STUDY: Hummer owners believe they've made "a highly moral consumption choice"
There probably isn't any one passenger vehicle on earth that earns more ire from environmentalists than the Hummer H2. While the reality of the matter is that most Hummers aren't really much worse when it comes to fuel mileage and overall emissions than any other giant SUV (most civilian Hummers are, in fact, based largely on truck platforms from General Motors) the brand has seemingly been made into the poster child of American excess.
Interestingly, however, according to a small study of 20 Hummer owners published in the Journal of Consumer Research, that stigma may actually be a selling point for those who purchase Hummers. According to the authors of the study:
It's hard to argue that this report offers a conclusive look into the minds of Hummer owners and Hummer haters alike – especially when the sample size is so small – and we doubt it's going to put an end to the debate over the seemingly conflicting rights of Americans to purchase the vehicle of their choice, consume or conserve whatever resources they deem necessary and breathe clean air. That said, it's an interesting bit of research, no?As we studied American Hummer owners and their ideological beliefs, we found that they consider Hummer driving a highly moral consumption choice. For Hummer owners it is possible to claim the moral high ground... The moralistic critique of their consumption choices readily inspired Hummer owners to adopt the role of the moral protagonist who defends American national ideals.
[Source: Journal of Consumer Research - sub. req'd; via Wired]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
anonymous j 3:35PM (9/25/2009)
"It's hard to argue that this report offers a conclusive look into the minds of Hummer owners and Hummer haters alike – especially when the sample size is so small"
Yes, too small IMO. What the hell is a study of 20 hummer owners supposed to prove?
Reply
Shiftright 3:40PM (9/25/2009)
It proves drivers of H2s and other grotesquely and needlessly monstrous SUVs are a bunch of selfish ignorant poseurs who feel it's their God-given American right to waste and pollute and call it an "American ideal". Ugh....
Coolio 4:10PM (9/25/2009)
I like Hummers but don't have one for the reasons that Shiftright mentions, which I agree with.
As a math guy, a sample size of 20 is not statistically significant and is too small for any serious study.
Coolio 4:10PM (9/25/2009)
Oh yeah, I hate my "handle" - Coolio is the worst. How can I change it ? Anybody ?
TonyInMI 3:48PM (9/25/2009)
Amplifying the facts just a little? Stirring in a bit of hate or jealousy for good measure? There are many more problems you could focus your efforts on - like trying to overcome the effects of the sun on the environment.
Nozferat 5:19PM (9/25/2009)
What this study proves is that ALL 20 Hummer owners in the study are complete sub-human d0ucheb@gs.
Polly Prissy Pants 5:56PM (9/25/2009)
America, F yea!!
Seriously though, what do you expect them to say? "Wow, driving my lonely self around in a 5 thousand pound truck that only gets 12 miles per gallon causes more pollution than an Corolla? Why didn't someone tell me that BEFORE I bought it?!?!"
Rich 6:44PM (9/25/2009)
"What the hell is a study of 20 hummer owners supposed to prove? "
That there *aren't* many?
future-autos.blogspot.com 9:27PM (9/25/2009)
Considering how many hummer H2 owners are left, that's a decent sample size. The only thing small is that thing that H2 owners are trying to compensate for. You know what I mean, and so does our boy phewop.
H2 owners who take up two parking spaces with their oversized, low-quality ghetto-whale = anathema.
phewop118 3:36PM (9/25/2009)
this is exactly why I bought a Hummer. It shows that I have a choice to drive what I please, as long as I can afford it. It shows that freedom exists (though it may not soon). I choose to burn the extra gas. I got one to shove in the environmentalists face and say f.u.
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Shiftright 3:42PM (9/25/2009)
Right, because the environment is all yours, and you are, I'm sure, immune to cancer and the effects of smog and polluted water, as are your kids. And you wonder why so many people around the world hate us.
Swede 3:47PM (9/25/2009)
People like you is exactly why the US needs to adjust it's gas tax to reasonable levels.
samhask 3:50PM (9/25/2009)
You mean reduce the subsidy? :P We have a _negative_ gas tax right now.
Egon 3:51PM (9/25/2009)
Well, you almost got the last sentence right although your sample size is too small. More accurately, a Hummer (in any of its three degrees of obesity) represents a metaphorical extended middle finger to pretty much everybody else; not just the environmentalists.
TonyInMI 3:54PM (9/25/2009)
Well if they hate us the President is sure doing a lot of apologizing for us! If you hate us GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!
Do semis (tractor/trailers) burn more resources and produce more waste? Why don't you go after them? Trains are much more efficient - why no trains? Look it up! Why no streetcars/little public transportation? Look it up!
Going after these issues would be more productive than hating choice in personal transportation!
Swede 4:02PM (9/25/2009)
TonyInMI: Trucks (tractors) are extremely fuel efficient. Trains, in most of the world, run on electricity. But even if the train runs on diesel, the efficiency is way, way beyond anything you can find in a passenger car.
So no, personal transportation is the issue.
phewop118 4:11PM (9/25/2009)
I don't know who you've been listening to (media, pres, etc.), but they are lying to you. CO2 emissions are NOT harmful to the environment; in fact, they are actually beneficial to plant life and will accelerate their growth. just cause a joke of a politician (gore) says something does not make it true. know your science before believing the crap.
gerrrg 4:13PM (9/25/2009)
You'd have the choice, regardless.
The question is, are you, by purchasing a vehicle that isn't taxed accordingly by the amount of pollution it spews out, carrying your fair share of the burden of costs to the environment?
That's what gets most people riled up.
gerrrg 4:20PM (9/25/2009)
@phewop118
In order to absorb all that CO2, you'd have to stop the deforestation around the world.
More CO2 - fewer plants to absorb = warming planet + more acidic oceans + greater frequency of larger storms.
HAAS599 4:34PM (9/25/2009)
The government should limit the amount of certain vehicles that can be produced and by doing that it will naturally drive up the cost and tax the people that buy them accordingly