Hummer’s sales have proven inversely proportional to this year’s rising gas prices, with a dismal 26.4 percent
dropoff over the past five months. The Hummer H2 gets roughly 10 to 13 miles per gallon, and 32 gallon
fill-ups running into the mid-$60s have been cause for Hummer’s concern. Hummer marketing general manager Mike
DiGiovanni says “…we are looking at improved gasoline engines, diesel engines and hybrids.” Meanwhile the new Hummer
H3 will be out soon, equipped with a five-cylinder engine that isn’t so thirsty. Although both diesel and gas-electric
hybrid H2s should pop up eventually, we won’t see them until 2007 or 2008. The GM five-cylinder in the H3 will have to
tide us over until then— it’s projected to achieve 18 and 23 mpg in the city and on the highway, respectively. But what
about off-road, where Hummers thrive? What kind of fuel economy can I expect when I take my Hummer on a rutted logging
trail and over huge boulders and such? Oh wait, I forgot, I’ll only be driving it to the local strip mall.