Humanity is in crisis. Largely due to uncontrolled consumption and uneven distribution of earthly wealth. Over the years, anti-globalists from all countries crossed out a hamburger on their banners. However, there are things in the world that are much more vulnerable to criticism. For example, a car called Hummer.
The well-known story of the transformation of an ascetic military vehicle into a luxurious vehicle for wealthy car enthusiasts: General Motors marketers immediately saw prospects in the domestic market, and the car, which was originally intended for the military, entered car dealerships. The innate love of Americans for powerful engines, the patriotic upsurge of the first Iraq war, the credibility of the actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (he was one of the first to buy a car and thus became the "brand ambassador") - all this immediately ensured sales, first in the homeland of the car, and then in more than 60 countries of the world. The phenomenon of popularity of this car is completely impossible to explain logically. Who will answer - why is a 325 horsepower engine needed, if earlier, for centuries, three horses were harnessed to Russian sledges, for example, and this was enough to move? Even without being a representative of Greenpeace, you willy-nilly worry about the ozone layer - after all, even with modern means of purification of exhaust gases Hummer, with its 6 liters of working volume in 8 cylinders, it is a small CO2 production plant. And finally, why do we need kilograms of chromed iron on the hood, radiator, gas tank cap, etc? To create jobs in countries with export economies? However, all these questions lose their relevance when the door of a Hummer H2 juicy slams and you find yourself in the bowels of this wonderful car ...
Aboard
It is "on board", and not in the cabin. You feel like a pilot of some huge plane - a wide dashboard, deep instrumentation wells, a small, coarse steering wheel, but the gear lever seems to be borrowed from some kind of airbus. The similarity with the cockpit is enhanced by a cabin mirror illuminated in blue, which reflects the clock and compass. I would especially like to note the impressive screen of the built-in DVD player, which, in turn, has a GPS navigator. The latter pleased with the large street names and rich colors, so you can safely read the electronic map without being distracted from the controls.
Of particular note is the audio system - it was developed by Bose engineers specifically for the Hummer interior and includes 9 speakers. Who among us did not increase the volume of the speakers from the first notes of a favorite song and did not notice that fellow travelers do not share your musical tastes. So, now for those who differ in musical tastes, you can safely recommend listening to something else - in this case, an additional radio with headphone jacks is installed from the end of the armrest.
The chairs are spacious, wide, comfortable - a real business class. Maybe even too relaxing (instinctively you start looking for where to drop a coin to receive express massage). Seriously, having tested more than 25 different machines, we claim that probably none of them have such a comfortable fit. For those who "like it hotter", heating is provided, not only the pillows, but also the seatbacks. In the Gulf countries, this option is unlikely to be useful, it would be better to change it to an auto-refrigerator, but, unfortunately, it is not possible. But there is a really useful feature - the seat tuning memory. Let your lanky friend adjust the seat for himself, if you asked him to steer - at the touch of a button, you will return the seat of your car to its original position. Despite the fact that the cabin is full of space, the Hummer has only two rows of seats, so each passenger can enjoy their personal space. However, if a friend who took a walk in your pair company, then for him there is a small folding seat at the end of the cabin - not leather, well, nothing - in cramped, but not offended.
There are truth in the Hummer cabin and weaknesses - in particular, ergonomics. The devices are fairly evenly distributed throughout the panel and are not too turned towards the driver. In addition, you can’t call them intuitive - if the keys for switching electronic transmission modes are signed, then to get acquainted with the functions of other buttons and verniers, you must enlist the help of a weighty "manual" (or, more simply put, instructions for use).
On road
In Hummer's description, the hardest part is to convey the sensations. The drive is soft and smooth. Sometimes it seems that it’s not a car at all, but a cruise ship, which in some unknown way has acquired the ability to “sail” on land. However, if you press the gas, then the eight-cylinder engine instantly responds to the vibration and animal roar characteristic of the V-shaped layout. A car weighing more than 3 tons breaks off quickly, like a lion chasing an antelope.
It would probably be right to test the car in the conditions for which it was originally intended, that is, on rough terrain, off-road and on stone slopes at 60 degrees. However, since it turned out to be problematic to find such a place in Dubai, sand dunes replaced us with it. As already noted, the Hummer box has a special downshift. When using it, you physically feel the force with which the wheels spin, and the car crawls with a low hum from a steep dune to an even steeper one with such tenacity that it seems to lean it against a vertical wall - and it will climb. An additional success was the discovery of a huge puddle in dry Dubai, which flooded all the edges in one of the lanes of the industrial zone. Small and not very cars in front of us carefully braked and cautiously (and suddenly a hatch or an abandoned wheel under water) got over the obstacle. As for us, without slowing down, we literally crashed into the water and, grinding with alloy wheels 17 ", the slurry swept over it. I liked that the number was repeated twice. Of course, our puddle was far from the lakes in the Amazon jungle, where According to GM marketers, Hummer was tested, however, even such a test was enough to make sure that the car is steady when moving through water, and there’s not even a hint of reduced handling (no aquaplaning effect). Judging by the feedback from the car owners, the main problem with driving - this is n lack of visibility of the side windows. In fact, the windows for the civilian model could be made larger. The situation is somewhat saved by mirrors, which, however, could also be more voluminous. At this point comes a joke about a hippo who has poor eyesight - but with its size, this is not his problem. There is no need to say how polite the people around this car are, and here the main temptation for the owner is not to fall into a state of pride. Indeed, with all this splendor of chrome grilles, headlights, wheels, sills and a growling engine - there is no need to behave defiantly. Hummer is a car with attitude. It is necessary to tame it before it will fully carry out everything that you want from it. When this happens, he will share with you his power and dignity. He seems to be saying: "You are not late, you have already managed everywhere."
