Hummer 'oozes patriotism'

War revs up sales of military Humvee's cousins

By DANNY HAKIM

New York Times

Saturday, April 5, 2003

Detroit -- While the Humvees are lined up in the desert, their cousins, the Hummers, continue to be Detroit's hottest seller.

Is it because of, or in spite of, the war? Sales of several other large sport utility vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Suburban, are showing signs of weakness while sales remain strong for other SUVs.

But some Hummer drivers, inundated like the rest of America by hours of war news viewing, feel especially patriotic behind the wheel now.

"When I turn on the TV, I see wall-to-wall Humvees, and I'm proud," said Sam Bernstein, a 51-year-old antiquities dealer who lives in Marin County, Calif., and drives a Hummer H2, an SUV sibling of the military Humvee.

"They're not out there in Audi A4s," he said of the troops.

"If I could get an A1 Abrams, I would," he added with a smile, referring to the tank.

Earlier this week, General Motors, which markets the Hummer brand, rolled out its most expansive wave of 0% financing offers yet, extending such deals even to Corvettes.

But not to the Hummer, which continues to be the only Detroit brand that sells without incentives. At a clip of more than 3,000 a month, the Hummer H2 is now the bestselling large luxury SUV. It sells almost as many units as the smaller BMW X5, even though H2 starts at about $50,000 -- $10,000 more than the BMW.

Hummer gear also is selling at a heady clip, from the $16 "Like Nothing Else" T-shirt to the $449 remote control miniature Hummer equipped with spy camera and monitor. Monthly sales of the $795 Hummer Tactical Mountain Bike are 400 to 500 units -- the foldable bicycle is patterned after one made for military paratroopers but comes in colors that match the H2.

Hummer executives said there had been no change in their marketing strategy during the war. Because H2, the brand's new signature vehicle, has been on sale for about nine months, the advertising is in heavy start-up rotation.

And what about the war?

"It definitely helps," said Clotaire Rapaille, a top consumer research consultant for GM and other automakers.

Kevin Fieweger, general sales manager of Bergstrom Hummer in Milwaukee, said the appeal of the Hummer was "testosterone," but added, "I don't have people coming in here in camouflage and a beret."

Travis Patterson, 35, an Air Force veteran who lives in Arlington, Texas, said: "To me, the Hummer, the H1, is the most American vehicle on the planet. It oozes patriotism. You put some flags on the Hummer and drive down the road, and everyone is honking and waving at you."

Not every veteran appreciates them. Erik Gustafson, 31, drove Humvees a few times as a specialist in the Persian Gulf War, where he served as an engineer.

"It always bothers me whenever I see them," said Gustafson, who has founded a group that opposes the war. "At a time when oil prices are already sky high and given how oil politics play into these conflicts, it strikes me as irresponsible."

The Sierra Club is planning a campaign against the Hummer because of its gas consumption. Both the H1, which starts at $100,000 and is quite similar to the military Humvee, and the more consumer-friendly H2, are so heavy they are not regulated by the same fuel economy rules that govern most cars and SUVs. The are also large enough to qualify for huge small business deductions under loopholes in the tax code.

"At a time when our troops are at risk in part because of our oil dependence, it is the height of irresponsibility for General Motors to be pushing an 11-miles-per-gallon gas guzzler," said Daniel Becker, a global warming expert at the Sierra Club.

Mike DiGiovanni, GM's general manager for the Hummer, argued that the nation's appetite for foreign oil had more to do with cost vs. domestic producers than consumption levels and said GM was focusing its efforts on improving fuel economy in high-volume vehicles through new technologies.

Meanwhile, GM executives are happy to have a brand that sells without interest free loans. The company's profits are slim compared with its vigorous foreign competitors such as Toyota and Honda. A pickup version of the H2 is coming next year, and a smaller Hummer is being considered. While GM owns the marketing rights, the vehicles are manufactured by AM General, a privately held Indiana company that makes Humvees and is currently up for sale.

This year, the companies are on track to their target of selling 40,000 H2s. On Friday, Rick Almandi, 54, was buying an H2 at Bergstrom Hummer in Milwaukee.

"Seeing them on TV, you kind of identify with them," said Almandi, a retired UPS manager. "Whether other people don't like it, I really don't care."

"I really don't want to hear it," he said. "I like to personalize vehicles. They make me feel good, they reflect myself."

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