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 John Coyle

Deputy Editor

In the this episode of the Smoking Tire, Matt Farah and his buddy Craig take two hot Audis—the 2010 S4 and the 2007 RS4—up into the canyons of Malibu to find out how the company’s newest sports sedan compares to what they regard as its best sports sedan. Obviously, each car has its own strengths and weaknesses, but the real surprise in this episode has nothing to do with either of these AWD Germans. So what is it? Matt admits he’s actually owned a  Hummer. Wow…

2010 Audi S4 vs. 2007 Audi RS4

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 John Coyle

Deputy Editor

We’re only a few episodes into this season of the Bullrun, but some of the teams have started pulling some dirty tricks. That’s all well and good of course, this is Bullrun, not a Girl Scout meeting.  But I have to say that I feel a little bad for some of the contestants. Not because their fellow competitors are screwing with them, but because it seems like some of the challenges have the potential to seriously screw up their rides. One example? In the latest challenge, the drivers had to ram their way through a locked gate. Now, that seems totally fine for team Hummer, but the Viper and Hemi Cuda teams might not have such an easy time of it. Check out this clip to see some behind the scenes footage.

Bullrun Season 3 Behind the Scenes: episode 3

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

GM’s Hummer division, slated to be sold off to Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company, will instead be discontinued as communist red tape prevented the sale from being completed within the required timeline. Hummer thus becomes the latest casualty of GM’s restructuring effort, after Pontiac and Saturn officially bit the dust late last year. So does this mean the Third World won’t get to enjoy a glitchy, combustion-prone, lead-painted, crash-test-failing, safety-delete version of GM’s obsolete behemoth? The closest they’ll still be able to get is the Chinese knockoff Dongfeng EQ2050 Warrior. More details here.

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Does anyone else find it strange that the Dakar Rally no longer ends in the capital city of Senegal or for that matter even takes place in the African continent anymore? But then this Dakar Rally title probably enjoys more pomp – not too mention the circumstance, oh the circumstance – than the geographically correct, yet far less glitzy, Argentine Chile Rally, which demarks the current route winding the rally through South America. Something about terror threats (can we loan out our DHS?) prompted the continental venue change beginning with last year’s rally.

But no matter the locale this rally is still the Toruk (big red bird-like banshee for the five of you who have yet to see Avatar) of rallies. It’s the big mamma jamma. The Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast of rallies (it really is a hearty meal). The Dakar Rally draws such celebrated entrants as all-around bad boy and kickass driver of anything with four wheels, Robby Gordon and Team Hummer. Know what else? The Dakar Rally is happening right now – providing you aren’t reading this weeks after this post has gone live. And even better news for those of us who lack easy access to the Argentinian badlands is that Team Hummer tire partner Toyo Tires will be blogging about the team’s progress throughout the rally. So if you want exclusive TMZ-style access to the world’s premiere rally check out Toyo Tires’ blog here. G’head, we’ll wait.

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

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

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

OK, I’ve mocked the civilian, road-going versions of the Hummer plenty of times on this blog—I honestly think they’re more like codpieces than vehicles. And according to my Marine buddy who did two tours in Iraq, the military-spec ones are so cramped that unless you want to brain yourself while going over bumps, you have to wear a helmet. But I’ll admit I thought this clip was awesome. Damn.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

It’s not quite as sleek as Bond’s Lotus submarine, but since this Hummer is real, I’d say it wins. To be completely accurate, this looks like a military-spec version HMMWV, but since my Marine buddies used to call them Hummers, I’ll take my chances in the blogosphere. As impressive as this clip is, I’d kill to see some in-car video of traversing the creek bed. Think the lights are waterproof?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m absolutely stoked out of my mind about SEMA 2009, which the CarDomain crew will be hitting up next week. And one of the aspects of this mega-show that I always look forward to are the crazy, cobbed-together, WTF monstrosities that always seem to find their way onto the show floor. SEMA never seems to have any shortage of freaks of nature–or more accurately, freaks of overzealous builders with too much meth and too little time. And it’s not like I’m knocking SEMA’s automotive mutants–hell, you guys know the cars that I’m into are far from pretty. I’m a huge fan of the orphaned and the unwanted–and I’m well aware that what looks to me like Jabba The Hut in a discarded prom dress can very easily be someone else’s dream car that they’ve loved, dreamed about, and slaved over–that cherished project whose every last godawful detail is meticulously attended to as its builder bravely perseveres in the face of scorn and ridicule. Blessedly, SEMA is the place where the finished monstrosities finally come home to roost, where they have their day in the sun–and where we too can lovingly ridicule them in all their hideous glory. And as far as I’m concerned, the uglies are what make the show–they’re the essence of SEMA’s unique and unmistakable brand of over-the-top excess. This year, we’ll be sure to bring you a whole slew of the bloated, garish, over-embellished, ridiculous hulks that’ll make your eyes bleed. Bring on the freaks!

The Hummer is an ex-SEMA show truck up for auction now on ebaymotors.