Tuesday, 14 October 2008

HUMMER - THE TOUGH ONE

Hummer was originally developed in 1979 in response to the Army’s need for the development of a high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle. In the race to create such a vehicle was Teledyne, Chrysler defense and AM General; it is AM General who succeeded the competition and created what is now known as the Hummer.
Eleven months after it’s initial design AM General’s Hummer design was being tested in the Nevada desert. The Hummers design had to fit a stringent set of requirements for the army, it had to have light amour, deep water fording capability, and Arctic and desert operational ability to name just a few. In January 1985 Hummer produced it first fully equipped and ready for action vehicle. The Hummer became famed for its role during the American Army’s Operation Desert Storm Operation in the Gulf War; and has continued to be used during combat ever since.
It was in 1992 that AM General began producing the Hummer for civilian use, rumor has it that this was in response from Arnold Schwarzenegger who saw a platoon of the vehicles during the filming of Kindergarten Cop. H1, the first civilian model, retained many of the original features of the Hummer minus the combat machinery, this lead to the vehicles great popularity amongst those seeking the ultimate in toughness and mobility.
In 1999 Hummer sales slowed significantly and AM General went into partnership with GM Motors to jointly pursue product, marketing and distribution opportunities for Hummer; in doing so GM secured the exclusive ownership of the Hummer brand meaning securing the company with the rights to use the Hummer brand on any future vehicles, although AM General still reserve the right to build the H1. General Motors wasted no time and set about developing the H2 model based on GM’s Tahoe vehicle.
Now 20 years old, the Hummer is still humming along and is now available in a variety of models.

Friends do you know, how much does a Hummer cost you in INR - a whopping 80 lacs. That shatters my dream of purchasing one ! Khair agle janam mein sahi !



20 comments:

Faiyaz said...

Agley Janam? BeyCAR ki batein chodo, Naresh your desire can be foolfilled this Janam!
HUMMER Tum, Tum aur Hum Khush hain yun Aaj milke!

Doesn't Hummer resemble the Green coloured rugged Jonga that Kareen used to drive at St Vincents?

Tasneem said...

Wow! That's mind boggling.

Louis J Rao said...

Naresh bhai, you still can buy , but what abt the 5 km a litre .... "dholla haathi "

Naresh said...

Faibhai

Kehtein hain 'Badon' ki dua khali nahi jaati. Shaayad khwaish puri ho jaye !

Jonga yes ! The Indian military vehicle which is manufactured at VFJ- Jabalpur. Who is Kareen ???

Venu N said...

Nice write-up, Naresh! I saw a Hummer last month in Taj Krishna hotel. I'm told that GVK owns it.
Looks bloody awesome in flesh and blood!
BTW, have you seen an Axe produced by Mahindra for the Army? I've read articles about it and it does look like a mean machine.

Naresh said...

Venu

Yet to come across an Axe. Although my alloy wheels get fitted as Standard OE to Scorpio - the recent Eagle version too and the forthcoming ' Ingenio ' which is bordered on the Toyota Innova.

AXE would be a steel wheel version, hence not much aware of its production numbers.

Louis

Who gave you the mileage ???

Stanley David said...

Hummer tumse pyaar kitna,
yeh hum nahin jaante.....

Faiyaz said...

Naresh, What I meant was Kareem - St Vincent's ka Driver. Typographical error.

Venu N said...

Naresh, I did not know that you produce alloy wheels. What is the name of the brand? I am aware of Hindalco and Auro, but not other brands.

Naresh said...

Venu

You may go to our company website www.synergies-world.com for related info.

Aura is a brandname for HINDALCO , they are basically aftermarket players. No big deal !

We are numero uno and market leaders in India with a 75 % market share, and supply only to the Major Automotives. Also deliver globally to Hummer, Cadillac Escalade, Chrysler and Ford USA.

When u see an Innova, Corolla, Scorpio, Fiesta , Safari etc., with an alloy wheel -its us !

Our earlier aftermarket Brand was TRAXX ,but we have withdrawn from replacement markets totally in 2002 because of the volatility.

Louis J Rao said...

ANjan Srivastav owns one, he was discussing with a common friend of ours . He was mentioning abt the mileage .
Is it wrong ? Iam not sure

Faiyaz said...

Srivastav must be owning a gas Station too!
Well, The matter of the fact is that we cannot even afford a Water Well whereas out here people own Oil Wells!
Well Said?????

Venu N said...

Naresh,
I have indeed heard of Synergies--is it based somewhere near Vizag EPZ?
My Fiesta came with stock Ford alloys,and they were of Hindalco. I did not know about your association with Synergies, else I would have been your customer!
Anyways, nice knowing someone from the autombile industry on this blog. After all, my ancestors were well known wheeler dealers in Orissa and North A.P.

Naresh said...

Venu

Yes I know your family antecedants. By the way, is Nari my classmate ( Nabhi Narayan ) your distant cousin ?? He works for HSBC - BPO, hence we just talk but never meet.

Coz he works all night like an owl and sleeps in the day ! Whereas its reverse for us ! Or rather should I say he is obverse !

Your hunch on our plant's location is exact ! Its in VSEZ (hitherto VEPZ)

Faiyaz said...

Naresh and Venu,
Take it EZ Folks!

Btw, I knew Nabhi Narayan too we used to play TT @ Ganjam Club and always lost to him.
His grip was the Shakehand kind but I used to enjoy the Penhold!
Does Ganjam Club still exist? Is it the same place where Moti Hotel is currently located?
Faint memories.

Venu N said...

Faiyaz, ok buddy, we are gonna cool it!
As regards the club near Moti Hotel, it is Union Club. Ganjam Club used to exist near the Railway tracks adjacent to the Jail.

Naresh,
Yes Nari is my cousin, and he was my classmate from Baby Class to Class 1, and all through Inter and Degree in KK College. Incidentally, he is dropping in on Sunday, Oct 19th for a single day.
Since you are also going to be in Hyd, do drop in. My contact # is 98490 90971.

Nargis said...

Hey Naresh, if you can't spend a whopping 80 lacs for a Hummer don't worry. Go in for a 'Singer'. So what if it is a sewing machine...? I bet a Singer can do much more than what a Hummer can ;-}If you don't believe ask your better half...

Faiyaz said...

The best Singer and Hummer and Actor of the 21st Century - Who Else?
Himesh Reshamiya!!!

Naresh said...

Venu

Thanx for the invitation. But saw this post only today. Met Shanta.

So Nargis Didi tells me to shut up my ' Gab ' and sew it with a Singer, enough of Blogging !!!
No more yap... yap... yapping ???

Venu N said...

Hi Naresh,
Do you have Shanta's contact number? She has promised me a Boney M pass, but is silent after that.