Aquila Online

I Want A Hummer For Christmas

// November 19th, 2004 // Cars & Bikes // 1,860 views

I’ve always been fond of the Hummer and movies such as Gone in 60 Seconds and Black Hawk Down, have really bolstered my affection for these powerful vehicles.

The High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or Hummer is a highly durable motor vehicle that was originally designed for military use. A Hummer has the ability to change tire pressure while it is moving, making it practical for travel across loose surfaces like sand dunes.

It was designed to be dropped by parachute and land on its wheels unharmed. Its other interesting talents include a winch powerful enough to suspend the vehicle in midair, and, in the military version, the ability to ford streams as deep as 150 centimeters.

The civilian version of the Hummer, which became available in 1992, is unfortunately not available with a machine gun or rocket launcher, which negates my idea of blasting the dodgy Gauteng taxis out of my way. However, the civilian version it is just as durable as the military one, which will be very helpful to gently ‘nudge’ those taxis on.

Interestingly, Hummer’s unofficial poster boy is action movie hero Arnold Schwarzenegger, who inspired the street version H1 after seeing the vehicles doing duty during Desert Storm. Other conspicuous Hummer owners are rock stars and athletes including Coolio and Shaquille O’Neal. Hummer stretch limousines are now standard equipment in Manhattan, Miami and Los Angeles for media events, especially ones featuring rap stars and supermodels.

Please can Santa give me one for Christmas?