Originally posted by RacerX
HALF A FOOT. Let me repeat that HALF A FOOT. That is HUGE. That is a huge difference. Obviously you know very little about automotive design. This is a game of inches. 1" can make a huge difference.
It depends on the situation. If you're trailing the Rubicon and you've got your side-mirrors folded trying to squeeze between a boulder on one side and a tree and edge of a cliff on the other then yes, 6" is a big difference. For purposes of a vehicle on the road and passing, it is not. And I do know a little something about automotive design.
And what exact impact does the extra width of a Hummer effect? For purposes of passing someone on the road, 3" on either side more is not going to effect clearance distances that much. Someone who can't manage to clear an obstacle while passing on the road with a Hummer is not going to be significantly safer if they've got three more inches to one side.
Originally posted by RacerX
Have you not seen or been inside a H1 or H2? They are HUGE. The driver and passenger are nearly 3 feet apart. Go sit in your car, in fact, go sit in a F-350 and you tell me 6" is not a HUGE difference.
Yes, I have been in both the H1 and H2. I've also been on trail courses in both. I am not denying that there's a difference but again... for purposes of maneuvering them on the road, an H1 is no different in width than a duelly or a work truck. And the H2 is slimmer. My point is that there are people perfectly capable of operating such vehicles with a fair degree of safety so the problem the original poster had should not have been with the vehicle itself but with the driver who obviously has had inadequate training recognising and is not familiar with the boundary edges of her vehicle.
Originally posted by RacerX
I like suv's but I hate the Hummer. They are too big to take off-roading and are very small inside. They get like 5mpg and they are impractical for anything a consumer would use it for. The ONLY thing they have is "look at me" cache. That can be equally divided between curiosity and hate.
That is your opinion. Other people have found Hummers quite useful. No, I personally would not get one because I know they don't fit on the trails I go on but there are places where they do fit fine and even excel at.
Originally posted by RacerX
Anything that makes a Hemi Ram look fuel efficient is really messed up.
There are lots of vehicles that get worse mileage. Are they considered "messed up" too? It's all a matter of perspective. Blaming the vehicle for the irresponsible use by the owner is at best pissing into the wind and worse feeding silly contraversy and detracting attention away from the real problem which is poor driver training.
BTW, the US military is currently doing research and has at least two prototype hybrid-engine technology HMMWVs they're testing as well as hydrogen fuel-cell based demonstrators.
Originally posted by RacerX
Welcome to the H2. btw, a smaller H3 is on the way next year.
The H3 I believe will be built on the platform destined to replace the S10/Blazer/Jimmy chassis.