Hummer For 2001
	By Carey Russ

There is nothing quite like a Hummer. A Hummer can scale a 22-inch ledge, ford 30 inches of water, climb a 60 percent grade, or traverse a 40 percent side slope without any problem. Its 16 inches of minimum ground clearance is twice that of the average sport-utility vehicle. A Hummer qualifies as an exotic vehicle by any definition of the word.

For 2001, the Hummer H1 is available in two- and four-passenger Hard Top, four-passenger Open Top, and four-passenger Wagon body styles. Its instrument panel has been redesigned, new 17-inch alloy wheels are offered, and the rear-view mirrors are larger. The engine is a 6.5-liter turbodiesel with 195 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. The four-wheel drive system features reduction gears in the hubs, for amazing climbing ability. Options include a central tire inflation system that allows tire pressures to be monitored and changed from the cockpit, and a "Monsoon" (r) sound system that is now available in open-top models.

The biggest change to the Hummer lineup this year is in ownership. General Motors, originally the engine supplier, now owns the brand, and is planning development of new, smaller vehicles under the Hummer name. Current Hummers are not sport-utility vehicles, but are Class 3 trucks. The original design was to U. S. military specifications for a "High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle", or HMMWV in its Pentagon acronym. Pronounced "Humvee" for military purposes, it achieved fame during the Persian Gulf War. After that conflict, manufacturer AM General branched out into the civilian market in the same manner that World War II general-purpose vehicle manufacturers did a generation before. But a Hummer is to those vehicles as an FA-18 Hornet is to a P-51 Mustang.

Hummer 2001 Specifications

ENGINE
6.5-liter V8 turbodiesel
peak horsepower:    195 @ 3400 rpm
peak torque, lb-ft: 430 @ 1800 rpm

DRIVE TRAIN
Dual-range four-wheel drive with reduction gears in wheel hubs
 4 - speed automatic

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
Body-on-frame construction
Front suspension: independent double A-arm
Rear suspension:  independent double A-arm

BRAKES
Four-wheel disc

EPA ESTIMATED FUEL ECONOMY
City / Highway: N/A
Fuel tank:      42 gallons

PAYLOAD
3146 - 4300 depending on configuration

TOWING
7646 - 8236 lbs depending on configuration