RHD HUMMER H3 arrives in UK, don't open until Christmas
click above image for full high-res gallery of Euro-spec RHD HUMMER H3
The first right-hand-drive HUMMER H3 has been delivered to Britain, and it arrived at the parking lot of a Toys R Us in its own box that reflects the SUV's "ultimate boy's toy" reputation. The box stands four meters high and six meters wide and reportedly took three weeks to build. We particularly like the packaging's verbiage, which proclaims the H3's 1:1 scale and "real roaring engine sounds".
The H3 will start at £26,495 in the U.K., and initially its roaring engine sounds will be made by a 3.7L inline five-cylinder engine, though a biofuel and diesel H3 will follow in three years. The only differences we could detect between this Euro-spec HUMMER H3 and the one sold in the States are a couple of additional turn signal indicators on the front fender sides and a bumper extender out back so smaller European hatchbacks don't slide beneath the H3 in the event of a rear-end collision.
[Source: GM]
Gallery: 2008 HUMMER H3 - right-hand drive
PRESS RELEASE:
THE. HUMMER. IS. HERE.
Footballers, music moguls and city boys are dusting off their wallets as the first UK version of the world's most iconic boy's toy – HUMMER – goes on sale today.
Originally designed for the U.S. Army nearly 30 years ago the High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, pronounced Humvee), also known as HUMMER, is the ultimate go anywhere vehicle. And now it has finally travelled across the pond from the States to the UK with the launch of a right-hand drive version of the HUMMER H3. Smaller and more agile than the larger H1 and H2 models, the H3 is the perfect HUMMER for the UK, on and off the road.
To mark its arrival on British soil, HUMMER delivered the first right-hand drive vehicle off the shelf to a London toyshop in its own heavy duty toy box, which took three weeks to make and stands four metres high and six metres wide.
Jonathan Nash from HUMMER comments:
"HUMMER is like no other – it's the ultimate workhorse, but also the ultimate boy's toy so what better way to deliver it to the UK but in its own heavy duty toy box. The H3 is a car built for action and has a unique, iconic style that will travel across the Atlantic and appeal to UK drivers. With lots of pre-orders already placed we expect the H3 to be a huge success in the UK."
Celebrity HUMMER fans and owners include:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California and 1st civilian HUMMER owner
- Wayne Rooney, Footballer
- David Beckham, Footballer & Model
- Shaquille O'Neal, Basketballer & Model
- Wyclef Jean, Musician
- Ronaldinho, Footballer
- Hugh Heffner, Playboy founder
- Paris Hilton, Socialite
- Dennis Rodman, Basketballer & Model
KEY HUMMER MOMENTS:
- 1979 - AM General began preliminary design work on the M998 Series High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV - pronounced Humvee)
- 1983 - AM General won an initial $1.2 billion contract to produce 55,000 Humvees for the US Army
- 1985 - AM General rolled the first Humvee (aka. HUMMER), a standard Military vehicle, off the assembly line
- 1989 - The U.S. Army awarded AM General a new multiyear contract for continued production of more then 33,000 Humvees
- 1992 - AM General began production of versions of the Humvee, called the HUMMER, for civilian use
- 2002 - AM General began assembling the HUMMER H2, a new 'next generation' sport utility vehicle designed by GM
- 2005 - General Motors rolled out the 2006 HUMMER H3 midsized SUV
- 2007 - UK launch of the first right-hand drive HUMMER H3
For more information visit www.hummer.com
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris 11:43AM (10/01/2007)
The best part of my trip to the UK was the utter lack of SUV's. Now I can see that's going to shit. Good job, GM.
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Mr. Oak 11:52AM (10/01/2007)
Yup! all part of the plan to Americanize the entire freaking planet.
Coca-cola
Blue Jeans
McDonalds
PCs
Hip-Hop
Basketball
iPods
Now - SUVs
Brilliant AD though!!
Vivek 11:37AM (10/01/2007)
Pretty smart packaging.
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jas12niss 3:05PM (10/01/2007)
Control freak sold separate!
Seminole 11:44AM (10/01/2007)
Thats a brilliant ad! haha!
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tony2x 11:54AM (10/01/2007)
Ah yes, the answer to the question no-one asked in the UK. I can see that sub 20mpg 3.7 litre £25 a day to drive in Central London monstrosity setting the sales charts alight just like it's stable-mate the Cadillac BLS did. Well done GM!
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Mr. Oak 12:30PM (10/01/2007)
There are other parts of England where a vehicle like this would be useful.
P.S. There are millions of vehicles sold around the globe where fuel economy was not the number one criteria when buying such a vehicle.
Another thing, GM sells three times as many of these than Ford sells Jaguars. Now, there's your true failure. It is no more a pig than a Land/Range Rover, and a helluva lot more reliable
Mr. Oak 12:31PM (10/01/2007)
There are other parts of England where a vehicle like this would be useful.
P.S. There are millions of vehicles sold around the globe where fuel economy was not the number one criteria when buying such a vehicle.
Another thing, GM sells three times as many of these than Ford sells Jaguars. Now, there's your true failure. It is no more a pig than a Land/Range Rover, and a helluva lot more reliable
tony2x 1:12PM (10/01/2007)
Mr Oak, have you ever actually been to England? I ask because I cannot think of a single application that a H3 with it's lacklustre 5 cylinder wheezebox would be better than the myriad of mid-sized 4x4s (that is English for SUV) with torquey diesel engines currently on sale.
The H3 is small on the inside but still too wide for UK roads, has as much torque as a $10 cordless power drill from Home Depot and according to Consumer Reports, reliability problems that even the French would be ashamed of.
I find it amusing that GM consistently make stupid decisions about what does and does not sell well in the UK and even more so that you seem to agree with them.
Can I ask, are you a GM product planner?
SkiD666 1:47PM (10/01/2007)
tony2x, the H3 is narrower than the Land Rover LR2 and LR3, and length is inbetween the LR2 and LR3.
Is the Land Rover too big to drive around in England?
Mr. Oak 2:24PM (10/01/2007)
Hey Tony!! I got my A6 serviced at Paul Miller's Audi, Porsche, Land Rover dealership in Parsippany, NJ. Talked to numerous peed-off Land Rover owners in the waiting room. They will all disagree with you. Personnaly the only H3 I would own is the H3 ALPHA, a car you may never see in England.
The Majority of H3 owners I have seen in the US are women.
P.S. GM sells more H3s than all LR\RR models combined.
Also, the H3 model is just 2 years old. Initial gremlins are being worked out of that model. Unlike RR\LR that been around forever, and the gremlins seemed to be designed in.
tony2x 2:57PM (10/01/2007)
I'm far from defending Land Rover in my comments. I just am saying I can't see a market for the H3 until it has some kind of diesel power. The in-line 5 isn't at all suited to its purpose and the H3 is too big for British roads, and yes, I think the LR3 and Ranger Rover are also unwieldy unless you plan on doing some serious off roading with it. The H3 is based on the Trailblazer isn't it? Hardly known for its off road prowess.
I agree that LR reliability is in the toilet, I wasn't comparing the two. Try and tell someone who was considering something like the Toyota 4Runner D-4D that they should get a Hummer H3 in the UK and they really would laugh.
The big kicker is that the H3 will definitely fall into the Category G as far as emissions is concerned and if you want to drive it into the Central London Congestion Charge Zone you will have to pay GBP25 for the privilege, every day. There are a ton of diesel engined 4x4s that are exempt to that.
Jose Burrito 1:54PM (10/01/2007)
I am sure the English are ecstatic about getting a RHD SUV that gets 15 mpg (14city 18hwy) that can't even crawl up a mount of horse poop.
Autoblog, NEVER list the H1, H2, and H3 in the same category. H1 = REAL offroad vehicle
H2/H3 = poseur offroad vehicles
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Mr. Oak 3:27PM (10/01/2007)
http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests/2005/129_0602_2005_hummer_h2_sut_review/index.html
There is another link for the H3 in my post below. The only people who seem to think that the H2 & H3 are not capable off-roaders are the people who have never taken them off road.
BTW: fools just because the H2 is based on the Yukon\Suburban platform, doesn't mean that GM just left it as is and slapped some Hummer-like sheetmetal and grille on it.
My guess is that with it's added power and small footprint, the H3 ALPHA will be an offroading superstar.
J.Crew 12:45PM (10/01/2007)
Very Cool Marketing.... they should bring that type of advertising over to North America ASAP for the Christmas rush. Throw one of those in front of every Toy-R-US and Mall in each major city. Brilliant!
PS - Dear SUV haters, STFU. The H3 is no worse than any other SUV on the road. In fact, I would say it is better than most as it has personality and style. I don't drive an SUV, but this would be on my list if I was looking in that catagory.
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rem83 1:25PM (10/01/2007)
My girlfriend's sister has an H3 that she's owned for about 11 months at this point. The weatherstripping is starting to come off on the outside, and trim is breaking on the inside. She loves the vehicle, but it gets worse gas mileage than her mom's Expedition. Also, you can barely even see out of it with those stupid tiny windows. As far as SUVs go, this is pretty much at the bottom.
Paul 12:46PM (10/01/2007)
Around London, the number of SUVs on the roads are on the decline. The car registration fees linked to CO2 emissions, talk of a 25 congestion charge and fuel costs hitting over a pound, for quite a few people it's becoming unsustainable to keep driving around in cars that do 8mpg (SUV or not). Having said that, there is still a market for the H3, namely the limo companies (who end up stretching them) and the wannabe celebrities
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Jay 4:36PM (10/01/2007)
I like the idea and all, but to even have a chance at making this a sales success they absolutely NEED that diesel engine at launch...
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MikeW 12:56PM (10/01/2007)
I think the brits will take a look and see the 4 speed auto.
Then reply 'sod off'
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SPG 1:04PM (10/01/2007)
The H3 is the only Hummer I'd ever consider.
That's if a gun was to my head though.
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