Silicon Valley Hummer to close

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Sales of big SUVs are in the toilet. Headlines scream of $4 gas by spring.

So it's no surprise that Silicon Valley Hummer is going out of business, right?

Neither factor helped, admits Ron Battistella, the dealership's owner - but that's not the whole story.

Ultimately, his disagreement with General Motors about the future of the store led to his decision to close it. He'll stop selling new Hummers within a week and stop servicing them at the end of March.

... Now, five years later, the Hummer has become a different kind of symbol. Concerns about global warming, the war in Iraq and rising gas prices have combined to create a new green movement - one that considers the Hummer a target, not a toy.

Silicon Valley Hummer opened on Stevens Creek in 2003. Gas was selling for $1.41 a gallon then. It's now $3.44 on the West Coast. The Hummer H2 gets 12 mpg in the city and 16 mpg on the highway, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8396262?nclick_check=1

[DS1]

1. good

the rest of the world can live with 97 hp and efficiency, we can too

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I'm sorry to see anyone lose their job...However...

This vehicle is a travesty!

They should never have been built in the first place...

Every time I see one, I feel sick.

[DS1]

4. that's the point

we need to get off this oil-based government (which it really is) and form a 'new deal' towards green energy. Our gov't needs to ween itself off oil, invest in wind and solar, create jobs by totally revamping our energy system and getting independent of middle east oil interests. those countries will fail and fall into anarchy, but that's not our problem. instead of building highways, aka 'the new deal', we need to build wind farms and solar farms. and be done with paying for foreign energy once and for all.

btw, there's no room for 'clean coal'. sorry, West Virginia.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I'm with you on this one, my dear DS1!

And as you say...clean coal? No such thing!

:hi:

[harmonicon]

7. I don't think....

.... the people in WV who have had their homes and environment destroyed by coal mining will mind if we stopped pushing for "clean" coal.

[Orsino]

15. Me, too...

...with the proviso that there's probably something that a Hummer's good for. As a status symbol for the single commuter, though, it's a vulgar display.

[EFerrari]

3. That link isn't working. I wanted to go see where the hell on Stevens Creek

Blvd anyone could buy gas for under two bucks in 2003. That can't be right.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. Didn't work for me either. Try this one.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8396262

It doesn't have any more information that the snip above however. :shrug:

[EFerrari]

14. That's got to be a typo. I used to live right there and gas hasn't been that price

for at least 15 years. :shrug:

Thank you for the link!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. They may have meant $2.41

It happens. In this case it made the story more dramatic at the cost of being factual. Which fits in with todays media standards. :(

Oh, and you're more than welcome. I had just looked it up for myself when I saw your post. It was no effort to share it. :)

[ReadTomPaine]

6. No need to wait for spring....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2940598

$4.50 is here right now.

[CreekDog]

8. 3.44/gallon is sooooo last week!

:rofl:

[santamargarita]

9. What are the right-wing assholes going to drive now?

GOOD!

[opihimoimoi]

10. Truely it was a wasteful idea to begin with.....a penis extension really

[formercia]

11. Die Gropenfuhrer made it an icon.

Thanks Arnold. Asshole.

[opihimoimoi]

17. Arnolllld is reported to have 2 or 3 of them....BIG Asshole

[bullwinkle428]

21. Of course, he thought he was the big green hero when he took

one of them in to be converted to a bio-diesel powered vehicle... :eyes:

[opihimoimoi]

24. Giant Penis Extension is what most peeps think...

[tabasco]

26. But Ahhhnold had a valid need for the Hummer!

The steroids made his pee-pee wither so he needed a replacement!

[AlCzervik]

12. all that plus Silicon Valley looks more like the Autobahn, go by the tech companies

and check out their parking lots, the germans are way more popular.

[natrat]

18. wierd how 15 mpg lamborghinis dont get that stigma-sports car companies are doing well

[blondeatlast]

19. How many Lamborghinis do you see compared to Hummers?

I live in a wealthy resort area and in my entire life I've seen 3 Lamborghinis actually on the road.

I lost track of those ugly GM sumbitches after about 50--but I guarantee I see 5 at least anytime I'm on the road.

[CRF450]

23. They dont sell that much at all, basically the only people that can afford them...

Are billionaires and and high profile celebs. Their are some other sports cars that get comparable or better performance, like the Corvette Z06. Those are way cheaper, more reliable, and can actually get damn near 30mpg/hwy. Thats with a 505hp 7.0 v8! They can easily average a little over 20mpg.

Most sports cars today get much better mpg than trucks/SUV's.

[natrat]

25. agreed but take,say,an audi a5-15/21-no stigma there

[brentspeak]

29. Also, cars like Lamborghini, Ferraris, Maseratis rarely get much mileage put on them

[MaryCeleste]

27. Part of the is due to the H2 & H3 being really poorly designed

The real Hummer is actually pretty good for what it was meant for (combat vehicle to replace the Jeep), but it really does not belong on city streets

[PassingFair]

31. The government didn't give people special TAX BREAKS for buying Lamborghinis.

Those Hummers weighed enough to
qualify for FAT federal tax breaks
for business owners.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/104601_hummer17.shtml

snip>
The loophole has drawn critics, including Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C.

"You have a litany of these 6,000-pound vehicles that were not originally intended to be deducted," said Aileen Roder, the group's program director. "The original goal was to help family farmers and small businesses who need these vehicles."

Her group estimates that the tax incentive's application to SUVs cost the federal treasury $840 million to $987 million last year.

[kineneb]

20. the Hummer- will become housing for the poor

even if they are butt-ugly. Remove the seats and install a bed, and there is a nice place to get out of the rain. There might even be room to install a mini-kitchen.

(for those old enough, remember the VW Microbus?)

[Frank Cannon]

22. The biggest joke about the Hummer is that there IS no room in them

Not after they had to move the tractor-tire spare off of the roof into the cargo area to keep them from tipping over. Remember that?

Now you can easily haul more in the trunk of a Honda Civic.

Anyone driving a Hummer these days might just as well haul around a flatbed trailer behind a used Ford 350 with an enormous neon sign flashing "CAUTION: DUMBASS". It's just as fuel-efficient and impressive as the Hummer. It's also less expensive and certainly more functional, as well.

[MaryCeleste]

28. Real Hummers (military units) have lots of room, the H2&H3 are misreable imitations

[MarkInLA]

30. Bunch of sheep here

Is it really rational to have such reactions? I'm probably wasting my time, but here's a list of SUVs that get WORSE gas mileage than a basic Hummer H3. It's not a short list. I hope you hate the drivers of these vehicles as much as you hate the Hummer drivers. (And remember, this list doesn't include vans, pickup trucks, sports cars, or luxury sedans - those lists are even longer.)

Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD 8 cyl, 5.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Mercedes-Benz GL450 4matic 8 cyl, 4.6 L, Automatic 7-spd, Premium
Mercedes-Benz ML550 4matic 8 cyl, 5.5 L, Automatic 7-spd, Premium
Lexus GX 470 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium
Toyota Land Cruiser Wagon 4WD 8 cyl, 5.7 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Toyota Sequoia 4WD 8 cyl, 5.7 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Dodge Magnum 8 cyl, 6.1 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium
Porsche Cayenne GTS 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
Infiniti QX56 2WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium
Nissan Armada 2WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Land Rover Range Rover 8 cyl, 4.2 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Land Rover Range Rover 8 cyl, 4.4 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Land Rover Range Rover Sport 8 cyl, 4.2 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Nissan Pathfinder 4WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic (S5), Premium
Nissan Armada 2WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, RNG390, Gasoline or E85
Ford Expedition 2WD 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Automatic 6-spd, Regular
Lincoln Navigator 2WD 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Automatic 6-spd, Regular
Cadillac Escalade AWD 8 cyl, 6.2 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
GMC Yukon Denali 1500 AWD 8 cyl, 6.2 L, Automatic 6-spd, Premium
Jeep Commander 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, GAS 340, Gasoline or E85
Lexus LX 570 8 cyl, 5.7 L, Automatic (S6), Premium
Toyota Sequoia 2WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic (S5), Regular
Chrysler Aspen 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Dodge Durango 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Toyota 4Runner 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Chrysler Aspen 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, GAS 330, Gasoline or E85
Dodge Durango 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, GAS 330, Gasoline or E85
Audi Q7 8 cyl, 4.2 L, Automatic (S6), Premium
Infiniti QX56 4WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium
Land Rover LR3 8 cyl, 4.4 L, Automatic (S6), Regular
Nissan Armada 4WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Volkswagen Touareg 8 cyl, 4.2 L, Automatic (S6), Premium
Nissan Armada 4WD 8 cyl, 5.6 L, Automatic 5-spd, RNG390, Gasoline or E85
Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 2WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 2WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
GMC Yukon XL 1500 2WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 4WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
GMC Yukon XL 1500 4WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular
Infiniti FX45 AWD 8 cyl, 4.5 L, Automatic (S5), Premium
Jeep Commander 4WD 8 cyl, 5.7 L, Automatic 5-spd, Regular
Mercedes-Benz GL550 4matic 8 cyl, 5.5 L, Automatic 7-spd, Premium
Porsche Cayenne GTS 8 cyl, 4.8 L, Manual 6-spd, Premium
Chevrolet Trailblazer 2WD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Premium
Toyota Sequoia 4WD 8 cyl, 4.7 L, Automatic (S5), Regular
Chevrolet Trailblazer AWD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Premium
Saab 9-7X AWD 8 cyl, 6 L, Automatic 4-spd, Premium
Mercedes-Benz G 500 8 cyl, 5 L, Automatic 7-spd, Premium
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD 8 cyl, 6.1 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG 8 cyl, 6.2 L, Automatic (S7), Premium
Mercedes-Benz G 55 AMG 8 cyl, 5.4 L, Automatic 5-spd, Premium