2008 Hummer H2 Base Sport Utility 4-door on 2040-cars

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Mercedes moves R-Class production to AM General in Indiana

Go back a decade or two and you'd have seen the SUV market polarizing in opposite directions: hard-core off-roaders like the Hummer on the one hand, and passenger-focused crossovers like the Mercedes R-Class on the other. Now their fates are set to intertwine, at least as far as manufacturing is concerned. No longer producing Hummers, AM General (which designed and originally produced the Hummer) has been assigned the task of manufacturing the R-Class at its underused, 675,000 square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, IN – part of metropolitan South Bend. The decision was undertaken to allow Mercedes to free up production capacity at its plant in Tuscaloosa, AL, where it also produces the M-Class, GL-Class and C-Class, and where it will soon begin manufacturing the GLE Coupe. The vacation of the R-Class assembly line could be earmarked to make room for that new slant-roofed crossover (which was originally thought to be joining the Tuscaloosa plant as a fifth model) or could pave the way for another model to reach Alabama altogether. The multi-year arrangement to manufacture the R-Class makes AM General the first manufacturer contracted to build Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the US, but hardly the only one in the world. The G-Class – which could, incidentally, be characterized as the German equivalent of the Hummer – is built on Mercedes' behalf by Magna Steyr in Austria, and the company builds many of its passenger and commercial vehicles for local consumption under joint ventures in the Far East especially. The R-Class was first introduced in 2005, and though it's still built in America, it was removed from the company's US lineup back in 2012. However Mercedes confirms that, since 2013, it has been and remains available exclusively in China. That puts the R-Class in the rare position of being manufactured in the United States by (or now for) a foreign automaker but unavailable for sale here. AM General Selected As Mercedes-Benz First and Only Contract Manufacturer of Vehicles in the United States SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AM General LLC and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc., today announced that Mercedes-Benz has selected AM General to manufacture the Mercedes-Benz R-Class luxury vehicle at AM General's world-class 675,000 square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant.

Report: Last-ditch sale effort for Hummer post wind-down announcement fading

It's getting tough for even the most ardent supporters of the Hummer brand to continue to keep hope alive. Reports the aficionados at HummerGuy.net: "While many of us were hoping for a last-minute miracle to save the Hummer brand, signs from Detroit are indicating that Hummer production will soon cease indefinitely."
It appears as if General Motors has resigned itself to winding the brand down and letting it die a slow, agonizing death. The automaker says that it's no longer considering offers for the brand and dedicated Hummer staff are reportedly be assigned to serve elsewhere.
Oh, and about that "Save Hummer" summit that's planned for April 11th near Chicago? GM, though it is aware of the rally, has no plans to send representation. That sound that you hear? That's just the tolling of Hummer's death knell. Thanks for the tip, Brian!

GMC Hummer EV will weigh 9,046 pounds

In the 2000s, Hummer's unique breed of off-roaders summoned a dark cloud of disapproval from environmentalists because they were gas-guzzling SUVs with mammoth dimensions. GMC's born-again Hummer EV will escape the gas guzzler label by running solely on electricity, but it will be even bigger and much heavier than its predecessors. Enthusiast site GM-Trucks reported the Hummer EV will tip the scale at 9,046 pounds (4,103 kilos if you're outside of the United States) in its quickest configuration, and a GMC spokesperson told Autoblog that figure is accurate. For context, the H1 Alpha released for 2006 (and often considered the ultimate Hummer) weighed 8,113 pounds, the H2 checked in at 6,614 pounds with the 6.2-liter V8, and the H3 was comparatively light at 4,600 pounds. When it lands, the Hummer EV will be one of the heaviest new cars sold in the United States. Part of its plumpness can be attributed to its colossal dimensions; it measures 216.8 inches long, 86.7 inches wide, and 81.1 inches tall. In comparison, the H1 stretched 185 inches long, 87 inches wide, and about 78 inches tall. The electric powertrain also played a major role in slinging the Hummer's weight into dually pickup territory. Batteries are heavy, and the Hummer EV's Ultium pack reportedly has a capacity of over 200 kilowatt hours. It has three electric motors, too. Note the 9,046-pound figure applies only to the sold-out Launch Edition model, which will offer 1,000 horsepower, the aforementioned 200-kilowatt battery, and the supercar-like ability to hit 60 mph from a stop in three seconds. GMC will launch cheaper, slower, and presumably considerably lighter variants of the truck in the early 2020s. Although SUVs are often heavier than comparable trucks due to the additional sheet metal, the people-hauling Hummer should weigh less than the cargo-carrying variant. As we reported in April 2021, its output will be limited to 830 horsepower because it's 20 inches shorter than the truck, and the bigger battery pack doesn't fit in this footprint.