[hispeed6]

Gents,

I have to say that maybe some of us might need to mitigate our expectations of what we want out of our trucks. Not trying to incite anyone here but it IS a truck and it was designed to be durable.

Everything is a compromise and from an engineering perspective I'd consider the H3 a very happy medium between economy, size, performance, toughness, longevity, cost, etc. If it doesn't suit you then maybe there are alternatives out there on the market that do? The engineers at GM and Hummer didn't design this truck to disappoint you. And I'd say for the majority of us who have bought the truck they've succeeded in finding the sweet spot. Besides, sales of a base model vehicle usually promote/support a) add-on models with more specialized performance (i.e. jeep rubicon, corvette Z06) and b) aftermarket vendors who step up and offer products to alter a stock vehicle's attributes. Could the acceleration be improved? Of course, but at the expense of what? Fuel economy? Purchase price? The hit GM/Hummer would take with the CAFE regs?

And honestly, if you REALLY want to drive a slug for comparison's sake I think I could still find the owner of my old '95 4Runner with the 3.0 V6 (was just thumbing through July's Car and Driver, the '90 4Runner with the same engine was the worst they tested that year at 15.7 seconds zero to sixty). I bet the guy I sold it to would trade you for a weekend (or forever).

On a personal note if I really want to get somewhere in a hurry I have a conveyance tailored specifically for that endeavour. It has two wheels and 1000cc's.