By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Anyone who feels that the littler Hummers are just yuppie commuter pods that need to stay on the pavement should check out Stan’s ride page. It’s amazing what he’s able to do with his H3, and the views from mountain trails in Colorado and Texas are beautiful.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to another installment of the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the definition of what a muscle car is, and to discover hidden treasures while doing so. Throughout this series, I’ve showcased a lot of coupes, sedans, a couple of wagons, and a few pickup trucks. This is the first SUV in the series–and look, it’s from a defunct GM brand that has become the symbol of automotive excess during the past several years. Just the name Hummer conjures up images of everything from desert warfare, to over-the-top, chrome-encrusted celebrity rides. The H3 was an attempt to play down the perceived excess that had become the Hummer image, while increasing the market share of the brand at the same time. But the H3 was saddled with an anemic five cylinder motor, which wasn’t rectified until 2008 with a 5.3L V-8 engine transplant. Introducing the Hummer H3 Alpha.

Continue reading "The CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The Hummer H3 Alpha" »

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Suburban shopping mall? Check. Valet parking? Check. Crappy cellphone pic? Check. Woody paneled Hummer H3? Check. Wait….. what?

Ok, so this week’s Showroom Showdwon was a bit… different. I really wasn’t sure which way it would go, and after tallying up all the votes, it looks like we have a tie. As usual, some of you liked this showdown, and some of you hated it. All we can say is thanks, and sorry.

We’re gonna skip the showdown next week while we’re at SEMA, but then come back with something truly mind-bending the following week. If you have any suggestions for future showdowns, post them below.

Ok, so it’s the week before SEMA (not to mention the presidential election) and we’re all feeling a little punchy. So I decided to mix it up a bit. In other words, this is not your standard Showroom Showdown. So here’s the deal: you get free use of either a Honda Fit or a Hummer H3 for two years. At the end of two years (and just as the Chevy Volt is about to hit dealer lots) you can decide to either keep the vehicle and own it outright, or sell it and pocket the money. Obviously, you’ll save several thousand dollars in gas if you go with the Fit, and we all know that the Hummer’s value will drop like a bomb (will the company even exit in two years?). And we’re comparing the top of the line Fit Sport ($18k) vs. the base H3 ($34k). Which would you rather drive for two years? Which will be worth more in two years? Which would you choose?

Not the most obvious box to tick on the options list, but if you’re into the whole cowboy thing, then why not? As part of an art project he’s exhibiting on behalf of East London Gallery, Mr. Harrison has combined the big off-roader with a set of wooden wheels. The idea behind his creation is to show "a mixture of art, engineering and motoring." And it does, sort of.

Apparently Hummer is ‘thrilled’ to be involved, and to allow him to make one of its vehicles look even more ridiculous than it already does. You can see the errrr… creation at the Zoo Art Fair which runs from 17-20 October. It’ll be parked on Old Burlington Road, opposite the Royal Academy of Arts in London town, and should be safe from the clampers, as they we doubt they’ll have a clamp big enough to fit.