So long, Hummer? Say it isn't so

I know some of you are tired of reading about rising gas prices on this blog, but I'm not tired of writing about the subject. News items:

From the L.A. Times: "The average cost of gasoline in California, climbing 37% in four months, reached a record $4.24 a gallon Monday and helped drive the national average to the brink of $4, the Energy Department said. ... Pump prices in the state were the country's most expensive, according to the department's weekly survey."

In related news, from the Associated Press this morning: "General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles. ... CEO Rick Wagoner also said the iconic Hummer brand may be discontinued."

Analysis: No other vehicle comes close to the Hummer as a symbol of the days of cheap oil and cheap credit of the late '90s and early 2000s. If you took all 28,000 comments posted on this blog, and searched them for rants about the toys that Americans bought with equity extracted from their homes, no toy would be mentioned more often than the Hummer.

What do gas prices have to do with L.A. Land? If they keep rising, they will change the way we move across L.A. Land, and where we live.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo: Reuters file photo shows Arnold Schwarzenegger giving a thumbs-up at the world premiere of a 2001 model Hummer.

Comments

[NV]

notice that the plant closing are announced today for 2010-2012, that is 2-4 years in the future. If they were serious about closing those plants and reduce their quota of large trucks and SUV s they would have closed those plants TODAY. Some of them trucks have been on the dealer lot for close to 200 days.
notice that the tone of the journo piece is one of doom (35 plants closed since..., 150 000 American jobs lost since)
My reading on this announcement is that the statement is meant to force a move by SEC to disallow the so called institutional investors from scalping oil & gas futures. It is understood by commodities market regulators that the institutional investors (CALPERS being just one of them) moved their gambling funds from real estate last year into commodities.The result is that the real estate bubble moved to oil/ gas/rice/ iron etc.
The best part about the annoucement is when Rick Wagoner says that this time he is serious about making cars that go 40 mpg. See that would be a disaster to the oil speculators/investors. In other words Rick is saying: you kill my golden goose (trucks/SUVs) I'll kill yours too ($100/gal - profit)
Personaly I think Rick Wagoner is playing the weak hand; it takes 5-7 years to redirect that innefienct monster GM into efficient small cars. By the time he is done that, oil pspecualtors will be speculating on something else baseball cards anyone !?

I propose a new office game, lets take bets on when the oil bubble pops

[Dwartz Farquhartz]

I agree completely with the general animosity towards Hummer buyers, but I have to defend the vehicle itself.

The Hummer H1 (the giant one) was a civilian version of the HMMWV, the military Hummer. The military wanted something a more high tech than the Jeep. AM General, the company that makes HMMWVs and an offshoot of the old American Motors, marketed the first civilian Hummer to those with disposable income. It was never a very civilized vehicle, and people were astonished to find that their huge investment was, well, a big uncomfortable truck. By that time GM had bought the marketing rights to the Hummer, and brought out the GM-based H2 and H3. The H1 hasn't been in production for a few years.

[Ragnar]

Remember, it's "smiles per gallon" and not "miles per gallon" that count. If you are going to spend that much time commuting, why not do it in a car that you like?

Hummer isn't going to become extinct. Likely GM will sell the brand to a non-US company, like the company that purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. Hummers will still be available for those who want them.

[yours truly, Johnny Dollar]

"What do gas prices have to do with LA Land?"
Today's Wall Street Journal headline page D2........
"SUV Resales Mirror the Housing Slump."
Peter, you are dead on target.
(you will save a whopping $5.71/day if
you trade in your Hummer for a Ford Focus).
That's what a Starbucks cup of coffee?

[sunsetbeachguy]

My favorite (stealthily applied) bumpersticker is:

"I am changing the climate, ask me how."

[Jeremy R]

"People don't care about gas prices! If they did, they would stop going 85 mph on the freeway. Make the observation yourself and drive ( not rush hour) from LA to San Diego. The average speed of most folks on the freeway is 75 mph. About 30% are going 80+. Since this is LA, perhaps the attitude is, " I'm rich, I can afford it". Yea right, you heavy in debt turkey!"

Actually, on the 405, 10, and 110 I am routinely passing cars at 75 mph, and passing many cars at 70mph.

I find people driving in the Bay Area or Sacramento drive faster than LA drivers

Actually, I find that people "park" the carpool lanes all the time here.

[ufx]

Since aldo asked about what amounts others drive, I thought I'd chime up...

My wife and I average (combined) 276 miles per week at ~25 mpg. This is probably one the low end for commutes and middle of the range for mpg. With gas going from $3.50 to $4.50, this translates into an additional $50 per month (or $600 per year). While I realize this is not an insignificant amount of money, it is hardly a princely sum. For a family netting $50,000/yr this amounts to a change from 5.1 to 6.6% of their annual income. (Full disclosure: My wife and I are in the top 10% of wage earners, but also with very few tax deductions. In the end, the impact on our budget is noticeable, but minimal.)

Of course, the issue here really isn't gas, per se. Gas is just a convenient target for complaint because it's highly visible. The real core here is general inflationary pressure and, perhaps more importantly, people's spending habits. Many people had no head room in their budget to absorb rising costs without significantly altering their standard of living. Whether this was predominantly due to stagnant wages, increased spending, or both, I don't know. I'd love to see some real statistics and analysis, because I think there's a big danger in extrapolating from the anecdotes and caricatures that creep up in the blogosphere.

[Jeff S]

Owwww. That moral indignation is really hurting. I am so sick and tired of hearing from the preaching crowd.

Everyone is wasteful in their own way. No one really cares what y'all think and are certainly not going to listen to you.

How much food have you wasted in your life? Have you ever driven over the speed limit? Left the lights on? Bought an energy-hog Plasma TV.

Let's face it. We are all pretty selfish and picking on Hummer drivers (I do NOT own one - I mostly drive a motorcyle) is pretty self-serving isn't it. Look around and quietly improve things the best you can and stop judging others.

As for gas prices on the westside - who cares? Anyone who truly could afford to live here (which these days is alot less than those who do) doesn't really care much about a few bucks to fill up their bmw or mercedes. Gas prices are killing the low and middle income earners and is just not relevant to the high-wage earners.

[sfvrealestate]

Thanks, UFX. And although this doesn't directly relate to real estate either, what about the rising cost of food? Grocery shopped lately?

[bummer]

Sorry, Hummer Bums, chix dig Priuses now:

"Nearly 9 in 10 women (88 percent) say they'd rather chat up someone who owns the latest fuel-efficient car versus the latest sports car."

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/539/
ecogeeks-get-all-the-girls.html

[face it]

The real reason fast rising gas prices get under our skin:

Every penny gas goes up is a kick in the groin to Uncle Sam that we can't do a damn thing to pay back anymore.

It's our wallets, but, more importantly, it's our pride that's getting hammered.

[TakeFive]

"If you took all 28,000 comments posted on this blog... no toy would be mentioned more often than the Hummer."

What comes in second - Starbucks, or Granite counter top?

[Laker]

What is the story about granite counter tops???
My parents installed granite counter tops in the kitchen back in 1983....This is nothing new or relates to this current bubble....

[campechano]

only wannabees drive those monstrosities..even folks who know a thing or two about off roading speak of jeep wranglers and the like.... The Hummer is a toy to compensate for the lack of size elsewhere....Do yourselves a favor. Next time you see a hummer look inside and take a good look at the driver....(little gold chain, fake tan, dyed hair.....PLEASEEEEEEE....Meanwhile Im happy in my Prius.

[tarbubble]

our commuter stats: hubby works 6 miles from home, but comes home most days for lunch. so that's 24 miles on most days. he drives a Chevy Metro (45-50 mpg), so uses a little more than half a gallon of gas a day. i'm trying to get him to bike commute.

i don't "work" (don't get a paycheck, anyway), and most of my shopping takes place within 5 miles of my house. every other week i drive about 100 miles round-trip to see my parents. i drive a Subaru wagon that gets about 22 mpg, but we're going to sell it once we get our '89 diesel suburban converted to run on vegetable oil. it gets roughly 22 mpg as well.

but if "Hummer kitchens" go out of style, PLEASE somebody sell me your 6-burner commercial stove secondhand! i cook a lot of meals and i fantasize about one of those big honking stoves the same way some men fantasize about 5-foot-wide flat panel TVs.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

The connection between LALand and rising gas prices is this: LALand is about land and real estate and homes...mobile homes included. And what makes mobile homes mobile? That's right, gas! Ergo, gas prices are relevant here.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Is it just me or Arnold looks MUCH, MUCH better as a Hummber salesman than as a governor?

Oh, and here is a New Age tip for those being gouged by oil companies - remember to hug your Hummer every night and whisper sweet nothing into the tank as you pump gas at the gas station. Be nice to your hummer, it will be nice back to you. Beethoven makes your plants happier; so will that little hug for your gas-guzzler.

You see, everything is connected. I know this because as I walk across the meadown and put my foot down, I say to the ground, 'Oh, ground, thanks for letting me step on you. Thanks for sacrificing yourself.' And sure enough, the ground thanks me back by pushing my foot back and propels me a step forward.

[nuklz]

umm...the hummer sucks a lot (of gas).

next step....cancel nascar racing....oooohhhhhhh, some hick can make two left turns at 200mph (@ .2 mpg).

[aldo818]

Thx UFX,
I think you drive much less than 90%. I calculate that you use about 11 gallons of gas TOGETHER (including your wife). That turns out to be about $200/month for your household. That is envious-ly great so I don't think that the price matters that much to you.I use 12 gallons of gas a week by myself.
I really wanted to get a bigger picture with more responses but you saw that my post came in late. I'm betting that the gas expense for most is closer to 10% of their disposable income nowadays and that it (including inflation, related pricier trans costs for our goods) is a pretty sizable chunk that will have to affect what people can afford on their housing.

Just my opinion.

[kockeyeeye]

why do you bash an H2, why not the suburban, or excursion they get around the same mileage ......PIG.......... right get a freaking life you treehugger

[Amanda]

Hummers aren't as bad on fuel or the enviornment as you may think. Check fueleconomy.gov. Sports cars are way worse, especially supercharged engines. I happen to own an h3 and my car is better on the environment than my mom's c230 mercedes. So before you go bashing the entire Hummer brand, check your facts.

[ed]

I can't stand people that that are so embaressed to buy US made products. I especially hate people who use Hummer as the poster child to what is wrong in this country. The fact is WE, Americans are the problem. We like to whine about everything. We love to brag that we buy foreign cars for their quality. Look at the facts about GM and HUmmer quality its among the best and the best value for your dollars. Also While I happen to agree that soccer moms dropping of their one kid at school doesnt need a H1 Alpha or a F450 Dually SuperDuty V10, there are a lot of people who use these vehicles as intended and in fact need them. I, for example drive many mile in slick snowy conditions so I want reliable, tough and decent fuel economy so I bought a 2008 H3 with the 5 cylinder. Around town I constantly average 23 MPG and 27 on the highway, better than sticker. How does that stack up to a Camry or even a Prius towing 3500lbs plus 4 adults all the time? And how about all that in snow too?
Instaed of branding Hummer a loser brand how about think that people need the capabilites of that truck and will pay extra for them and wont mind paying 4.50 a gallon. I realized and knew that when I boaught the rig and didnt start crying to every liberal reporter that I was "screwed" by the US car industry that I bought a gas guzzler.
And lastly my last truck, my 1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4 got 250000 on the odo before I traded it in and still got 18 around town and 23 on the highway and still looked good too. Better than any pathfinder and was worth more too when I traded it in.
Don't let bunny-huggers and the liberal media and liberal democrats make u feel ashamed to be an American and buy what you want. If you want a prius, fine, get one and deal with the bad brakes, poor cold starts, lousy AC and non-existant crash protection and the worst cold-weather driveability on the planet. Is all that worth a few extra MPG for a car that will not likely make it to 150000 miles?