PONTIAC, Mich--Two years after acquiring the Hummer brand name from AM General Corp., General Motors last week took the wraps off near-production versions of the Hummer H2.
The H2 is smaller than its stablemate, the H1, and at an expected base price of about $50,000, about half the cost. Final pricing has not yet been revealed. It's expected to go on sale next summer.
Even at $50,000, for the upscale buyers at which the H2 is aimed, it's still competitive.
"The Hummer is going to cost less than a fully loaded Lincoln Navigator, and the competition doesn't intone the 'men and war' image the H2 does," said Jim Hall, vice president at AutoPacific Inc.
The Hummer H2 will be marketed to two classes of "daring" buyers, according to Mike DiGiovanni, general manager, Hummer division.
The H2 will be sold about 150 selected dealers, and will be supported by the sale of branded accessories such as caps, jackets, commuter cups and mugs. While the vehicle was designed and engineered by GM, AM General consulted and provided expertise on certain components to maximize the H2's off-road capability.
The Hummer line is a consumer version of the Humvee all-terrain military vehicle produced by AM General, based in South Bend, Ind.
The H2 will go into production during the second quarter of next year at a new AM General plant in Mishawaka, Ind., next to the existing H1 plant, that will employ about 500 people and can produce as many as 40,000 vehicles a year.
The H2's design bears its Hummer heritage with a near-vertical windshield, square shapes, flat, chiseled surfaces, an aircraft-like floor-mounted shifter and the wide console between the front seats.
"What the Hummer is going to do is draw in traffic at General Motors dealerships," said Mike Wall, an analyst at IRN Inc., an industry consultant. "It's going to create some buzz."
GM sold 697 Hummers this year through November, down 17 percent from 836 in the year-earlier period. H1 prices start at about $83,700, according to the automaker's Web site.
AP, with Bloomberg News contributing
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