No more Hummer? Bummer.

I've always wondered about the appeal of the Hummer. It's a ludicrous cartoon of a vehicle, wholly unsuited to any purpose except getting rid of any excess gasoline you have lying around and compensating, not too subtly, for an owner's shortcomings in other areas. I'd curse when I'd see them parked in the narrow streets of Philadelphia, taking two parking spaces instead of one, shouldering out into the traffic lane so you had to risk a head-on collision to get around it. I don't write stories about serial killers, but if I did, my serial killer would go around with a rocket launcher, blowing up Hummers and Hummer drivers with reckless abandon. Hell, I'd do it myself if rocket launchers weren't so crazy expensive.

But now, it appears $4 gas might do what minimal intelligence could not: consign the absurd Hummer to the vast Museum of American Dumb-assery. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner announced plans to close four SUV plants and said the company is rethinking the whole Hummer thing. Evidently, when the weight of your vehicle exceeds three tons, as the Hummer does, mileage suffers.

I don't know how much they're paying Rick, but it might be too much. Even GM's dumbest customers are stampeding to get on the high-mileage train; Rick remains in the men's room with his pants around his ankles. Somewhere in his briefcase are the company's financial reports from the '70s, which might have encouraged him to make this announcement, say, two years ago. Now you can't give away a full-size SUV, much less sell one. U.S. automakers' strategy so far has been to offer these stupid "hybrid" SUVs. A hybrid Escalade? That's like ordering a banana split and telling them to hold the cherry: too many calories.

But really, it goes beyond mere mileage. Fact is, SUVs the size of school buses just aren't cool anymore. The time of enormous vehicles, like the time of enormous pants and visible underwear in the world of hip-hop, is over. Perhaps you also remember platform soles and shirts with collars the size of jib sails. If you have a photo of yourself standing proudly beside your big black Expedition or Yukon, burn it now. I'm not kidding. It'll save some awkward explaining in a few years.

Comments

Bsudah said…
i find it amusing that when the religious right takes a moral stand, they are rudely told to "quit imposing your views on everyone else", and then are called some derogatory name like " nazi' and "neo-con"( this last term used very condescendingly).so, in the same vein, who are you to "impose your morality" on those of us whom desire such vehicles? who made you the final authority on such matters? i did not give you this authority in my life, nor do i want it.if you wish to adjust your lifestyle to reflect your mis-begotten beliefs, then do so.your beliefs are good for you, so keep them to yourself. the bible teaches "judge not, lest you be judged"

peace
June 7, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Dave Knadler said…
I have conferred this authority on myself, in the manner of bloggers everywhere. And my verdict remains unchanged: If you drive a gigantic SUV, you're going straight to hell.
June 8, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Anonymous said…
"if you wish to adjust your lifestyle to reflect your mis-begotten beliefs ... the bible teaches "judge not, lest you be judged"

!!!
June 15, 2008 at 11:08 PM
Anonymous said…
BC turned me on to your Blog, Knadler. Who is the old gray guy in the photo?

Stock
June 16, 2008 at 9:52 PM
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