Among Hummer Die-Hards, A Twinge Of Doubt - Chicago Tribune

[hatrack]

EDIT

GM's 2002 introduction of the H2 — more polished and sold in considerably larger numbers — netted enemies. One Web site, FUH2.com, drew hundreds of photos from people saluting the Hummer with their middle fingers.

The stepped-up culture war found its way to a leafy Washington, D.C. neighborhood last July, when two masked men attacked a parked Hummer with a machete and a baseball bat. Hummer owners from around the country called Gareth Groves, the owner of the vandalized vehicle, to offer help, even garage space. But they were outnumbered by people who sent hate mail. Groves wasn't too surprised that people loathed his Hummer. It was how much they seemed to hate him, lambasting everything from his bleached hair to the fact that he lived with his mother.

EDIT

Even a few hardcore Hummer owners are rethinking. "It's not a very practical truck," says LaForgia, who plans to sell his H1 to save for a house. Others are adjusting to new realities. There's a small crowd of Hummer enthusiasts out there running on biodiesel. Welch, the surgeon, is leaning toward buying a hybrid for commutes to a hospital parking garage with ceilings too low for his truck. "I want to save my carbon footprint, not blow it on my way to work," he says.

But Hummer owners see such decisions as personal choices, not bows to external pressure. "It's easier to ask for forgiveness then permission," Andres says. "I've always found that to be true." He's describing only the fess-up-later approach he takes in explaining money lavished on the Hummer to his wife. For all those folks waiting for Hummer owners to cry uncle, well, don't hold your breath.

EDIT

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-hummer-fans-jul27,0,3697612.story