in the article... Any questions or concerns, feel free to email me!

Thanks in advance!

[PARAGON]

Originally Posted by hmcoleap

Hey guys (and gals),

First, despite the fact that I own an H1, I am not an enemy to the H2 drivers... I love its balance of comfort and capability. The only reason I don't own one right now as is because GM hasn't gotten off their butts to offer a 2500 or 3500 model with a larger tow capacity!

I am writing an article on why the H2 in particular has been picked on as the "poster-child" for haters (much like the Excursion was before that). There are so many articles out there with an anti-Hummer bias, I want to get something out there that is more fair and includes the perspective from the other side.

What I would like to know from you is:

1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular? I don't think all that many people do. It's just the poster child for those that do because it's highly recognizable

2) If YOU only had one short sentence to work with, what is the one thing you would say to those haters to explain why the H2 is a good truck for you? It's the perfect compromise for everything I need from one vehicle.

3) Any good "hummer haters" stories or anecdotes to share? Never have encountered one person that has directly said anything or showed disrespect to me while in the H2. But get kids and adults alike, to this day still, that ogle it and point and ask questions about it at gas stations and the like. Of course, I live in the South where one is less susceptible to be defined by what the media writes about a vehicle.

If you respond to this thread, I am assuming it is ok with you if I quote you in the article... Any questions or concerns, feel free to email me!

Thanks in advance!

H2 hater

[hmcoleap]

Paragon wrote:

"1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular? I don't think all that many people do. It's just the poster child for those that do because it's highly recognizable "

I couldn't agree more... that actually gets right to the point I expect to make in the article - that the Hummer makes a good target as "poster child" because it is striking and doesn't blend in as much with the other very large luxury SUVs from Infiniti, Lexus, Land Rover, etc.

[DRTYFN]

One of the main themes of your piece should be how the sheep have been programmed to recognize the H2 and ignore other vehicles that have similar/worse gas milage. Hive mentality = programming by collective thought process.

[HummBebe]

HUMMER hating is a fear based reaction. It's an aggressive looking military vehicle.I think it scares most people when it comes rolling up in their rear view mirror.

Fear based reactions are the only way to explain irrational behavior. Most people with irrational fears hate. "I hate flying", "I hate driving on the hiway", etc etc.

However, I have yet to see children react negatively to a HUMMER. Kids LOVE them.

Oh wait, maybe that's why we love them???

[Alan06SUT]

People love to hate hummers for a number of reasons:

1. Other truck owners, suv owners, are misinformed that they are "fake" hummers and are a rebodied Tahoe, and therfore cant see paying extra for looks.

2. Some people (most women I talk to) think they are ridiculous looking, too huge, and hard to see around, which makes them feel unsafe when driving near them (intimidation). They cant imagine why someone would want one other than to show off.

3. Some H1 owners fuel the whole "its a fake Hummer" thing.

4. Most H2 owners dont use the vehicle offroad, and therefore H2's viewed as posers by the offroad world, even thogh this is true for all 4x4's.

5. Libs and progressives know that since all of the above people question the H2 already, they wont get called out when they make the vehicle the poster child for there idea of who is "ruining"" the country. Basically the H2 has few who will defend it. And those that will, dont care what everyone is saying anyway. No one is out on a mission to "save" the Hummer, where there are a few bored idiots who would like to see them gone, or use them as a scapegoat to get into office, etc.

Facts: H2 gets bad gas mileage but so do plenty of other vehilces such as the Ram SRT 10, Mayback, VW toureg, Porche Cayeene, Any of the big benzes, Range Rovers, F250's, V10 fords, 2500 Chevys, Navigators, Expeditions, etc. All are within 10% same gas mileage as H2. There are relatively few H2's when compared to the numbers of other gas guzzlers.

Also, high gas prices give alterantive fuels a better chance at becoming viable. It is my opinion that gas engines are going to be replaced sometime soon. If gas prices remain high that day will be sooner, if they get lower, that day will be later. But, in the end the gas engine will have the same net effect on the environment wheter it lives 15 years or 50 years. Global warming, and other pseudo sciences are purely scare tactics as the world was hotter than it is now 10,000 years ago and evaporation tests have shown negligable temperature differences in recent history. Remember how this hurricane season was going to be even worse that the last due to "warming"? BS. Natural weather cycles occur and there is no evidence to show that the world is getting hotter at an abnormal rate.

Other things I tell people if they ask about my Hummer. My commute is 6 miles so I burn just over a gallon a day for my commute. If your civic gets 30MPG, but if you have a 30 mile commute (longer commutes are common across the country), you burn two gallons per day for the commute. Therefore your civic is worse for the environment than my hummer. If people would move closer to their work, they would save money, time, energy, etc. There would be less traffic, less pollution, les road construction, therefore less tax money spent on roads, etc, etc.

Basically if the progressives, libs, haters, dems really wanted to do good for the environment, etc, they would be urging people to move closer to work. What type of vehicle people drive has a negligable effect in comparison.

So why do the far majority of "haters" fell the way they do. Jealosy. They Blame what they call the "fortunate few". The same people who own businesses, hire people, and keep our economy going. They dont want to distinguish "fortune" from hard work and ambition.

All of the normal people who just dont like them, just like I dont like priuses, have a vaild opinion. I dont belive there is a large percentage who truly hate Hummers. Most who talk **** are just jealous, mis informed, or intimidated.

[hmcoleap]

GOOD STUFF - this is just the kind of feedback I was hoping for... keep it coming! Thanks,

[Alan06SUT]

I did some editing to mine. Sorry its so long!

[SnakeH2]

Looks like your article is about done

[Vettster]

The Weather Channel thread gives the Cliffs Notes version on why some people hate Hummers.
They stated that it is either ignorance or envy.

That pretty much sums it up.

[BKLYNH2]

Originally Posted by hmcoleap

What I would like to know from you is:

1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular? to put it concisely - People need to compensate for their shortcommings somehow.

2) If YOU only had one short sentence to work with, what is the one thing you would say to those haters to explain why the H2 is a good truck for you? I enjoy it and use it and take every opportunity to use it to its full potential.

3) Any good "hummer haters" stories or anecdotes to share? Too many, my gf lives near New York University (the only thing worse than tree huggers are misguided silverspooned college kids full of agnst cause mommy or daddy or the other kids at school payed them no attention), and I have had to park mine on the street in the neighborhood, overnight several times. So here is the funniest and the worst -
Funniest - One night after an ice hockey game I was dropping my friend off in NYU area. We were stopped at a light as the light turned green this spindly, bulgy eye, long haired ragamuffin, talking on a cell phone walks right in front of my truck. I briefly let my foot off the brake to move about 1/4" towards him just to let him know he is crossing against the light. He stops right in front of me(at my green light) the headlight are blinding him because he's 12 tokes past stoned and we can see the wheels ever so slowly churning in his head that he's standing in front of an H2 (still has no clue the light is green) and starts yelling (sluring) at me "your fault, no war for oil" Mind you he's also still on the phone, and i'm standing put cause i don't really want a vehicular manslaughter charge on my record. He continues on his tirade then runs the rest of the way across the street, trips over the curb, gets up and tries to rip a branch off a nearby city tree (yes there are a few, this was right at Washington Square park) and starts hitting my truck with what amounts to a smal twig. I didn't take off because I had been laughing so hard as this was unfolding and my friend was goading him on just to see how ridiculous this would get. Finally he must have overexerted himself and he fell back to the curb, and we took off.
Worst - Parked near my gf's place one Friday night and when I came back to the truck the next morning I found the truck with several bags of garbage thrown on it, a couple of liquor bottles thrown against it and a computer monitor thrown through the front winshield. If I can't get a spot in front of her doorman's window the truck and I go home now, also I have bought a small Jetta diesel for running around everyday, in part to save some $ but mostly cause I don't want to see my truck messed with like that again.

If you respond to this thread, I am assuming it is ok with you if I quote you in the article... Any questions or concerns, feel free to email me!

Thanks in advance!

good luck with your story

[mikejr]

So why do the far majority of "haters" fell the way they do. Jealosy. They Blame what they call the "fortunate few". The same people who own businesses, hire people, and keep our economy going. They dont want to distinguish "fortune" from hard work and ambition.

I would like to second the motion of Alan. The people that keep America going are the small businesses.

I own a real estate brokerage with a staff of 20 people, and if you figure all of the different people involved in the sale of just one home, it would be on average well over 50 people complete various tasks to close a sale. Thats one hell of a trickle down!

My wife and I put regularly put in 12 to 14 hour days and work many weekends....so if i want to buy an H2 for some enjoyment in life what is the big deal....and besides...i get one heck of a write off for owning it. Not to mention the advertising value of having my logos on the truck.

I think most of the hatred is jealousy.....its always about the haves and the have nots....and the libs what to perpetuate that to try to keep people dependant upon the government machine!

[H2Finally]

Originally Posted by hmcoleap

1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular?

PRIMAL RESPONSE

Not vodoo or sci-fi, but some trait that made us all humans allow common responses from certain stimuli.

The Hummer, H2 especially, experienced one of those happy accident of design which resulted in exactly the right vehicle that can and does trigger a primal response from most humans who see it -- good and bad.

This explains why children of all ages automatically gravitate towards it, even without coaching or goading by any adults.

It also explains the oft irrational "hate" response it triggers in some adults.

[ipeefreely]

I just think that the h2 has become the most popular vehicle ever. And with that popularity, it's become a major target for treehuggers.

[hmcoleap]

Originally Posted by SnakeH2

Looks like your article is about done

That's the spirit - Make my job easier!!

[hmcoleap]

Agreed; something that illicits very strong positive response from some, illicits strong negatives from another - bland things illicit indifference.

Originally Posted by H2Finally

PRIMAL RESPONSE

Not vodoo or sci-fi, but some trait that made us all humans allow common responses from certain stimuli.

The Hummer, H2 especially, experienced one of those happy accident of design which resulted in exactly the right vehicle that can and does trigger a primal response from most humans who see it -- good and bad.

This explains why children of all ages automatically gravitate towards it, even without coaching or goading by any adults.

It also explains the oft irrational "hate" response it triggers in some adults.

[frenzy1]

I think it's most jealousy and ignorance. The Hummer H1 H2 H3 are very very very unique and special vehicles. It's like HUMMER says : "like nothing else" !!

I've driven' several vehicles (Jeep wrangler, BMW 525 tds, range rover, Dodge Ram), but the H2 is the best vehicle ever !! I would not want to trade it with anything else in the world.

I live in Belgium Europe. Had the hummer for a year now and have not had one negative remark yet. In the contrary, I get plenty of positive comments. The hummer is very very unique over here. You just don't see 'em, that's maybe why people stare at me...

frenzy

[Goalkeeper]

I know it's been said, but you should detail the vehicles that get similar or worse gas mileage...with the actual mpg's for thise vehicles.

Most of these other vehicles have been around awhile and are obviously less recognizable than the H2, therefore they don't stand out as much.

That being said, I don't really think a jealousy issue. It's part the weak minded idiots that can't form their own opinoins and just follow whatever group they're a part of...like the ignorant Jeep fools or the tree huggin leaf lickers who'll jump on the next thign to hate as a group.

Not sure this helps but just how I feel. It's funny how most of the idiots bashing the H2 do it online, or in my personal experience, flip you off as you pass or yell something stupid as they are walking away.

These idiots group us all into one group and generally dont' know anything about us, it's this ignorance which should also be addressed. At one point, we had a soldier in Iraq postin on the board who couldn't wait to get back home and loves his H2. But to the H2 bashing freaks, WE ARE the one's responsible for the war b/c we need oil! Misguided fools.

Damn I hate these judgmental F**ks!!! They really don't know me / us!

-Matt

[GLBLWARMR]

Originally Posted by hmcoleap

What I would like to know from you is:

1) Why do YOU think so many people "hate" Hummers, and the H2 in particular?

2) If YOU only had one short sentence to work with, what is the one thing you would say to those haters to explain why the H2 is a good truck for you?

3) Any good "hummer haters" stories or anecdotes to share?

1. I think it is mostly a sociological issue for most of them. It is their need for belonging to something. They do not know anyone, they like, that owns a HUMMER but they do know quite a few people that hate them. So out of fear of not fitting in to their own little sub-culture they have succumbed to the peer pressure and have spoken out about their hatred for HUMMERs even though they have not done any research about the vehicles. The groups feeling is HUMMERS BAD so everyone has to take to that thinking or they won't be invited to the weekend tree hugger BBQ.

2. Fuk'em. Don't really care what people think of me or of my truck.

3. Seach this site you will find many.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

Here's a funny story about my H3 for ya.

I hit it off with girl on a dating site and we emailed a few times. Then I showed her the wheeling photos on my photobucket site. After a week of silence, I finally got an answer:
____________

I apologize for waiting so long to respond - I've been trying to figure
out exactly how to say this without sounding judgmental, but there
really isn't a good way, so I'll just go ahead and say it. I am a
wildly progressive liberal, and I just absolutely cannot date someone
who drives a Hummer.

Good luck with your search - you seem like a nice guy with a lot to offer.
____________

She already knew I was a moderate democrat (liberal on many issues, conservative on others) and that wasn't a problem. But to drive a hummer ... now, that just wasn't going to cut it. I'm certain that no other 4x4, no matter how luxurious or gas-guzzling would have gotten the same reaction.

So why do I (as a liberal) love hummers? Because I think beyond the stereotypes. I love the way hummers drive, on and off road. They are smooth, safe, powerful and comfortable (H2s and 3s anyway ). They are capable in any weather or terrain. They take me to remote locations where I can enjoy the outdoors. They look good in town and in the country. And their mpg is no worse (and often better) than any other true 4x4 (midsize to midsize, fullsize to fullsize). I wish all cars and trucks were hybrids, but they're not. And until that day, I'll drive what's available.

Isn't the American dream to work hard, be successful and make a better life for yourself and family? I wanted the best midsize 4x4, so I worked for it, waited for it and finally got it. And guess what, it was designed and built in America by Americans employed by an American company. GM and AM General have brought pride and quality to the American 4x4. Those are reasons for respect and support, not mockery and boycott. And that ought to be true for liberals and conservatives alike.