GM Unveils The E85 ‘Green Hummer’
The words ‘green’ and ‘Hummer’ don’t usually occur together, except when compiling a complete list of oxymorons. But earlier today at the Saab/Hummer press conference, GM debuted it’s concept H-X Hummer, calling it the “Green Hummer”. The new model is smaller, lighter, and intended for a younger demographic, with the added capability of running on E85 ethanol. It also has an interesting modular construction that allows you to reconfigure the cab at will. Martin Walsh, General Manager of the brand, told us that the new model could get mileage in the mid-20s (although no hard numbers were available).
Ok, this isn’t exactly the 60 mpg Hummer I’ve mentioned before, but that’s a 10 mpg increase in efficiency over previous models. To be honest, it also looks a lot less like a Hummer, being smaller and sportier-more like a lunar explorer than the H2 (that’s my take). But Mr. Walsh said Hummers will continue to decrease in size as customers demand greater fuel efficiency and continue to voice environmental concerns.
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Which brings up an important point: as much as we might want to pin the blame on auto manufacturers for producing large, wasteful vehicles in America, it really comes down to consumer demand. Thankfully, people are starting to ask for fuel efficiency, and getting folks into an E85 H-X (see earlier post on the ethanol announcement below) is surely better than defaulting to a 14 mpg H2.
GM also spoke of plans to release diesel model Hummers abroad in 2009, but was unclear (or it was a maybe) on plans for the U.S. market.
Photo Credit: General Motors
[...] GM: A “Green” Hummer: We must live in a relative world to be able to utter the words “Green Hummer.” But that’s how GM is pushing the H-X, a scaled-down Hummer that gets mid-20s mileage and can burn E85. Not exactly the greenest belle of the ball, the H-X does look like it’d be the best option for hunting with Master Chief in semi-sustainable style. GM announced a second E85-optimized vehicle in its Saab 9-4X BioPower Concept, which sports a 2.0-liter, all-aluminum, four-cylinder BioPower flexfuel engine. [...]
Part of me thinks it’s crazy to say this, but I think it’s inspiring that GM built a Green Hummer. It reminds me that companies can and will produce what we want them to produce. It’s not great that what we want right now are Green Hummers. But I think we can goad companies into some pretty amazing innovation if we communicate to them what we do and don’t want, what we will and won’t buy.
More at http://www.moreperfectmarket.com/2008/01/cars.html if you’re interested…
My 2cents: Kudos to these companies for making an effort, but it’s just a start. Unfortunately they have a long way to go before they can tout a “green” title.
I’d love to see the day when GM, Hummer, etc. are producing low-emission vehicles, but I’ll have to see it to believe it.
[...] Everyone loves new technology, but what about a most basic consideration: vehicle size? This doesn’t seem to be on the radar for several auto manufacturers. It’s not listed on GM’s chart either, even though the Hummer brand announced it will be following that trend (see earlier post on the ‘2nd Greenest Hummer on Earth’). [...]
[...] check out the ‘2nd Greenest Hummer on Earth‘ from the 2008 Detroit Auto [...]
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