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Posted on
Jul 29 2008 1:19 AM
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Asif
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Following the closure of his Sprint Cup ride last month, Dario Franchitti will run several races in the second-tier Nationwide Series before the end of the season. The Scottish driver was reportedly offered several options by Chip Ganassi, and chose to concentrate on NASCAR rather than move back to open wheels or elsewhere.
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Posted on
Jul 16 2008 1:48 AM
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Asif
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To say that HUMMER's launch timing for the H3T sport-utility-truck couldn't be worse seems like an understatement. Trucks which had been flying out of showrooms just a few short years ago are now languishing on dealer lots. What's more, the entire HUMMER brand could get the axe any day now from (current) parent company General Motors. Still, the H3T is coming to a dealer near you in September, and there's nothing that the General can do but price it competitively and hope for the best.
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Posted on
Jul 16 2008 1:06 AM
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Asif
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Not to mention any names or anything (*cough* Baja *cough*), but there have been some downright ugly trucks to go from the concept stage straight through to production. Usually, though, consumer reaction is properly gaged and the most egregious styling mistakes are usually swept quietly under the rug. Until, that is, somebody starts digging around for the most grossly misshapen models they can find...
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Posted on
Jul 15 2008 1:30 AM
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Asif
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It sure ain't pretty, though beauty, in this case, is likely in the eye of the beholder. A few years back, a new take on the taxi was provided by Standard Taxi, a company based in Troy, Michigan. The design for the purpose-built people hauler uses GM running gear and is able to haul four passengers in relative comfort. We hadn't heard a peep from the company until today when we learned that Standard is now working on negotiations with AM General to build the vehicle in its plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, where AM General builds the Hummer H2 SUV and SUT.
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Posted on
Jun 23 2008 1:54 AM
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Asif
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There's no official obituary for GM's HUMMER brand yet, but haters are lacing up their dancing shoes while lovers wring their hands. Dealers with HUMMER franchises have a lot of skin in the game, so the uncertain future is bound to give business officers ulcers. Not willing to wait around to the bitter end, Milwaukee's Bergstrom HUMMER is planning to move into the same space as the group's Chevrolet store. The HUMMER-specific Quonset hut style dealership building will be toned down and pressed into service as an outlet for Certified used GM vehicles.
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Posted on
Jun 19 2008 3:51 AM
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Asif
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This is a very interesting scenario. SUVs powered by big gasoline engines are becoming unpopular in the U.S, thanks to sky-rocketing crude oil prices that threaten to destroy the conventional car itself. GM has been posting record losses on a regular basis and to stop the bleeding to some extent, it planned to push off the Hummer brand, one of the main culprits.
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Posted on
Jun 12 2008 2:40 AM
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Asif
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We did the pre-run, now it was time for Autoblog to race the Baja 500 with driver Chad Hall and Team HUMMER. Our race day start time wasn't until 10:30, but we got to the start line at 8:30. And then we signed autographs and kissed babies. Well, Chad didn't, but people kept asking us for our autograph, so we obliged. Kids also constantly asked for "steeckers," but we didn't have any of those... Follow the jump to see how Autoblog fared as racing co-pilot, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res images below and the insane in-truck video after the jump.
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Posted on
Jun 11 2008 2:55 AM
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Asif
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Has Hummer had its day? Sales of the all-American company’s models have slumped by nearly one-third, as US buyers lose their appetites for supersized cars. And bosses at owner General Motors have now officially confirmed Hummer’s future hangs in the balance.
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Posted on
Jun 10 2008 4:48 AM
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Asif
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The scholars over at Automobile magazine have handed out their "Funky Ergonomics Awards" this year. As expected, BMW's iDrive and 7 Series interior (shown above) remains their favorite pincushion. Rightly so. Their list includes convenience keys that are downright inconvenient, window switches that are out of reach, touchscreens that are dangerously slow to respond, all center-of-the-dashboard mounted instrument clusters, complicated navigation systems, reverse-action manu-matic transmissions, and dimly lit interiors.
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Posted on
Jun 10 2008 3:57 AM
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Asif
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Today is a movie day, it seems, and once again, it's General Motors in the thick of things. Via HISSTank comes a new set of photos from the G.I. Joe movie set. There, we see a couple of the modified HUMMER H2s that will be used, as well as the Saab Aero X concept. No word on which character's driving the latter. Storm Shadow, maybe? At least it'd match his threads. As for the HUMMERs, they are apparently equipped to traverse hedgerows.
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Posted on
May 19 2008 2:27 AM
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Asif
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Those of you who'd like to power your daily driver with a jet engine but are a little too concerned about the complexity of a turbine should take a look at the good old pulse jet.
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Posted on
Apr 25 2008 3:05 AM
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Asif
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It's the size, of course. Ever since it stormed onto the U.S. market more than a decade ago, the Hummer has been the most extreme example of the American craze for extra-large SUVs. The massive, militaristic truck sparks either love or hate among consumers. What the Hummer's proponents champion as Manifest Destiny on four wheels stands to others as excess unchecked.
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Posted on
Mar 26 2008 7:54 AM
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Asif
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Our friend Mike Levine, proprietor of PickupTruck.com, was trying out the new H3T pickup out in Moab, Utah this week and learned that the H3 will finally lose its hoary old five-cylinder base engine in favor of something a little more modern. A new flex fuel-capable direct-injected 3.6L V6 like the one used in the HX concept will become the new base powerplant for the H3 by 2010. The last remaining question is, will the H3 get a diesel?
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Posted on
Mar 18 2008 3:24 AM
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Asif
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Apparently, someone has turned an actual Hummer H3 into a remote control vehicle. That someone is Engineer Dr James Brighton from Cranfield University, who spent a month adapting the iconic vehicle into something you can control from your hands. What's the green angle here? In a few years, H3s running on biofuel and diesel will be available. Sure, we knew this already, but now any of you who are interested in having the largest RC on the block can imagine it filling up your toy at the local biodiesel co-op. Hehe.
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Posted on
Feb 22 2008 5:59 AM
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Asif
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GM wants consumers to start looking at Hummers as trucks and SUVs that are built to do a job, instead of gas-guzzling SUVs made for the rich and hated by environmentalists everywhere. Ever since GM rolled out the Hummer H2, owners have complained of getting mean looks from their peers and finding their giant vehicles keyed in parking lots.
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