
The Hummer is coming back as an electric vehicle - scdoshi
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/31/801570087/the-hummer-is-coming-back-as-an-electric-vehicle
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beamatronic
By giving it ridiculous power and making it somewhat cartoonish, I think it
will be hugely successful on one condition, they have to keep the price
manageable. Especially if they want to compete with the cyber truck.

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daxfohl
It also has to be somewhat more energy efficient than an actual hummer,
otherwise it's going to go like 50 miles on a full charge. And charging will
take three days.

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kiddico
I can't think of a brand that would be a harder sell for the sort of people
that want an EV right now.

In my mind it screams "big for the sake of big", not efficient or
environmentally friendly...

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beamatronic
I think this strategy is aimed at the people who think they do not want an Ev
under any circumstances

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daxfohl
They lost the market in 2000 by canceling their ev program. Now they want to
get back into it by marketing only to the people who would never buy one?
Sounds like GM needs a new marketing department.

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beamatronic
Maybe it’s a subtle apology.

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unlinked_dll
Still waiting on a sub 30k electric sedan that doesn't look like a turd

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MisterTea
... and isn't full of tablet computers with half finished software that needs
constant updating, miles of wire, self driving snake oil, and other electronic
wizz bang nonsense. I just want a car. Not an IT experiment.

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tfandango
One which can be repaired without expensive trips to the dealership to use
proprietary tools.

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skunkworker
This could help at high altitudes where you don’t get enough air for a
naturally aspirated engine. I ran into this problem off roading above Ouray
and Telluride, CO at about 12,500ft. Though adding forced induction would’ve
given me back some power.

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cm2187
Sounds like a good location to run out of battery

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olivermarks
That would be my concern. It's only a matter of time before battery recharge
trucks roam the streets and rescue people from offroad power failures. Cheaper
than loading an EV on the back of a diesel flatbed to be taken to a recharge
station, which I often see in California.

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bluGill
In general I expect serious off roaders will carry a generator - they often do
anyway for their campsite. Of course we are talking altitude which changes
things.

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olivermarks
A generator to recharge an ev battery needs a lot more power than a camping
generator can generate. You'd need a huge unit hence my parent comment.

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bluGill
No, it just charges slower. You do of course need a charger that doesn't draw
as much power. Enough gas to run a camping generator overnight will get you
half a charge and that should get you back to civilization. If this is your
normal use case a conventional engine is by far better - but for the average
camper this is done so rarely lugging around a generator only when needed
makes sense.

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olivermarks
GM made a Chevy Silverado platform 'hummer H2' suv, that's what this article
refers to, not the milspec Hummer made by AM General.

The GM 'consumer' Hummer was basically a pseudo milspec hummer and this new EV
version will presumably be a similar marketing effort.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer_H2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer_H2)

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fouc
Wonder how they'll get on with Cybertruck.

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JulianMorrison
They will fight each other at monster truck rallies. "Team Cyber" and "Team
Hummer" shirts will sell out. Many corn dogs will be eaten.

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newnewpdro
I would gleefully attend an all-ev monster truck rally.

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olivermarks
Electric power is well suited to driving the huge wheels of a 4x4 monster
truck, great low end torque and wide power band. The problem might be battery
weight - monster trucks are basically lightweight space frames with low
unsprung weight pushed by a big block V8 engine with a flimsy fiberglass body
over the top of it all.

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ollie87
Battery pack might be better really, you could move the centre of gravity
slightly lower than the fuel tank and engine on a ICE version.

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newnewpdro
With how massive the wheels and tires are, maybe hub motors with batteries
packed in their centers could work. I don't get the impression that monster
trucks strive to minimize unsprung weight, the tires are wrecking balls.

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olivermarks
[https://youtu.be/OumQxxO8v1M](https://youtu.be/OumQxxO8v1M) <\- 2014 EV
monster truck

You wouldn't need huge battery life for a 15 minute performance, so shaving
off battery weight might just work. What most people go to see is airborne
jumps rather than crushing things hence need for low weight.

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newnewpdro
IIRC the rubber tires weigh 1000+lbs each, I wonder if the tires could be
implemented differently using lightweight materials shifting their weight
budget into hubmotor+battery.

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dsfyu404ed
Tires are consumable so you're unlikely to see monster truck teams adopt
anything too exotic for cost reasons unless there's a huge performance
improvement to go with it.

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anonu
Didn't Arnold Schwarznegger have a Hummer EV 20 years ago? Californians
derided him for driving around in a Hummer - so his response was to rip out
the gas engine.

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daxfohl
European sustainability: ride your bike

American sustainability: ev hummer

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duxup
That's pretty amusing. The brand is still recognized...may as well use it and
why not try something new?

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tomatotomato37
Considering it has both the power figures of a Veyron and a size that requires
those roof safety lights, I think it's safe to say the brand will still be
keeping with their tradition of absolute trash fuel/power economy.

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brewdad
I'll take 40 eMPG if if gets the original 9 MPG ICE Hummers off the road.

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Amygaz
On one side, yes.

On the other side, the biggest problem with this type of vehicle is 12 inches
behind the wheel. They should create a special category of license with extra
hours of certified training.

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castratikron
Potential military application? The Hummer originally came from the
battlefield after all.

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nordsieck
Probably not.

1\. Electric vehicles are a terrible fit for military operations

2\. The actual HMMWV is a steaming pile of garbage. Not sure why the US Gov
would want to buy an expensive version of the same thing

3\. The HMMWV was recently replaced by the JLTV - it'll probably be at least
20 years before the next refresh cycle

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Gibbon1
I have wondered about an electric tank. Some advantages. Doesn't require air.
No thermal signature. Quiet potentially. Instant power. No diesel fuel to
catch fire. No hydraulic system. Potentially redundant drive and actuators.

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nordsieck
Sure. That's all good stuff.

But fundamentally, EVs really only work well when vehicles can recharge on a
grid. The Military wants to be able to operate away from the grid.

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TeMPOraL
With all this talk US military has been doing about the changing theater of
war in XXI century, about how it needs to refocus on effective operations in
urban areas, I wonder: do they always assume that the power grid will be off?
If not, then there may be some utility in a light and fast electric vehicle
that parasites off enemy's power grid (and has solars or diesel aggregate as
backup).

Also, did the military consider hybrid vehicles for similar role? They have
the capacity to operate off-grid, and also switch to completely silent when
tactically useful.

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nordsieck
> do they always assume that the power grid will be off? ... Also, did the
> military consider hybrid vehicles for similar role?

I want to be up front - I'm far from privy to the military's decision making,
which is byzantine and absurdist on a good day.

However, I think I can pretty safely say that the issue is not whether the
military assumes that the grid will be off, but rather they don't assume that
the grid will be on.

I think the closest they might get is a plug-in hybrid. However, that adds
quite a bit of weight and complexity to a vehicle. I honestly don't know one
way or the other how well that would work for armored vehicles, which are
typically quite a bit heavier than you're probably used to thinking.

For example: homemade armor is typically 1/4" hardened steel plate welded to
the outside of vehicles (thin skinned trucks, etc.) - about 2x the thickness
of the Cybertruck's body. I'd assume that most purpose built armor kits are
even heavier than that.

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daxfohl
Ways GM could enter the electric market.

Electric Malibu: Totally makes sense

Electric Cadillac: Wow, forward thinking!

Electric Corvette: Whoa, world changing

Electric Hummer: But I. But we. Wait. What?

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jedieaston
It solves the biggest problem everyone had with the Hummer: gallons-per-mile.

And it competes with the Cybertruck, and they don’t have to worry about a
limited amount of space for the batteries. Seems like a good strategy to me,
for a first attempt.

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daxfohl
But my impression was that the only reason to have a hummer was the whole "I'm
whatever enough to be above social responsibility" appeal. So if they make it
socially responsible then that takes away their entire market. I've never been
in the market for a hummer so maybe I'm missing something.

That said, an electric hummer could be a perfect fit for the hummer stretch
limo market. Though idk if that market is big enough to warrant its own whole
thing.

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bluGill
Are we talking about the mil-spec hummer which was admired by people who spent
a lot of time off road, or the H2 which was just another truck (not useless
off road, but no better than any other truck) which never actually went off
road.

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daxfohl
H2 is mainly what I was thinking.

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okareaman
Do electric horses dream of autonomous buggies?

