Why would anyone gloat about The Great American SUV's spectacular fall from grace? Why wouldn't they? As for San Francisco Chronicler Mark Morford's gleeful epitaph, the main question here is, "Dude! What took you so long?" Whatever your take on the topic, you gotta admit MM dances on the SUV's grave with pugnacious panache. "Who didn't note the beginning of the end when, five years ago, the world's worst consumer vehicle ever took its place as the poster child for all that went wrong with the condescending American ethos, the oil-sucking war-drunk Bush-mauled mind-set? Ah, the Hummer H2. Has any consumer product embodied our misguided arrogance better? The ridiculous scale, the horrible handling, the contemptible road manners, the false machismo, the Cro-Magnon design, the ability to traverse 60-degree rockslides in a hurricane even though all you ever really needed to do was run over those little concrete bumps in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Dude! Righteous!" And here's the really scary part: Detroit Free Press' Matt Helms' po-faced, mea culpa response. Has Motown's mauling put it into a terminal funk?
91 Comments on ““I’m going to miss the Hummer in the same way I’ll miss Dick Cheney”...”
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MM does not heart Detroit:
Detroit is about as nimble and innovative as a brick.
I will miss both the Hummer and Dick Cheney. I like the fact that I have a choice in what I drive, even if it isn’t practical or “what I really need”.
I also like the fact that we haven’t had any terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11, so I really will miss President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
After reading the entire article in the chronicle, I’d say Mark was being charitable.
To me the proof of the SUV’s downfall came almost 7 years ago when I crossed a short, unpaved section of road (the paving had been removed for some utility work or something) and the guy in the jacked up Escalade behind me WENT AROUND IT.
They just can’t die soon enough.
If Detroit had fought with product, you know CARS, rather than lobbyists and light-truck shaped loopholes, they wouldn’t be as completely fscked as they are now. In any other industry the BOD’s would have sacked the entire executive staff by now.
As for choice Tex, all we’ve had offered to us from Detroit are trucks of various seating arrangements for the past 15 years. No hatchbacks, no small sedans, no sports cars, no small Diesels, no reasonably priced economy cars, no station wagons. For those we have HAD to turn to Germany, Japan, and Korea. Sure, they’ve tossed out one or two of a couple of those categories, but seriously we all know Detroit bet the whole damn farm on SUVs and they’ve lost.
I won’t even touch the political side of you comment for fear of taking this whole thread down the toilet.
–chuck
TexasAg03:
I also like the fact that we haven’t had any terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11, so I really will miss President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
Weren’t Dubya & Cheney in power on 09/11/01???
Texas,
Don’t forget they were the ones in charge WHEN the 9/11 attack happened.
Just because it hasn’t happened since then doesn’t change the fact they were in charge when it did happen – mapping the oil fields of Iraq no less.
And if a politician can’t create good policies that survive beyond their terms, they don’t need to be in office (see Rick Wagonner for ineffective leadership and policies that need changed right now. Wait, needed changed 5 years ago at the latest).
i can remember when the H2 first came out a local paving company bought 3 or 4 as a company vehicle. on the side was nice vinyl ad for the company and what not. I saw one in a packing lot and asked the driver “isnt it because of your company (paving) that we dont need to drive H2’s? ” he was kinda stuck in thought for a minute, then came back with something about a tax break.
the H1 was cool because if you drove one you were making all kinds of compromises. Its the lotus elise of SUV’s. you have to be committed to drive one regularly. the H2 is more like the M3, its able to do the job, its just not as hard edged as it could be and their for not as cool. and if you drive either most people will think your manhood is small.
Ah, politics.
Bringing out the best in people since 4000 B.C.
TexasAg03:
I will miss both the Hummer and Dick Cheney. I like the fact that I have a choice in what I drive, even if it isn’t practical or “what I really need”.
Indeed. As Wesley Snipes said in the movie Demolition Man: “You can’t take away people’s right to be a******s!”
I think it is a mistake to get rid of Hummer. GM has an iconic brand.They just need to “right size” the vehicle and the division.
Texas:
There also haven’t been any alien invasions but I don’t think Bush can take credit for that.
Texas, you can thank Bush and Cheney for the fact that we didn’t prepare for the skyrocketing demand for oil ahead of time. And for the thousands of dollars you’ve had to pay to fund the Iraq war, which hasn’t done a thing to make all of us safer from future 9-11s. And for the fact that 9-11 happened in the first place, and when Bush became pres, he refused to heed Pres Clinton’s warnings about OBL. (The mother of a dear friend of mine was killed in one of the trade towers.)
Great column by MM.
“wrong with the condescending American ethos, the oil-sucking war-drunk Bush-mauled mind-set”
I don’t like SUVs, but I can think that a particular car is a bad idea without hating the USA and everyone in it.
In the immortal words of Robun Williams, a man’s brain only has enough blood to run his penis or his brain.
If one is working, the other cannot.
Same with writers humor.
If his comdedy is working, his common sense is not.
RF…why did this have to hit so low and attack DC?
I mean, come on now…many of us like your writing and your commitment, but stay away from the stupid political humor.
Its pretty weak.
I mean, do you actually prefer having Al Gore in as VP?
Now he IS a person with real commitments!
REALLY????
Now that’s an inconvenient bit of news to me.
Obviuosly my spelling is not working as well when I am writing!
Though you can find a lot of justifiably negative things to say about the Hummer brand, it embodies an American ideal of being able to choose even what is not popular or socially acceptable. This goes for cars, religion, hobbies, politics, and all sorts of other facets of life.
At the risk of picking sides, I do wish that people and especially journalists would refrain from placing all of the blame for the ills in the world on single figure-heads such as Hummers and Dick Cheney. Finding the answers to problems is not that simple.
All this said, I do think that cutting Hummer is appropriate for GM and I won’t miss it too much. I’m a Jeep guy, anyway.
If you don’t like SUV’s, don’t buy one. I don’t own one, but I also don’t own a lot of things you might own that I consider a huge waste of money.
With all the self-righteousness out there right now, I’m thinking of buying one.
Talk about being countercultural!
You can always tell a thought-less liberal because if the conversation on any topic lasts more than a few seconds, Bush/Cheney somehow comes up, and somehow it is all their fault.
@Robert Schwartz:
I don’t like SUVs, but I can think that a particular car is a bad idea without hating the USA and everyone in it.
The H2 isn’t merely a car, it’s a symbol of some of the worst excesses in American culture. I think one can criticize those excesses without “hating the USA and everyone in it.” Does loving your country mean you have to love every moron and arrogant, ignorant blowhard in it?
TexasAg03 :
July 31st, 2008 at 11:38 am
I will miss both the Hummer and Dick Cheney. I like the fact that I have a choice in what I drive, even if it isn’t practical or “what I really need”.
I also like the fact that we haven’t had any terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11, so I really will miss President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
The way I look at it, 9/11 took place on Bush and Cheney’s watch. Then that tragic event was hijacked by a scruple less team of con men to get us into Iraq.
The Hummer phenomenon is symbolic of our imperial hubris.
Hummer embodies american fit and finish. Just look at those immense gaps between hood and grille, or fenders and bumpers.And texture of those plastics. It embodies looks over contents. How can such a car weight so much? probably many Americans and rich Russians get flashed by the chrome abundancy and have no idea what the leaf springs down there mean…
Pity that Clinton didn’t steal Ross Perot’s idea of deficit reduction via a 50-cent gas tax back in ‘93 when gas was only a buck.
The SUV craze would never have taken hold in the face of a guaranteed 50% increase in the price of gas.
Both parties have let us down, on most issues.
Could I attempt to steer this in a bit more constructive direction?
We all know that cars (motor vehicles) are about more than transportaion – otherwise 97 % of us would be drving a Fit/Yaris.
I’m old enough to remember when a rugged outdoorsy image could be had by driving a simple 4cyl 4wd vehicle like the original IH Scout, or Willys CJ. Maybe we could get back to that ? Not everyone who bought one actually needed one – there were posers back in the day – though perhaps not nearly so many.
I don’t like Shrub or Cheney, but if I’m not mistaken Slick Willy was getting a bj in the oval office when GM decided to buy Hummer and dress it in civies.
To chuckgoolsbee- That would be a neat trick since 7 years ago the Escalade did not exist.
I too will miss Dick Cheney and the Hummer. Everyone will miss Dick if the BO gets elected. You know, they guy with the funny name who doesn’t look like the other presidents? THe guy who says this race is not about race, but brings it up all the time?
Right, two people (Pres,VP) run the entire country? So both congress and the senate dont have any involvement at all. Please leave the tired, one-sided, class envy articles off TTAC.
The Hummer is just a bigger Jeep for people who like that sort of thing.
Like or hate it, it’s iconic.
And the fact that GM washed another iconic and profitable brand down the toilet along with all of the brand-loyal followers speaks larger volumes about GM than it does about what Hummer represents.
Does the Sequoia represent everything wrong with Toyota? Or does the Avalon represent everything wrong with the US? That kind of thinking is too simplistic and simply unAmerican in my book.
A spade is a spade, no matter whose political party is in power or what the current fashion trends are.
Orian:
“Texas,
Don’t forget they were the ones in charge WHEN the 9/11 attack happened.”
Yea man, and don’t forget that Roosevelt was in charge WHEN the 12/7 attack happened. (Hey, pssst! Pearl Harbor was an inside job, don’t ya’ know?).
TonyTiger:
The Escalade has been in production since 1999.
Weren’t Dubya & Cheney in power on 09/11/01???
Yes, they had been in office less than eight months. I would argue that this was not enough time to correct the problems created by the separation of the various intelligence agencies by the Clinton administration.
Also, I would remind you that Clinton had a chance to get Bin Laden and did not.
Texas, you can thank Bush and Cheney for the fact that we didn’t prepare for the skyrocketing demand for oil ahead of time.
They have tried to pass legislation for more drilling and other plans and the Democrats have blocked them every time. Therefore, I can thank the Democrats for not being prepared for the oil demand and for their continued efforts in blocking the plans to get more of our own oil.
And for the thousands of dollars you’ve had to pay to fund the Iraq war, which hasn’t done a thing to make all of us safer from future 9-11s.
I believe what is really happening in Iraq, not what Pelosi, CNN, CBS, et. al. would have us believe.
And for the fact that 9-11 happened in the first place, and when Bush became pres, he refused to heed Pres Clinton’s warnings about OBL. (The mother of a dear friend of mine was killed in one of the trade towers.)
See my comment above. Clinton had the chance to get Bin Laden and didn’t. I am terribly sorry for everyone who died on 9/11, but blaming someone who had been in office less than eight months is silly.
I don’t like SUVs, but I can think that a particular car is a bad idea without hating the USA and everyone in it.
Agreed. I don’t care for the Prius, but if someone wants one, more power to them (no pun intended).
I find it funny how people who live some big cities never complain about the carbon footprint of the trucks used to ship in their cheese, wine, and yoga mats.
That’s the mantra though. When you creating a mass hysteria of hatred, you have to pick one symbol and focus solely on it. Ignore all other problems because if SUV’s go away, the birds will sing, and flowers will bloom. Then it’s on to the next trend. What ever happened to the Nuclear Waste movement? I miss them.
You know what I love about neo-cons? The hypocracy.
Can you imagine the hue and cry from the right wing if President Al Gore (you know, the one that actually was elected) had ignored a PDB in August that said “Bin Laden determined to attack US with hijacked airliners.”??
But since it happened on “their guy’s” watch, they’ll give him a pass, cuz he’s only been prexy for 8 months…
Personal responsibility, my ass.
willbodine
Thumbs up!
chuckgoolsbee:
If Detroit had fought with product, you know CARS, rather than lobbyists and light-truck shaped loopholes, they wouldn’t be as completely fscked as they are now. In any other industry the BOD’s would have sacked the entire executive staff by now.
Yes, Detroit’s product sucked, but (and I have a lengthy essay written about this that I plan on sharing at an opportune time) at least in the case of GM, product wasn’t its downfall. Structural uncompetitiveness (too many brands, too many dealers, too many union obligations) was GM’s downfall. They could have made the best small cars on the planet and would be in the same hole they’re in now. Maybe deeper.
As for choice Tex, all we’ve had offered to us from Detroit are trucks of various seating arrangements for the past 15 years. No hatchbacks,
Malibu Maxx
no small sedans,
Focus, Contour, Escort, Cavalier, Cobalt, Neon, S-series
no sports cars,
Corvette, Viper, Camaro, Mustang, FordGT, SRT4, CobaltSS Turbo…
no small Diesels,
Japan and Korea didn’t give us any, either.
no reasonably priced economy cars,
Cavalier, Aveo, S-Series, Focus, Neon
no station wagons.
Taurus (-2006), Focus (-2007), Magnum (-2008), Malibu Maxx (sort of, -2007). Japan and Korea stopped selling wagons eons ago because Americans weren’t buying them.
Saw a Hummer yesterday that was a rolling billboard for Pizza Hut. Completely covered with logos and pizza images. My first thought was “They use Hummers to deliver pizzas?!?”
Then I realized if one wants an eye-catching rolling billboard, a Hummer is a good choice. Kind of an off-road capable Oscar Meyer Wienermobile.
Let’s not let the political obsessives distract us. There’s a time and place for most everything.
I’m not a big fan of either SUV’s or Mr. Bush, but you can’t blame the Bush-Cheney cabal for people who bought 1998 Explorers or Suburbans.
Come on, folks, people bought these because fuel was cheap, and given their druthers, many Americans will drive Tiger tanks if given half a chance.
They aren’t rejecting SUV’s or falling love with the planet, they just can’t afford $4+ gas. It was stupid for Detroit to not have a product for these people to buy if the market changed. Putting all of one’s eggs in a single basket is never a good idea.
“Texas, you can thank Bush and Cheney for the fact that we didn’t prepare for the skyrocketing demand for oil ahead of time.”
“They have tried to pass legislation for more drilling and other plans and the Democrats have blocked them every time. Therefore, I can thank the Democrats for not being prepared for the oil demand and for their continued efforts in blocking the plans to get more of our own oil.”
I have to agree. I don’t think that Republicans are disagreeing that we need to develop alternative enrgy sources but the Democrats refusal to drill and opposition to nuclear is approaching something of a religious furvor for them. I just heard Congress adjourned for 5 weeks without any agreement on tackling the high cost of gas. Hey it’s convention time don’t ya’ know! But we have ethanol subsidies, yea!
revolver – I stand corrected, thank you. I’m surprised at the date because I recall reading a story about Caddy after the Navigator came out (1998, right?) The head of Caddy said, paraphrasing “Cadillac is a luxury car company. Hell will freeze over before we’ll build a truck.” Hell froze a lot sooner than I thought.
I also checked kbb for 2001 Escalade value – and there is no escalade listed for 2001??? So I assumed 2002 was it’s first year. Mea culpa to chuck as well.
Easy mistake to make as there were no 2001 Escalades, they went from 2000 to 2002.
As a final thought…because I feel like my string was pulled to get me emotionally involved with a headline…Let’s be clear:
It EASY for any auto company to be successful IF they only do ONE thing.
In the case of US mfgrs, I do agree that they were caught with to many larger vs smaller choices.
But, they do/DID offer to us the stronger vehicles needed to run our economy and country.
If we had to depend upon Nissan or Honda or Mazda to provide the heavy duty trucks, we would have none.
It’s not the fault of Ford and GM that every teenager wanted to be a cowboy and got himself a hat and a truck.
You build what they will buy.
Meanwhile, the others kept their smaller focus and did well in their niches.
It was easy.
They didn’t have to supply the trucks.
But come on…the consumer did an about face, leaving the mnfgr with lots of inventory.
And the niche mfgrs were there with their little cars…and everybody talks about their foresight.
Come on.
OK.
So they should have had a better plan should the market turn, and we did see it eventually coming.
But who ever thought oil would go from 80 a barrel to 140 in a few month ?
Don’t tell me you did.
If you do…your a damned liar.
And show me the money you made from your big investment in this knowledge
The whole anti-SUV craze is mostly just folks taking an opportunity to be self-righteous.
Breaking News: In a free society, people have the right to be stupid. Or not. They have every right to buy the vehicle they want, be it a Prius, a Hummer H2, or a Lamborghini Reventon. In the great scheme of things, all the H2’s sold won’t make a dime’s worth of difference in the amount of oil we use.
More Breaking News: Auto companies react to the market. When everyone wanted a truck or SUV, they built ‘em. Now they don’t, and they aren’t.
More Breaking News: No one forced anybody to buy an SUV. If you didn’t want one, Rick Wagoner wasn’t sending the brownshirts to your house.
More Breaking News: Toyota not only build the Prius, but the Land Cruiser, LX 570 and Sequoia. Where are the protests?
Detroit gorged on the truck/SUV craze, neglected their car development, and now they’re paying the price. That’s how it works.
I hate conservatives. They’re self-centered, self-righteous, self-serving, hypocritical bastards who gladly support any policy that props up their own gluttonous, decadent lifestyle, the rest of humanity be damned. They always feel entitled to their own vices, but seem to want to legislate everyone else’s. And then have the gall to trumpet their own mental and logical superiority because of it.
I also hate liberals. They’re whiny, over-sensitive crybabies who are utterly disconnected from reality, who believe everyone on earth is entitled to a comfortable life without having to work or struggle to earn anything. They think Americans are pure evil, despite our society’s unbridled opportunities for success for all of the poor oppressed they claim to want to help. And then they have the gall to trumpet their moral superiority and greatness of “compassion” because of it.
A plague on both your houses.
“Weren’t Dubya & Cheney in power on 09/11/01???”
I also believe a democrate house and senate were in power when gas got this high, mortgage crisis hit, and economy hit the fan…
The same congress gave fannie mae and freddie mac HUGE checks
The same congress hasn’t done anything to help gas prices
as a matter of fact, they havn’t done anything…
Either a bunch of people here work for Halliburton and are cashing big fat checks or they’re not as smart as… awww screw it. i don’t want to get banned over Dick.
Zarba – You make excellent points. Unfortunately, this is no longer a free society when it comes to many things, including choices in automobiles and even light bulbs. Mainly due to our “friends”, the democrats. Now, they are talking about re-instituting the oxymoronic “fariness doctrine” which will take away your freedom to listen to, watch or even blog what u like, unless someone else broadcasts or blogs the exact opposite to make it “fair”. They are truly the new Leninists.
TexasAg03: “I am terribly sorry for everyone who died on 9/11, but blaming someone who had been in office less than eight months is silly.”
I agree! But when is this administration’s start date? Is it OK if I start holding them responsible for all of their many ineptitudes, say, beginning in October of 2001? Does that work for you?
man, this news entry was a can ‘o worms. all the ugly is coming out. ignorance is bliss i guess.
Bush & Cheney, what a team!
They singlehandedly brought down the “greatest country on Earth” to its knees in just 7 short years. This will certainly go down as one of the greatest political feats in the history of mankind.
nevermind
@windsword
…opposition to nuclear…
I forgot about nuclear power. I wonder how much oil we could save if nuclear sources provided, say, 25% of our energy needs.
That sounds like an interesting research project…
They singlehandedly brought down the “greatest country on Earth” to its knees in just 7 short years.
I don’t believe for a minute that we have been “brought to our knees”. I think that’s what liberals hoped would happen under Bush and it’s what many are saying, but I don’t think it’s true.