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The popularity of General Motors' brawny Hummer brand has spawned wannabes.

At the Chicago Auto Show, both Ford Motor and Chrysler Group are showing concept vehicles with Hummerlike qualities.

No wonder. In its first full year on sale, GM sold 35,259 Hummer H2s, about 25 percent more than it had anticipated. And profits are enormous. GM is eager to broaden the line, and that has its competition taking notice.

Having to follow GM is particularly galling for Chrysler, which believes its Jeep is the pioneer for military-type sport-utility vehicles.

"It hurts when you have to have a competitor emulate you and get credit for being ahead of you. That stings," said David McKinnon, DaimlerChrysler design vice president. He oversaw Jeep's concept sport-utility vehicle, Rescue, which is aimed squarely at Hummer H2.

Both Hummers and Jeeps started as military trucks, and it's the military imagery that drives the brands.

"Most SUVs look similar, but Jeep and Hummer have history, a back story to their brands," said marketing consultant Dennis Keene. "They are like the Corvettes and Mustangs of SUVs."

Jeep is Chrysler's strongest brand, but the automaker is clearly frustrated by Hummer. It unsuccessfully sued GM in an attempt to keep it from using a seven-slot grille shared by Hummer and Jeep. It also has run a recent TV ad spoofing a popular Hummer ad about a soapbox derby.

Although Rescue, being shown at the auto show, is a concept vehicle, Chrysler officials hinted strongly that the SUV will be built.

"There is a business case to do it," said chief designer Trevor Creed.

Rescue would be a heavy-duty off-roader with a full-size, 123- inch wheelbase, towering 37-inch-diameter tires and, like Jeep Wrangler, removable doors and fold-flat windshield. A Cummins diesel engine would be offered.

A camera system underneath would help drivers find hidden, wheel- busting rocks.

Ford, too, is showing an SUV that's brawnier than its other ones, and it would bring back the Bronco name.

The small but beefy concept (pictured on the cover) features a 2.0- liter turbo-diesel engine equipped with a nitrous-oxide injection system to boost horsepower.

It's based on Ford's popular EcoSport, a two-door smaller than Ford Escape that's sold in South America. The concept Bronco is quite a bit smaller than H2, anticipating future Hummers that are expected to be smaller in size and in price, at around $20,000.

Hummer, meanwhile, isn't resting on its H2 laurels. It's already adding a variant called H2 SUT, for sport-utility truck. It's mechanically similar to the H2 SUV. It's on the Chevrolet Avalanche premium pickup, which has a midgate window that powers down into the gate and quickly lengthens the cargo bed from a stubby three feet to about six.

Dealers should have H2 SUTs about June 1. Pricing isn't set. The H2 SUV starts at about $50,000.

Hummer also is showing the H3T concept truck, hinting at a smaller Hummer to be launched in the summer of 2005. That vehicle would also come in SUV form.

"When we bought the Hummer brand, it begged a lot of what-if questions," said Marc Hernandez, in charge of H2 marketing initiatives and brand development. "One of those is, 'What if you did a smaller pickup? Would that make sense for the Hummer brand?'" The H3T is designed to judge reaction to that.

And, Hernandez said, to keep the competition guessing about Hummer's intentions.