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Visit the North American International auto show.
General Motors Press Release. FOR RELEASE: January 9,
2000
In this Release:
A new chapter in the Hummer Legend
Intimidating Looks and Unstoppable Performance
From Notion to Motion in a Matter of Weeks
A HUMMER for the Ages, Here Today
General Motors' Hummer H2 Vision Vehicle:
A new chapter in the Hummer Legend
DETROIT - HUMMER, the world's most serious 4x4, stands
alone atop the mountain of off-road vehicles. Until now. The
new General Motors
HUMMER H2 vision vehicle is an authentic evolution in a truly
incomparable species. With its debut at the 2000 North American
International Auto
Show in Detroit, the H2 provides a look at what the future
of the HUMMER sport/utility vehicle could be. The H2 draws reverently
from the current
HUMMER production vehicle and its tradition of strength,
toughness and 4x4 leadership. The H2 echoes the roots of the
HUMMER'S own
heritage, roots that trace back nearly a century to the 1903
Overland Runabout.
The H2 is a design exercise that modernizes and updates
the HUMMER while keeping its best traits intact-the aggressiveness,
rawness and
toughness that first attracted customers to the vehicle and
earned it the status of an American icon. The H2 takes those
characteristics and
refines them, casting a wider net over the sea of consumers
searching for a truck like the HUMMER.
"This is not a re-do of the HUMMER," said Clay
Dean, Design Manager of GM trucks. "It's an exercise that
shows what might grow and sustain the
brand. It's a call to more people to experience what HUMMER
is-the lifestyle, the philosophy, the confident attitude. It's
for people with an
adventurous spirit who want to do what others can't, in an
SUV that can do what other sport/utility vehicles can't."
The H2's design draws from other sophisticated consumer
tools like G3 high-performance laptop computers and the Spartacus
Macintosh which
have precise, complicated computational functions, yet are
presented in clean, simple, flowing surfaces. In these tools,
all lines, joints and
surfaces serve more than one function. In essence it is a
functional device wrapped in art.
The H2's styling takes its cues from the HUMMER production
vehicle, but cleans up the surfaces, using fewer exposed rivets
and fasteners, for
example. The H2's windshield is raked more, to improve aerodynamics,
but to the naked eye still retains the upright, aggressive appearance
of the
production vehicle. The new windshield is a one-piece wraparound,
without the metal center divider, greatly improving visibility
for the driver and
passengers.
The H2's profile view retains HUMMER'S image of strength
and brute force. H2 has short front and rear overhangs for aggressive
ramp angles.
The doors are offset from the surface, making climbing in
and out easy. The rear of the H2 maintains the HUMMER'S characteristic
four-window
look. The pull-down liftgate and pull-up rear window make
loading easy and convenient. The same convenience and thoughtfulness
was
designed into the entire rear compartment, whose panels will
allow multiple configurations.
The first civilian HUMMER was delivered in 1992, after
years of service to the U.S. military as AM General's "HUMVEE"
multi-purpose vehicle.
General Motors has acquired the exclusive ownership of the
HUMMER brand name and the right to retail the HUMMER utilities
and pick-up.
AM General was formed as a spin-off of the Kaiser Jeep
Corp in 1964. The company traces its roots back to the Willys-Overland
Co., creators of
the original Jeep.
Feature Highlights: Intimidating Looks and Unstoppable
Performance
As GM designers began exploring the future of the HUMMER
brand, they adopted a strategy they called "plant and harvest."
"As we continue to go forward and harvest the great
things the HUMMER has done," Dean said, "we need to
make sure we're always planting
new opportunities for the next harvest. We think the H2 vision
vehicle plants some new heritage that we can then reap down the
road on another
vehicle."
Among the fruits of the designers' harvest is the H2's
clean yet aggressive exterior. The H2 is unmistakably HUMMER,
from all angles, but
particularly from its front "face." The front end
includes an integrated winch, and a large brush bar that moves
in tandem with the hood for easy,
one-step access to the engine. There are multiple hooks on
the front and rear, for pulling and hauling, along with high-intensity
headlamps, fog
lamps and auxiliary driving lights mounted on the brush bar.
Planted in the hood are thermostat-controlled articulating louvers
for engine
ventilation. Two exposed canister air cleaner filters are
on the hood, one for providing cool air to the engine and another
for clean air to the
passenger compartment.
The entire body has more of a clean, rounded shape. "We
have crowned the bodyside-it's not flat," said Dean. "It
takes the vehicle into the next
millennium, providing a sense of strength and newness. The
wrapover windscreen and standout doors really make it appear
more contemporary,
while maintaining the heritage of the HUMMER appearance."
Although not as many exposed rivets and bolts adorn the
exterior, certain parts are left exposed-parts that have specific
functions. "The HUMMER
is a vehicle about performance and capability and we don't
want to hide things," Dean said. "For instance, we
want the suspension exposed
because this vehicle is an off-road vehicle. We want to show
the capability of our four-wheel independent suspension by exposing
its parts and its
strengths."
Another innovative feature of the H2 is its full-across,
power-operated canvas sunroof, which lets the sun shine in on
both rows of the
five-passenger compartment. "You get an open-air driving
experience while still feeling the safe, protective security
of riding in a reinforced steel
cage," Dean said. Skid plates protect the entire underbody
of the vehicle. Rock-slider skid plates are on the front and
rear sides, along with
approach and departure skid plates. "The skid plates
all around the vehicle are for function not fashion," said
Dean. "They are going to protect all
the pieces down below from being ripped apart and allow the
driver to experience why a HUMMER truly starts where the road
ends."
To enhance that off-road experience, GM has developed
an all-new rear suspension that improves the HUMMER'S signature
four-wheel,
all-independent suspension. The new, independent suspension
keeps one wheel from affecting the other on off-road applications.
On-road, it
provides for a smoother ride, and better handling than a
straight-axle application. Overall, it provides stability, capability,
and prowess over
unexpected terrain. Both front and rear suspensions are independent
double wishbones with unequal-length A-arms, torsion bars, stabilizer
bars,
and long-travel, dual-rate coil over shocks with remote reservoirs.
The 19 x 9.5-inch three-piece aluminum wheels have a rugged
high-tech look with an integrated bead locking system and mounted
with tough
35-inch off-road prototype Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain
tires.
Powering the H2 is GM's 6.0-liter, high-output VORTEC
6000 V-8. It's mounted longitudinally, and mated to a heavy-duty
four-speed automatic
transmission with AutotracTM four-wheel drive, which the
driver engages via levers rather than the usual push-button.
The interior of the H2 brings the HUMMER to new heights
of luxury and comfort. Four leather bucket seats are complemented
by a center jump
seat in the second row. The instrument panel is simple and
straightforward, and illuminated at night to glow oscilloscope
green, inspired by radar
controls on military fighter jets.
Touches of milled metals work in concert with body-color
pieces that match the H2's Signal Yellow outer shell. "Yellow
makes a statement, it
stands out from the crowd, "said Dean. "The color
draws from outdoor sports equipment including watches, mountain
bike shoes and mountain
climbing apparel."
The exterior is accentuated by bronze glass. Influenced
by the gold iridium color of well-known mountain bike glasses
and ski goggles, the bronze
glass provides a soothing color to the eye allowing for maximum
visibility in all conditions.
The rear cargo area features a revolutionary three-tier
loading area. The floor lifts to reveal a secure, lighted sub-floor
cargo stash to receive
packages and equipment to be unloaded upon arrival at the
campsite or other destinations. The main floor can also be used
for storage, and so
can the sides, which feature hammock-like netting that can
hold still more items and equipment, to make packing for any
excursion as organized
as possible.
Technology is definitely not forgotten. The H2's Central
Information Center features a GPS navigation system, GM's OnStarTM
system, DVD
video, a CD player and next-generation MonsoonR audio with
10 speakers. There is also Night Vision from Raytheon, Internet
access to send and
receive e-mail, a laptop docking station and a cell-phone
docking station, all with hands-free operational capabilities.
"The technology is there not to entertain as much
as it is to enhance the H2's role as protector," Dean said.
The protector role is due in part to the inherent mechanical
strengths of the H2 and the information capability H2 provides
the driver via GPS,
altimeter, thermometer and other metering devices. "You
could be in the mountains of Colorado or the deserts of Baja,
and you'll be secure in
knowing that you're going in the direction you need to be
going and that you can contact anyone you need to contact, "
said Dean.
The Development Story: From Notion to Motion in a Matter
of Weeks
When General Motors began negotiating with AM General
for HUMMER retail and naming rights in mid-1999, a team was assembled
to investigate
a possible concept vehicle for the 2000 North American International
Auto Show in Detroit.
A monumental effort was launched to define what a HUMMER
is, explore what it could be, and determine what was the best
package to present
the concept. The vehicles design and engineering team began
their race to develop the "H2" in late August.
The assignment was to create a HUMMER that looks toward
the future of the brand; to make it the most civilized and driver
friendly HUMMER ever
without losing any of the vehicle's inherent toughness and
off-road capabilities.
After the initial assessments and brand definitions were
made, the design team produced a scale model in less than a week.
Through the use of
math data, the vehicle quickly came to life in the form it
is today while staying true to the teams' initial vision.
"We didn't derail from what our first vision was,"
Dean said. "All we did was enhance it. We were very confident
that what we had done was correct
for the vehicle."
AM General, provided input, direction and approval, giving
the H2 further clarification of certain design elements and reinforcing
attributes that
they wanted retained and/or enhanced on the vehicle.
"Their involvement was key," Dean said. "They
made sure we didn't detract from the essence and heritage of
HUMMER, and they had great
insight. After they reviewed the vehicle they were confident
that we were going in the right direction with the brand."
The results tell the story. It's a HUMMER with a shorter
wheelbase, for great handling on-road and off. Its overhangs
are shorter, for easy parking
on Rodeo Drive, or at the rodeo. It's narrower, to easily
navigate today's city streets or cruise unpaved wilderness trails.
The H2 has a good
breakover angle for traversing crests of rocks as well as
aggressive angles of approach and departure, allowing drivers
to go up and down steeper
slopes without grounding the skid plates.
In Conclusion: A HUMMER for the Ages, Here Today
The H2 vision vehicle is everything its design team set
out for it to be. It embraces everything the HUMMER has accomplished,
and lends an
insight to what a HUMMER can be in the future-for a multitude
of people and not just a chosen few.
It's an off-road warrior, certainly, but it's also a civilized
tool for business travel and family pleasure. It's as at-home
on the freeway as it is on the
free range. It's living proof, in the sheetmetal, that there
is a bright and strong future for the HUMMER brand, with tradition
and heritage not only
intact, but enhanced.
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