Greenwashing? Governator looks to have gotten himself a new Dodge Challenger SRT8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Spy Shots: AM General-built taxi cab gets restyled before production originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Changfeng, AM General bidding on Hummer originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While General Motors looks over a stack of offers for its HUMMER brand, the fate of AM General hangs in the balance. The military contractor developed and built the original Humvee until the rights to the HUMMER name were bought by GM, who then contracted AM General to continue building the H1 (until it was discontinued) and then the Chevy Tahoe-based H2. (The Chevy Colorado-based H3, meanwhile, is built entirely by GM at its Shreveport, Louisiana plant.) With the future of its General Motors contracts uncertain, AM General has announced a new deal of another kind.

Starting in 2010, the Indiana-based company will begin producing a new series of wheelchair-accessible transit vehicles for the Vehicle Production Group, LLC. Although, as VPG points out, the usual development gestation period for such vehicles is two to three years, VPG and AM General intend to get the ramp-equipped para-transit vehicle to market in less than 24 months. Over 3,500 units have already been ordered, leading VPG to project that annual production will well exceed that number, while AM General intends to use the same workforce it currently employs for the new project. As for what the para-transit vehicle will look like, no one knows, but there was word of AM General developing a new version of the Standard Taxi (see above) with a low ride height and large doors that appears as if it could easily accommodate wheel chairs.

[Source: Detroit News]

AM General to produce wheelchair-accessible transit vehicle originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AM General to produce Standard Taxi cabs? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TPI Composites has built a Hummer for the Army that is made of composite materials. The Hummer loses 900 pounds of metal body panels and parts, which are then replaced with parts fabricated of fiberglass, balsa wood, foam, and carbon, with resin as a bonding agent.

That 900 pounds is then put back in the vehicle in the form of extra armor where the truck most needs it: in areas that will protect it from roadside bombs. The composite truck has some quirks -- like a body that feels like sandpaper, and the fact that the fenders bend and some other panels are pliable. Yet even though it weighs the same as a traditional Humvee, the point is that it's better built to withstand the threat that kills more soldiers than any other.

AM General and the Army spent 18 months doing R&D on the vehicle. No tests have been carried out yet and the Army hasn't committed to buying any. But if substituting metal for composites and additional armor is shown to save lives, then the vehicle -- which costs more than a standard Humvee -- could make a lot of friends in dangerous places.

[Source: Gizmodo]

Military makes stronger Humvee from balsa wood and foam originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just the facts: AM General responds to Humvee spy shots originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: AM General Humvee Prototype - spy shots

Continue reading Spy Shots: AM General Humvee prototype caught!

Spy Shots: AM General Humvee prototype caught! originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been called HMMWV, the High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, Humvee for short, or HUMMER for civilian use, but it's been twenty years since DoD chassis M998 was put into service, and the Pentagon wants something new.

The Humvee slowly found its way into the civilian market when celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger began purchasing them for personal use, and the brand was bought from AM General by General Motors in 1999. GM recently took the Hummer H1 off the civilian market, replaced by the more modern and (comparatively speaking) more efficient and roadworthy H2. Now the Pentagon wants part of the action again with a new Humvee 30-40% lighter, more fuel efficient and with better armor to protect our troops.

AM General and GM are not currently competing for the DoD tender, but Navistar International (with the CXT) and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin are in the running.

The Humvee originally gained its fame on CNN during the first Iraq war, several years after it was put into service. Since then, new technologies - including vitals like drivetrain and lightweight/high-strength construction materials - have been developed that could prove useful on the battlefield.

[Source: Edmunds Straightline]

Soldiers need a better HUMMER originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Oct 2006 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hummer H1 retires from duty next month originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 May 2006 00:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.