HUMMER History
July 20th, 2009 | 
Author: It was in 1979 that HUMMER History began. It started with a competition for the development of a vehicle that met the Army’s highest standards in a High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle – HMMWV which is pronounced Humvee. Wow now ain’t that a mouthful?
Red Hummer Humvee
As the development race began, two companies, Teledyne and Chrysler Defense (which was later sold to General Dynamics) already had designs on their drawing boards.
Although AM General appeared to be well behind both of them when they came into the competition with no preconceived design notions whatsoever.
However an undaunted Am General rolled up its sleeves, went to work and soon created an undeniable original — the HUMMER.
AM General tested it’s prototype HUMMER in the Nevada desert in July 1980 — a mere eleven months from its first designs! This would be just the first of many breakthroughs that would demonstrate AM General’s know how and leadership.
At this point, the Army now had three serious competitors working on vehicles, Teledyne and Chrysler Defense (which remember, was later sold to General Dynamics) and AM General.
There were extremely stringent Army specs for the making of this vehicle and by right there very well should’ve been. I mean this vehicle is for military use and would be used during a war. So obviously the thing had to be put together much more better then great.
Some of these extremely stringent specs included:
* Light armor.Which also had to be strong, remember, this vehicle is being made for the military, people are going to be shooting bullets, rockets, bombs whatever at it. It’s gotta be able to withstand being shoot at and still be light enough to move rather quickly.
* Deep water fording.Which is the ability to be able to cross a body of water without messing up the engine or stalling out because during a war, that truly would not be a good thing.
* Arctic and desert operational ability.
* And obviously it had to have absolute reliability,durability and maintainability.
Army Military fording hummer humvee
Because this vehicle was being made for the Army and had to be made of a very strong very tough armor with weight constraints, it called for material application breakthroughs.
All of this had to be done in just ten months and again AM General and Hummer History came through when it became the first company to complete its test vehicles.
Prototype Hummers were delivered to Army proving grounds at Aberdeen and Yuma, and a test site at Fort Hunter-Liggett in April 1982.
In March 1983 AM General’s ’superior’ vehicles were finally awarded the initial HUMMER production contract which called for 55,000 vehicles to be delivered over a five year period.
It took just six months from tooling up time at AM General’s Mishawaka plant to delivery the first production test vehicles — yet another phenomenal achievement for AM General.
First Hummer rolled off the production line January 2, 1985
It was in January 1985 that the first Hummer rolled off the production line. If it in anyway reminds you of Jeep, that’s because in the 1940’s, Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. (a company which AM General spun from in the 1970’s) designed and manufactured America’s first four-wheel drive 1/4-ton tactical utility truck – the well known ‘Jeep.’ So there ya have it, the people who make Hummers are the same peoples that make the Jeep.
In December of 1999 AM General sold the Hummer name and rights to market and distribute Hummers to General Motors.
AM General continues to Build the original Hummer (now called H1) at the Mishawaka plant and will build the Hummer H2 in a new state of the art manufacturing facility adjacent to the HMMWV/H1 plant.
Red and Yellow Hummer Humvee Sut
The Hummer or Humvee as it very often is called, is the ultimate 4×4 designed as an all-purpose vehicle for the U.S. Army by AM General. The military version has been in production since 1985 and the civilian version which is available in four body styles,
* Two-door Hard Top
* Four-door Hard Top
* Open Top
* Wagon
became available in 1992, These big boys go from zero to 60 in a lackadaisical 16 seconds, with top speeds of about 83 mph.
Optional accessories include a 6.5-liter turbo-diesel engine for more power, and a towing system that can haul over 8,500 lbs.
A Central Tire Inflation System (CTI) which AM General developed and patented in response to the need for increased mobility in the military, allows the driver to inflate or deflate the tires from inside the vehicle when one needs the traction provided by depressurized rubber.
Wouldn’t you just love to have that feature during the next nor’easter?
Red Hummer Humvee in Snow
However the new 1999 version with standard traction-control system, could make running soft tires a thing of the past.
TorqTrac4 uses sensors on all four wheels to monitor wheel slip. If wheel speed exceeds vehicle speed, the system applies braking to the spinning wheel and transfers torque to the wheels that still have some grip.
Also new for 1999 is a hydraulic four-wheel anti-lock braking system. With these changes, AM General spokespeople says the Hummer’s off-road prowess is 90 percent attributable to the vehicle itself and only 10 percent attributable to the driver.
Giving unskilled and skilled drivers the ability to handle most any terrain.
The Hummer become well known to most people during the Gulf War where it proved to be a highly reliable and dependable machine.
With a 16″ ground clearance when fully loaded, and full time four wheel drive powered by a 170 hp diesel engine (and now some 190 hp Turbos too) the Hummer can maneuver through almost anything.
It was designed to follow in the tracks of the M1 Abrams tank, and every other military vehicle in the field.
Now a days, that being in the year 2005 and beyond, you can see Hummers on almost any MTV cribs show or even driving down the street in your neighborhood.
They are large and charge and very eye catching and I have to admit that when I was looking for a new vehicle, I did look at Hummers.
I just love the H2 SUT and I saw myself riding around in a bright yellow one with black trim or a red metallic one with black trim or a solid black one.
Hey if the truth be told, I really didn’t care what color it was, I just wanted one.
I drooled over’em for about four months and although I didn’t end up getting one (filling the tank would have broke me) I still drool over’em and hey ya neva know, one of these days….. I just might have one of these babies sittin’ in ma driveway.
Update – Year 2008
Toyota Prius Okay so I’ll never get that hummer I wanted, not with gas well over $4 a gallon. Now a days I’m leaning more toward the Toyota Prius.
I’ve always loved a tough rugged looking SUV and the Hummer is the epitome of an all around tough off roader. The Hummer is definitely ‘The SUV’ – the superior ultimate vehicle that rides above all the rest. To bad it’s a also a real gas hog.
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