BY ALISA PRIDDLE
This concept is a runner and could be built, if GM decides the design is right.
That Hummer plans to continue to downsize and create a Jeep Wrangler“sized H4 has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry. Each new Hummer entry has been smaller than the one before it.
But for three new designers at General Motors, the timing couldn’t have been better. The recent graduates of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit were hired by GM a couple years ago, about the time the automaker decided it wanted a concept in a new segment to augment the mid-size H3 and the full-size H2 SUVs.
From the separate designs of David Rojas, Min Young Kang, and Robert Jablonski came the HX concept, sketches of which are shown here. It’s the same width as the H3 but rides on a wheelbase that is 10 inches shorter, but we must wait until the Detroit auto show in January for complete pictures of the four-passenger Hummer.
GM will gauge public reaction to the HX in Detroit, as well as at the Chicago show in February, to see if this is the design direction for the long-awaited H4. The concept explores the idea of a two-door fastback Hummer, says Martin Walsh, Hummer general manager, and is designed to appeal to affluent young buyers aged 20 to 30.
If the response is favorable, little stands in the way of production”this concept is a runner. It would be more premium than the Wrangler, which would be among its competitors.
The HX is a body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive SUV on its own chassis (GM didn’t have an existing platform it could use). The young designers offered a modern take on the Hummer grille, and the concept has a standard built-in winch in the front, full underbody protection, and 35-inch tires. The suspension is independent up front and a solid axle in the rear. Under the hood is the 3.6-liter, direct-injection V-6 from the Cadillac CTS that generates 304 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.
The concept is designed to run on biofuels. For those of you hankering to get 30-percent-worse fuel economy, Walsh confirms that Hummer is still moving to becoming an exclusively biofuel brand, starting next August with the E85 (15-percent gasoline and 85-percent ethanol) H2. Over the next few years, Hummer will upgrade all its powertrains so that by 2010 the entire lineup is E85 or biodiesel compatible, Walsh says.
The trio of designers also incorporated practicality in the form of removable fender flares. If there is damage to one on the trail, the driver can hop out and release the fasteners and remove it. The big hinges help facilitate removing the doors, and the roof panels come off, too.
Design creativity also manifests itself in a choice of backs: a slantback, an open SUT type, or a squareback. Essentially, you would pick one, and the others would be available as accessories.
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