Why Did Hummer Stop Making Vehicles?

The Hummer (whichever model you're talking about) is a big, gas-guzzling beast that just doesn’t make sense for most people anymore, especially today. We don't really need huge, flashy SUVs to show off how tough or masculine we are. That era's kind of over, and honestly, it’s not even considered that cool anymore today.

You probably know the backstory: the Hummer—or Humvee, whatever you want to call it—started out as a military vehicle. You could say it’s like the Willys Jeep from WWII. Maybe they never planned to sell it to regular folks, but after all those photos from the Gulf War with Humvees rolling around, people wanted one. And when Arnold Schwarzenegger showed interest, AM General jumped on the opportunity and made a civilian version. It sold well for a while—until people started realizing it just didn’t make much sense for everyday use.

The Hummer H1 actually shares a lot of its mechanical parts with the military HMMWV. Things like the brakes, axles, and the frame are pretty much the same. Even major body panels—like the hood, tailgate, and quarter panels—are shared between the H1 and the Humvee. They were even built on the same assembly line, although the civilian H1s were painted and finished in a different building.

The main problem with the Hummer is that it’s just not economical. They get terrible gas mileage—some of the early models don’t even break double digits. Over time, that’s become a huge turnoff for people. I mean, who really wants to drive a loud, gas-guzzling beast like that? The whole market for military-style civilian vehicles seems to be fading. Yeah, it’s cool in a rugged way, but people are kind of moving on from that.

I think it comes down to the fact that the Hummer was built to military specs—and probably still uses a bunch of military-grade parts—so it’s heavy and super inefficient, especially for daily driving. That kind of design makes sense for a war zone, but not for picking up groceries or commuting. Personally, I wouldn’t want to drive one either.

Also, it seems like people’s tastes are changing. It kind of reminds me of what’s happening with Harley-Davidson. Those over-the-top “macho” vehicles just aren’t as appealing anymore. On top of that, the Hummer’s poor fuel efficiency gives people even less reason to hold onto them. They’re outdated and inefficient, and demand is clearly dropping. Honestly, they’re just fading out.

Actually, they also made a more modern version than the H1, called the H2. It's more sophisticated and luxurious, with better features. It’s based on a modified GMT820 GM three-quarter-ton pickup in the front and a half-ton 1500 frame in the rear, so it’s no longer a military-based vehicle. It gets better mileage—some people say it does pretty well—but it’s still not great. I think that’s just because it’s still a huge SUV. Basically, the bigger the car, the bigger the load.

I think Hummer stopped production because people didn’t really see it as relevant or cool anymore. Its time had passed, and there were so many cheaper SUVs with better gas mileage out there. Most folks would rather go with something more practical, and as the hype faded, sales just couldn’t keep up. That’s probably why they shut it down—even though now it’s kind of back as an EV. At least the EV version makes a little more sense.

It’s big, inefficient, and honestly, most people just don’t think Hummers are cool anymore. That’s why it faded out and got left behind. People nowadays seem to prefer economical cars anyway.