Well, I'm sick this day after Christmas so what do I do but go and pick up $50 worth of magazines at Border's Bookstore to entertain myself on the couch. So I'm reading through the new Motor Trend 'Truck Trend' and see that they are doing the 2003 SUV of the Year. So I flip to the first page of the article expecting to see our beautiful 7 slot chrome grill and instead, what do I see, but a Volvo XC90!!! WTF?!... I don't think I've ever even seen this car. We were in the running but got nailed on the: Cheap interior plastic; Fuel-thirsty engine; poor rearward visibility...

Needless to say, I'm a little pissed so I pick up the new Four Wheeler magazine, you know, the one whose readership generally understands what it is to be a Hummer owner. Well, in the newest issue they have their Four Wheeler of the Year Shootout. So I tear open the magazine looking to see our H2 winning it all and, to my dismay, they have the new Lexus GX470 (fancy 4-Runner) beating out the H2 with the H2 barely beating out the newly redesigned Toyota 4-Runner. Augh!!!

So I read through the article and Four Wheeler evidently doesn't like the fact that "when the rear locker is engaged the H2 relies on its traction-control system for the front and that seemed to take plenty of wheelspin to engage". Also, they nailed us on narrow windows, sheer size and power output. Oh Well, I guess you can't win them all...

Well, I'm sick this day after Christmas so what do I do but go and pick up $50 worth of magazines at Border's Bookstore to entertain myself on the couch. So I'm reading through the new Motor Trend 'Truck Trend' and see that they are doing the 2003 SUV of the Year. So I flip to the first page of the article expecting to see our beautiful 7 slot chrome grill and instead, what do I see, but a Volvo XC90!!! WTF?!... I don't think I've ever even seen this car. We were in the running but got nailed on the: Cheap interior plastic; Fuel-thirsty engine; poor rearward visibility...

Needless to say, I'm a little pissed so I pick up the new Four Wheeler magazine, you know, the one whose readership generally understands what it is to be a Hummer owner. Well, in the newest issue they have their Four Wheeler of the Year Shootout. So I tear open the magazine looking to see our H2 winning it all and, to my dismay, they have the new Lexus GX470 (fancy 4-Runner) beating out the H2 with the H2 barely beating out the newly redesigned Toyota 4-Runner. Augh!!!

So I read through the article and Four Wheeler evidently doesn't like the fact that "when the rear locker is engaged the H2 relies on its traction-control system for the front and that seemed to take plenty of wheelspin to engage". Also, they nailed us on narrow windows, sheer size and power output. Oh Well, I guess you can't win them all...

Hummerdogg:

I won't repeat what I wrote in my response to the Consumer Reports thread, but I've given up on most magazines.

Four Wheeler is usually one of the better magazines when it comes to rating vehicles based on their off-road worthiness, so I'm a bit suprised. On the other hand, the rating for SUV of the Year is weighted by criteria for the status quo and therein lies the H2's weakness. The H2 is not for the average SUV buyer, let alone the average consumer. The H2 won't appeal to people that have no desire to venture off the beaten path.

Yah but you know the truth that the H2 would kick all of there asses in the real world! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

future H2 owner

AMEN BROTHER

DON'T WORRY, WE ARE STILL THE KINGS OF THE ROAD.

I never put much stock in Motor Trend's opinoin, but 4-wheeler - that's a bit of a surprise. They must be trying to enlarge their subscriber base by appealing to the luxury class. Nice to know that we have luxury and awesome off-road capability not to mention safety all rolled up into one great package.

Did a little bit of wheelin today in a sandy arroyo near the house and used the rear locker several times while climbing some rather steep sides of the arroyo - what a blast. A group of young adults came screaming by in a blazer and they gave me the all hands wave - cool.

JJ

Oh come on people. The XC90 is an outstanding car in its own right. The H2 isn't for the masses. Besides, the comments about poor interior, bad fuel consumption, and lack of rearward visibility are all right on the money and the XC90 definitely has the advantage here. The XC90 is more practical too.

Of course if there was a category for 'image' the H2 would win without a question. But who really cares? Did you get the H2 to be popular? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Cognitive, you're right the XC90 is an outstanding CAR in its own right. And vovlo builds a great product.

I purchased by H2, not for image, but for UTILITY. I wanted the ability to road trip in comfort and take on a wide array of jeep trails such as those found throughout Colorado.

I just can't imagine seeing an XC90 climbing a steep dirt incline out of a sandy arroyo or crawling through heavily washed out areas that would eat its belly.

And sense there are as many different buyers of SUVs as there are definition of UTILITY it doesn't shock be that 4-wheel drive minivans make it to the SUV list.

Just my opinion, and I equally respect yours.

JJ

Not sad at all, you maybe sick but you have a neat moving sexist icon.

I would be very surprised to find Hummer win any prize, not winning truck/SUV of the year was totally expected. I have never owned a Car Of The Year type of vehicle, I don't follow the herd, I want vehicles which are somewhat unique and not too common, rarely seen and top in its category. I am usually very confident of my selection and proud of my ownership, and frankly, my dear, I don't give a &%#$ what others think of my vehicle, ever.

acckk...HummerDogg found my home movies...

hee hee just kidding! That is quite a hoot man!

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

Yeah, I found her in my stocking. I had to work out the kinks before I put her on the forum . [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] I will leave her up for a day and then take her down. I wouldn't want to offend any of the good people on this forum. I was really wanting SteveR to chime in on her before I took her down though...

Yeah, I was hoping to see SteveR's response as well....

JJ

HummerDogg, its you. Don't take it down, I like it. Nobody gave me no girl this Christmas.

Don't you dare take that beautiful thing down!!!!! It's mezmerizing. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] At certain angles I swear you can see "something".

Damn, I apologize for wasting everyone's time with this post. I didn't realize you guys talked about SUV/Truck of the Year Award over in "In The Press" section last week. I'm just now looking over some of these often skimmed over sections of the forum...

sory to tak so longg to responn, its VERYY VRY HRAD to tyyp with omly one hand. nEed morr tyme too study hot-asz new icon...... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

The H2 is a huge target in the SUV market. The SUV vehicle class is not well defined either. I am not sure exactly what they are looking for when they choose these vehicles, but don't dispair. It will all settle down and you will feel no remorse as you drive your H2.

Remember, if they make this "4wd vehicle of the year", "SUV of the year", "truck of the year", "perfect new vehicle of the year", GM will build 10 new plants and produce 80-100k per year. We don't want this vehicle to be the next mass production 4-Runner. Just be glad they are nitpicking and have not exposed some giant flaw in design. That would spell big trouble for reselling and great embarrassment for those of us who drive it.

I certainly like your attitude. I AGREE! THE H2 is the one to beat and therefore it is going to be the focus of these "Keyboard Warriors." Most of them are to Lazy to get off their dead asses and experience things for themselves. But they sure think they write a good game though.

SOCAL XMER ..I'm with ya.

HeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

COOL ICON..............

HeeeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwwww

the h2 will drive them all into the ground ! i'll pull that vovlo around on the end of a strap...never cared what others think, never will... hummerdogg keep the icon at least till jason gets back from vegas..........soft

yep you are right on the money on that one, although the wheel just falling off that other yellow H2 in the testing phase was pretty un-nerving. I hope many folks did not hear about that one.

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

Have any of you actually seen or driven an XC90? Before spouting off that 'mine is better than yours' maybe you should actually take the XC90 for a spin.

My opinion is that the XC90 will not beat the H2 in offroading except in areas that the H2 simply won't fit but I'm confident that in almost every other area it will beat the H2... and there's nothing wrong with that!

okay, cognitive we are all dying to know...have you driven the XC90 yet?

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by HeeHaw:

SOCAL XMER ..I'm with ya.

HeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You got that right Heehaw. I DO know SoCalXMER, and given that he's practically your neighbor and that he has yet to buy an H2, and that we need him to come on all our outtings...he IS with you! His name is Michael and be sure to give him a call when you plan to offroad: that guys been bit by the H2 bug and needs his fix!!! He's always welcome in my rig...but you guys are very near eachother!

See ya..........

HeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

PS No I'm not going to drive up in the Hummer.

Heehaw....do that thing where you test-drive it and thrash the hell out of it....then roll it back to the lot and tell the dealer that you'll have to think about it!

Hummergirl: no I haven't driven the XC90. I've been following it for quite awhile since I was looking for car with more space that I found 'pleasing'. I haven't been fond of Volvo's until the S series and the cross country. When I heard about the XC90 I became interested since there must be SOMETHING about it to cause Volvo to basically chew into their own cross country market. Anyway, I became impatient or shall I say I fell in love with the Hummer mystique and got it instead. I love it but the points brought up in Motor Trend are all important (at least to me). I'm not an offroader... rough roader at best... so I'm not enraged by the claim that the volvo is the best 4WD. It makes me somewhat sad that my interior is cheesy, the visibility is poor, etc. but I don't think I would have purchased the XC90 had it been available. It has too much of a 'soccer mom' (I hate that term but I don't know how else to say it) image for me.

Hopefully motor trend like articles will spur GM to make an H3 that is truly the H1's smaller, more efficient brother. That is what I hoped for with the H2. I think a smaller machine would eliminate many of the issues with the competition. Visibility could be much improved. Handling would almost certainly improve. The interior would probably improve due to reduced space. The only thing that would really suffer would be cargo space. There's only so much they can do to create a rigid body with lots of clearance AND retain cargo space. However, Volvo managed to do so in the XC90. Check out the amount of cargo room in the thing. It's pretty good [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Hey they (dealership)were a little touchy down there and the vehicle I drove was nice, but it wasn't any where near a HUMMER. It has a very nice interior and sounded like a 4 banger going down the road. When I pressed the peddle, it went OK, but not like the HUMMER. It had a SPONGE-TYPE ride and this car would get ruined or thrashed if you tried to keep with STEVE for just one day. This car is good if you don't leave the pavement or take any steep hills on the highway.

For Yuppies (and I'm sure I'll get nailed for this) families, who never intend to drive off road, that don't mind being the NORM and want a low maint, raised station wagon, then this is the VEHICLE for them

Personally, I wouldn't be buried in one. If I had to go back, then I'm going back to the TAHOE, SUBURBAN, JEEP or something like that. These imports really disapoint and I think they are useless, but that's my OPINION, and I COULD BE WRONG.

Before you start throwing stones my way and sending we hate mail, just remember, I drove the dang thing, not once, but twice, because I wanted to make sure of what I was seeing, hearing and feeling during this test drive. They really tried to PRESURE me into it, which is probably the norm on most lots.

LOVE YA ALL HEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwww

Here's a picture

Reminded me of the Dodge Durango, except it had a better interior....

HeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwww

HeeHaw, that was beyond the call of duty. Job well done.
Hummer is emotion, not logic. Its like comparing apple to orange.

Which brings to my mind the most logical form of transportation is VAN. Never owned a van, would not buy one but have had several rentals, and I was impressed every time. I think the last one was a Grand Caravan, tons of space and seats, easy walk-thru interior, wide seats, upright pilot chairs, easy to see, drive and very powerful. Aerodynamic shape, maximum use of space, almost like a house on wheels. If logic is the only criteria used in selection between XC90 or a van, I think any van will win the battle among 95% of the buyers who will not go off the roads. Volvo does have some image, power and reliability issues, which is a whole bag of other stuffs not belong here. XC90 is handsome, but no way I will be seen in a Volvo.

you are right on the money with that car review. I am sure that SUV (super uppidy vehicle) is just what some yuppy family wants.

I like MAC would never be seen in a Volvo.
Does anyone remember the movie The Rock, where NicK Cage's character states that he is a major goofball/nerd/yuppie and drives a "volvo, a beige one".

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

And Cognitive...no thanks.

But the whole concern over this article is the fact that the Hummer and this Volvo thing are two totally different beasts.

To be honest I personally don't classify the Hummer as a Sport Utility and I don't consider the Ford Excursion Either. All the others just fall in between.

Maybe you should take your Hummer off road more.

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

I, too, could NEVER be seen in a Volvo, no matter how many accolades they get. I have problems with their image and philosophy. I am amused by their practice of making all safety features standard because they don't want a person that can't afford an option to be precluded from a safety feature. Well, if you properly extend that righteous egalitarian "logic," to its conclusion, and Volvos ARE truly the safest cars, shouldn't they be giving them away?

Hummergirl: ??? No thanks to what? I don't want to take my H2 off road more but I already said that it will beat the XC90 offroad unless there's a space that the H2 can't fit in. My point was that the Hummer is not a perfect car. GM can come closer to competing with these other 'SUV's with the H3. And like I said, I wouldn't have bought the XC90 over the H2.

Well I will tell you what they truly aren't safe from...DEER.

I have seen 4 volvos ranging from wagons to sedans with all the drivers seriously hurt from hitting a deer head on in all instances. So until they make a DEER-proof windshield, it will be THE safest vehicle on the market.

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

Volvo's are vulnerable in deer collisions due to the front end and the windshield. On older models, the geometry (basically 90 degrees to the road) and stiffness were so bad that the deer would basically slide across the hood and hit the windshield at basically the same speed it was hit. The windshield is fairly vertical as well so the deer would essentially go right through it. I'm not positive but I don't know if this is true of the S series and the XC90 must be high enough in the front for this not to be such an issue.

Hummers are certainly high enough but I'd be concerned about larger animals with longer legs. Deer are one thing but a moose is really dangerous. Since their center of gravity is so high, they pose a serious problem to SUVs. A friend of mine ran into one with a land rover and it totalled the car even though the front end was relatively intact. If it weren't for 3 kayaks sticking out in front of the windshield, the moose would have gone completely into the passenger area. Luckily no one was severely injured. I'm pretty sure a hummer would be in trouble in this situation as well since the windshield is nearly vertical. Hopefully the front end is high enough to hit the body though.

In my opinion the most dangerous aspect of Volvo's has been handling. I personally can't stand the combination of power steering and handling in the Volvo's - particularly the wagons and XC. The XC90 (I think) should be a different story but I'm not sure.

A moose...that never entered my mind!

You can bet no one is safe from one of those except the national guard in a tank!!!

You are so right about the handling of a volvo. They don't drive all that well and I have never understood the big deal about them. To me it was always a snootie-mobile for those who couldn't afford a mercedes.

That's what I meant about the no thanks earlier...no thanks, I won't have one.

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

hmmm....around these parts we go to the market to buy food; we don't rely on roadkill. Remind me not to sample Hummergirls Jumbalaya. And what is that secret ingredient in her soaps? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

just kidding. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Love, kisses and roadkill wishes - Steve