The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
GM expected to unveil electric version during Super Bowl
The Hummer HX is a two-door off-road concept compact SUV that General Motors revealed at the 2008 North American International Auto Show.
Tesla Inc. created a buzz with the industrial techno Cybertruck, a behemoth of a pickup that is pushing the boundaries of electrical vehicles (EV) and their design. Now, General Motors Co. (GM) is entering the fray with an electric version of the Hummer, a vehicle that has already proven that boxy industrial design can attract an eclectic crowd of buyers that want to break the norms – from soccer moms dropping kids off at school to multi-platinum rappers making a statement on Rodeo Drive.
"The Hummer was a lightning rod for controversy ... it was very polarizing," Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelly Blue Book and AutoTrader, told ABC News. "It was big and brash, and people drove it to make a statement."
One of the reasons for these diverging views of the Hummer was due to it being a petroleum guzzling beast that drew the ire of environmentalists who despised the carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gasses emitting from its tailpipes.
It was not, however, environmental consciousness that spelled the demise of this polarizing SUV. Instead, it was the high costs of the gas needed to fill the tank, coupled with GM needing to scrap brands to regain financial solvency, that led to the Detroit automaker's discontinuation of the Hummer brand in 2010.
Now, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Hummer is being resurrected as EV – something that could appeal to its original fanbase and environmental crusaders alike.
While GM is being tight-lipped about Hummer EV, the world is expected to find out a whole lot more about this big, brash, zero-emissions, off-road vehicle during the Super Bowl.
According to unnamed sources familiar with marketing, GM will introduce the electric Hummer in a Super Bowl ad featuring Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend LeBron James.
It is currently expected the new all-electric Hummer will begin production in 2021, which would put it slightly ahead of Tesla's Cybertruck, which are slated to begin customer deliveries in 2022.
While the electric Hummer design may not be as shocking as the Cybertruck Tesla introduced to the world in November, the new tailpipe-free version of the former gas-guzzling SUV reviled by conservationists just a decade ago will likely stir up similar mixed feelings – and conversations.
This buzz will help GM highlight its push into the EV markets and spur discussions about electric vehicles traveling to destinations beyond global highways.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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