HUMMER crashes Burning Man in a big way
Click above for high-res gallery of Burning Man vehicles
The theme of this year's Burning Man festival out in the desert of Nevada was "The American Dream." There are few things in this world that embody the American spirit more than the automobile, and transportation of all sorts was on display at this year's festivities. We already showed you The Dogsled, which made its first appearance at the Woodward Dream Cruise just a few weeks before but was actually designed and built for Burning Man. That machine was truly impressive, but take a good look at this Hummer replica that towered over the unique individuals who gathered themselves together at the Playa, a wide desert expanse at the festival. As you can see from the video embedded after the break, the Bummer Hummer was made from wood and painted up in all sorts of crazy hues. According to one party-goer, "It is a statement on the consumerism culture of America, especially with gas at $5 a gallon nowadays." They must be from California. Of course, the wooden Hummer burned in the end. Thanks for the tip, Patrick!
Check out more vehicles from Burning Man 2008 in our gallery below.
Gallery: Vehicles of Burning Man 2008
[Source: SFGate, photos by bmiller1710 | CC2.0]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MajorGeek 1:28PM (9/02/2008)
Thanks for the typical hypocrisy.
H2 and 3 get same or better gas mileage as most similar vehicles on the road = duh.
Using a defunct vehicle as a poster child = stupid
Tearing down trees to make a false statement = Hypocrites.
"According to one party-goer, "It is a statement on the consumerism culture of America, especially with gas at $5 a gallon nowadays." "
Reply
MachinaDC5 3:28PM (9/02/2008)
Frankly I just hate whining in all forms, even counter-whining. :)
cheezwiz 1:30PM (9/02/2008)
I wonder how many pounds of carbon those hippies put into the air when they burned it.
Reply
Seminole 3:40PM (9/02/2008)
Where is Cartman when you need him. (look up the South Park hippie episode if you don't get it)
MajorGeek 1:35PM (9/02/2008)
Maybe burning man should be in Louisiana next year, the people there could actually USE that wood, not for a structure the size of a house, but to actually rebuild their house. Those people have so been forgetten, but these guys made a "statement". Smooth.
Reply
patrick 2:14PM (9/02/2008)
MajorGeek, Burning Man attendees organized and were one of the largest private contributors to the Katrina relief. Hundreds of Burners went down there to work, clean up and give money that year. It's an impressive bunch.
And really, suggesting an H2's mileage is okay and is equal to other cars? Come on, Autoblog readers aren't stupid.
MajorGeek 3:22PM (9/02/2008)
Holler when you want to talk facts, or look it up yourself on EPA.gov, the H3 is easily on par with the smaller Jeep Wrangler for instance. Period. Most midsize SUV's will get 15-20 MPG, some a bit better, some a bit worse. The H3, heavie then most, can compete on fuel mileage. Cmon, just because you SPEW it does not make it so. Most Autobloggers know that.
Still, they burned a fake H1 with enough wood to build a house, by their own admission, so it was pretty stupid, not to mention the environmental damage of burning it with a lot of paint gone to waste. I hope they properly recycled the dried out paint cans. Autobloggers, the majority of them, see this too. The comments show it, my highly ranked comment aboved shows it. Dont lump yourself in with the rest of this website who can think for themselves.
Owned and done with you.
MajorGeek 3:26PM (9/02/2008)
Finally, I Googled your comment below and can not find Burning Man in the top 100 contributors, nonetheless the top contributors. Send me proof, and I dont mean their home page or some blog.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=katrina+contributors&aq=f&oq=
No one wants to list them as a suggested charity even:
http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html
"MajorGeek, Burning Man attendees organized and were one of the largest private contributors to the Katrina relief. "
J M C 3 7:59AM (9/03/2008)
Burning Man attendees are all narcissistic counterculture drug addicts.
Yar 1:36PM (9/02/2008)
Ever wonder where your tax dollars go? Because I can damn-near guarantee these folks don't have jobs...
Reply
Patrick 2:13PM (9/02/2008)
Clearly, you've never been to Burning Man - More engineers, programmers, doctors and other professionals per square mile than anywhere I've ever been. And the art (like this) is pretty damn big and creative. Seriously, if you like vehicles, this place is f-ing amazing!
jarrod 2:30PM (9/02/2008)
Right on Patrick, I went this year and it was amazing. In our group we had a lawyer, doctor, and Two VPs of a equity firm. Not so much for hippies. Honestly burning man is a very hard thing to explain to people who have never been. I really wish they had pictures of the duck the germans made out there. It was like 35 feet tall and 40 feet long. It cost over half a million dollars to build. doesn't sound like a bunch of poor hippies to me...
Cornholio 3:07PM (9/02/2008)
People that go to events like Burning Man are paying plenty of taxes. You've obviously never been to an event like this - it's chock full of professionals, many of whom make healthy six-figure salaries.
Nice stereotypical knee-jerk reaction there, ace....
And to MajorGeek, our perpetual Hummer apologist - the H2 is a ridiculous vehicle any way you slice it. It's big for the sake of being big, and as a result it gets craptastic mileage and poses a safety hazard to other normal-sized vehicles out there. THAT is the reason so many of us despise these stupid things - it's all about the ego gratification they provide to the insecure of the world.
MajorGeek 3:30PM (9/02/2008)
Cornholio, with a nickname based on a cartoon, enough said: This was an H1 used. You dont show up in every other thread about the Jeep Grand Cherokee (SRT\8 vesion gets 9 mpg), Tundra, Titan, Sequoia and so many more. Im not an apologist, I love my H2 and you haters can dream of the day you could afford one.
I want, no I DEMAND you be honest and spread your hate where deserved. Your a hypocrite picking an a truck with super small sales ignoring trucks that sell 10 times more at the same MPG. Period.. Hypocrite.
"And to MajorGeek, our perpetual Hummer apologist - the H2 is a ridiculous vehicle any way you slice it. It's big for the sake of being big, and as a result it gets craptastic mileage and poses a safety hazard to other normal-sized vehicles out there. THAT is the reason so many of us despise these stupid things - it's all about the ego gratification they provide to the insecure of the world."
Cornholio 7:17PM (9/02/2008)
“I want, no I DEMAND you be honest and spread your hate where deserved. Your a hypocrite picking an a truck with super small sales ignoring trucks that sell 10 times more at the same MPG. Period.. Hypocrite.”
Touched a nerve there, eh Major? What's wrong, do my words hit a little too close to your manhood?
You can demand whatever you want. It won't change my opinion. Besides, I do ridicule those who purchase trucks - of any brand/make - for primarily egotistical or selfish purposes. As I’ve stated in other posts, the idea of a "sport truck" (Jeep SRT-8, Ford Lightning, etc...) is pointless; the last thing the world needs are more testosterone-infused morons racing around in 6000 lb vehicles. There’s too many truck drivers that do this sort of thing already. Beyond this, the “bigger is better” truck mentality has led the Big 3 down the dead-end product road they now find themselves on. Toyota and Nissan were stupid enough to get suckered into this mindset as well. Nobody pushed the Kool-Aid like GM, though - your precious H2 is the epitome of this trend, one that's thankfully well on its way to being over.
Don’t believe me? Go back and look at my earlier posts. I have no beef with those who use large trucks for work purposes. Problem is, way too many folks buy trucks – especially Hummers - for the wrong reasons. And they’re easy to spot – they generally fly into a rage on internet blogs and start demanding retribution when anyone questions the reason for their purchase.
And to be clear, Major, I can easily afford an H2 or any number of other high-end automotive toys. Don't flatter yourself into thinking this is a case of hummer-envy -- that's not the issue in the least. I wouldn't want one of those things if you gave it to me. I've even rejected them when rental companies tried to foist them on me while on business travel. Clients generally aren't impressed when you roll up in an automotive caricature that has so much negative connotations in today’s society.
And by the way, it’s “you’re”, not “your”.
Dismissed!
PJ 9:07PM (9/02/2008)
"H2 and 3 get same or better gas mileage as most similar vehicles on the road = duh."
That depends--a LOT--on how you define "similar." The H3 has less interior and cargo volume than the Chevy Equinox, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage, and most other compact SUVs, while averaging ~15 MPG to their 20-25.
Considering that the vast majority of Hummers are used as high-profile grocery getters, that's a significant disparity.
Rocketboy 8:31PM (9/02/2008)
"Problem is, way too many folks buy trucks – especially Hummers - for the wrong reasons."
Because they want one? Is that the "wrong" reason?
" I've even rejected them when rental companies tried to foist them on me while on business travel. Clients generally aren't impressed when you roll up in an automotive caricature that has so much negative connotations in today’s society."
Well, first off, if you're paying the gas, why WOULD you want to rent a Hummer? Second off, ANY flash car/truck can have a negative connotation. Mustangs are generally liked, but let's see how impressed clients are when you show up in a drop-top mustang.
Rocketboy 1:57PM (9/02/2008)
"It is a statement on the consumerism culture of America, especially with gas at $5 a gallon nowadays."
Sending through the normal filter....
"It is a statement on how we like to go into the desert and get high. That and people with money suck."
...Complete!
Reply
fnc 2:09PM (9/02/2008)
Eh, Burning Man jumped the shark a while back. And this is probably the most UN-creative way possible to make a statement on consumerism.
Reply
Rocketboy 4:39PM (9/02/2008)
Jumped the shark? Has Burning Man EVER been on the start side of the shark jump?
PS: Autoblog, why do you keep forgetting me? I'm feeling unloved.