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| No | 67% | 367 votes | Total: 544 votes | |
| Yes | 33% | 177 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe Hummer, as we know it in the United States, is that of the H2 variety. Yes, there are two other Hummers in the world, but non more present on our roads than is the H2. The original Hummer, or Humvee, was a military based vehicle used for off-road terrain in battle and during training. Many people are unaware of this vehicle so for this I will no longer reference it.
The Hummer (H2) is a truck, plain and simple. It is no more or less truck than its family members the GMC/Chevy Suburban. In fact, they are built on the same chassis and share the same engine and drive line, the Hummer, Suburban and Tahoe. So to say that the Hummer should be banned is just the tip of an ever growing problem and would not solve anything long term.
Picking on one small segment of the large SUV market seems unreasonable and should not happen.
I do not agree with people who purchase Hummers or even those who buy the Nissan Armada (which consequently receives a lower fuel economy rating than does the Hummer) and other large SUVs, I feel that people who own these vehicles do not take into account anything other than their own actions and do not see how it affects the world around them. I do, however, stand by their ability to purchase these vehicles as I would not want someone stopping me form buying a Ferrari or Ford SuperDuty 350 Diesel.
Who are we to take a purchase choice away from someone who is financially able to buy and maintain a vehicle? The same can be said about a person who buys a Lamborghini, a car company who has never in its existence built and sold a vehicle that achieves more that 18mpg. Should we then outlaw Lamborghini from our streets? I think not.
People would argue that the owners of a Hummer would be safer in a collision than someone in a smaller, more economical vehicle. This may be true but what about the collision in the first place? No one can expect to go their entire driving life without experiencing some sort of auto collision, but there are people who can't go an entire year without an accident. Should those people no longer be allowed to drive on public roads? Wouldn't the rest of the driving population be better off and not need a huge "safer" vehicles?
Outlawing a specific vehicle, making that vehicle the scapegoat, because of its supposed ecological damage isn't fair and should not be allowed. To say that the Hummer is responsible for higher fuel prices or the destruction of our environment is asinine and does not merit further discussion. If you outlaw one item you're not helping anyone or anything, the root of the problem is not the Hummer, rather it is the vehicle production and choices, or lack there of, available to the U.S market.
To change the automotive world we would need to start form the bottom and work our way through, not to start at some random place in the middle like the Hummer.
Learn more about this author, Stuart Smith.
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Yes
I can fully understand the side of the argument that says people should be able to drive whatever they want on America's roads. After all, we do live in a free country. There would certainly be some widespread outrage if the government began telling the American people what they can and can't drive.
Ideally, the consumer should determine the fate of the Hummer. And to some extent, they have. Certainly, GM's decision to scrap their mid-1990s electric car in order to begin production on Hummers was a monumentally stupid mistake. Those executives who made that call, surely in concert with oil industry cronies and lobbyists, should be ashamed of themselves. They had the golden opportunity to save the American auto industry, the city of Detroit, and tens of thousands of American jobs. As we learn more and more every day, the people making decisions for the rest of us are usually completely out of touch with reality. American consumers and autoworkers paid the price.
So the Hummer went into production and had a few years of good sales. But once gas prices spiked and people began to finally accept the truth behind global warming and other climate issues, Hummer sales fell off, and continue to plunge.
Cheers to consumers for beginning to realize how ridiculous and unnecessary Hummers are. They waste our planet's resources, take up a huge amount of space on the road, and are much harder on pavement and blacktop then small, light cars. Not to mention they look comically ridiculous.
That said, there are still way too many Hummers on the road today.
So at what point do outside forces need to step in a say "enough is enough with these gas guzzling behemoths"? Well, I believe that the rules that govern our actions in relationship to our planet are beginning to change. The public is starting to accept that each and every one of us needs to alter our behavior to leave a lighter footprint on the Earth. Some people will not accept this quietly. They will contend that they can live however they like and not care about the planet if they choose. Those are the types of individuals who will likely drive Hummers, and we may need to force their hand.
At the end of the day, we all have to agree to share the planet reasonably. If we keep on our current destructive path, there won't be anything left for our children's children. So radical plans may need to be enacted. Personally, I'd say a nationwide ban on Hummers would be a good start.
Learn more about this author, Sean Curtis.
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