In Their Hummers, Right Beside Uncle Sam
By DANNY HAKIM
DETROIT, April 4 — While the Humvees are lined up in the desert, their cousins, the Hummers, continue to be Detroit's hottest seller.
Is it because of, or in spite of, the war? Sales of several other large sport utility vehicles, like the Chevrolet Suburban, are showing signs of weakness while overall sales remain strong for other S.U.V.'s.
But some Hummer drivers, inundated like the rest of America by war news, feel especially patriotic behind the wheel now.
"When I turn on the TV, I see wall-to-wall Humvees, and I'm proud," said Sam Bernstein, a 51-year-old antiquities dealer who lives in Marin County, Calif., and drives a Hummer H2, an S.U.V. sibling of the military Humvee.
"They're not out there in Audi A4's," he said of the troops. "I'm proud of my country, and I'm proud to be driving a product that is making a significant contribution."
"If I could get an A1 Abrams, I would," he added with a smile, referring to the tank, "but I don't know if California would allow it."
... the Hummer ... continues to be the only Detroit brand that sells without incentives. At a clip of more than 3,000 a month, the Hummer H2 is now the best-selling large luxury S.U.V., beating out the Lincoln Navigator and the Lexus LX470. It sells almost as many units as the smaller BMW X5, even though H2 starts at about $50,000 — $10,000 more than the BMW. ...
Rick Schmidt, founder of I.H.O.G.[!], the International Hummer Owners Group, said: "In my humble opinion, the H2 is an American icon. Not the military version by any means, but it's a symbol of what we all hold so dearly above all else, the fact we have the freedom of choice, the freedom of happiness, the freedom of adventure and discovery, and the ultimate freedom of expression."
"Those who deface a Hummer in words or deed," he added, "deface the American flag and what it stands for." ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/05/business/05AUTO.html>
Carl
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