Mr. Stiff
Someone explain something
to me, please. Why would anyone spend upwards of $60,000.00 to buy an
overpriced, oversized, underpowered, no capability SUV such as a Hummer H2 ?
I've always thought that the Hummer H1, (which GM isn't even building
anymore) although being way too big, was incredibly capable. (Desert Storm
being the proof) But I don't get why any rational human would even consider
a H2. I recently saw one (H2 SUT) on display at the local shopping mall, so
I decided to be as open-minded as possible and have a look. This thing
was 6.6 feet tall, and has a 5.7 ft wide track. My research at Yahoo Autos
shows that a Hummer H2 SUT weighs in at a hefty 6400 lbs. By comparison, a
2005 Wrangler Sport is 5.7 feet high, 4.9 feet wide track, and weighs 3450
lbs.
The Wrangler has 18.15 lbs/hp and a lbs/ft
lbs ratio of
14.68:1 and the SUT has 19.69 lbs/hp and a lbs/ft-lb ratio of 17.53:1. So,
using these numbers, the Wrangler is certainly a better choice power wise (and it
might actually fit into your garage, or on your favorite trail. But Mr. Stiff
the Hummer guy would probably argue that gearing would make up the difference,
and he'd be right, but my point is, are you buying it
for what it can do, OR WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS
THINK? Personally, if one of my neighbors bought (or
even leased) a H2, I'd think he was an idiot. (Come to think of it, I
already believe SOME of my neighbors are idiots!) So let's talk money. The
SUT I saw was almost $60K. A Wrangler Rubicon is right around $27K. Hmmmm. Look,
I know people who didn't pay 60K for their house! And besides, what's the
deal with SUT's? Like the Explorer Sport Trac, I mean, why? It's not much of an
SUV, and has that tiny "pickup" bed. Anyone buying one of those didn't get
either an SUV or a pickup, so what's the sense? I dunno, must be all about how
much money's being spent.
Of
course, one could say the same for ALL of the "Luxury" SUV's. Caddy
Escalade, Nissan Armada, any Lexus, Toyota Sequoia (perfectly named, since
it's as big as a sequoia tree!) anything with a Lincoln badge on it, etcetera,
etcetera. If you paid more than $25K for it, I have a sweet deal on a
green bridge you might be interested in! Those who own Land Rover vehicles
are not included in this category, since the Rover is one of the finest off
roaders on the planet. Now, mind you I don't have a problem with SUV's
in general. I own a '99 Chevy Blazer which has absolutely no off-road
pretensions but is a damn sight better than my wife's previous car in the snow,
which is the reason we bought it. I must say, however, that it will be
replaced by a Liberty as soon as it's paid off.
And
now, Hummer has come up with a "small" SUV, the H3. Smaller, maybe, but not that
small. This piece is still bigger than my first apartment!
Now, I must admit
something here. A luxury SUV could possibly have a use after all. One of my
classmates in Nursing School has an Armada, and has told me the reason they
bought it was for towing a horse trailer. OK, I can live with that, an
Armada has an excellent tow capacity. I just can't get by the folks who buy
stuff like that because they're popular.
