But at least there's a new Hummer on the way to compensate for it:
DETROIT — The brawniest SUV is about to get brawnier when General Motors Corp. gives its Hummer line a high performance makeover next year. The Hummer H1 Alpha will go on sale next spring — bringing high-performance to the off-road brand.
The 2006 H1 Alpha’s 205-horsepower gasoline engine will be replaced with a 310-horsepower Duramax diesel powerplant. The new engine will give the $100,000 H1 more power and off-road capabilities while lowering emissions and enhancing fuel economy.
Any improvement on 6 MPG has to be considered an "enhancement," I suppose. And with a mere $100,000 price tag, they'll soonhave the market cornered on upscale off-road enthusiasts.
All three of them.
GM confirmed Tuesday it will build the H3, a mid-size SUV that will arrive at dealerships in the first half of 2005 as a 2006 model.
It will be priced at about $30,000 and make the Hummer brand more affordable. "
Which will finally allow middle-class weekend warriors with sexual adequacy issues to join their wealthier brethren. After all, why should rich guys be the only ones to blow half a tank of gas driving their rugged, off-road vehicles to the Gap on weekends?
In an interview last month, Hummer General Manager Mike DiGiovanni said there’s no chance Hummer will grow any bigger than the H1, but it could shrink smaller than the H3 in size and price.
“We could go down market,” DiGiovanni said, “but it has to be a real Hummer.”
He continued, "I mean, we can't have people buying affordable, regular sized automobiles that get reasonable gas mileage and don't pose a hazard to their occupants or others on the road, could we? That would be downright nutty."