Design Dead ends, and how the Hummer will always be cool.

[BlackDragon]

Hey, all,

Just read through Mondo's thread about the escalade, and thought I'd run something by you all.

I'm the kinda person who really likes to have "the current model" car. My last car, a Y2K Corvette was sold on the basis that the new C6 was now available, and my car was suddenly aged and not quite as cool as it used to be.

This reasoning and desire of mine is part of the reason I bought an H2.

I have this theory that certain companies, due to their specific motivations to produce models of cars, back themselves into a "design dead end".

Examples of design dead ends:

* New Mustang: Ford admitting that the original model 'stang was the best looking. This now means that they will have real difficulty ever moving away from a design that mimicks that look. It's based on a retro design which is a moment in history that can never be changed.

* New Beetle: Same as above. A modern interpretation of a design classic from history. The new beetle is about to go through a "face lift", which is little more than slightly modified fenders. The new version looks like a bodykit on a standard bug.

* New Mini: Again, same as above. It's based on a moment in time which is a factual and unchangable fact, and as such, must always look the way it does.

So how does this apply to the Hummer?

The hummer was based on the H1 which was an out and out military vehicle. The main attraction to this was the way it looks, and the H2 is a "portrait" of that, if you will. It says "military", but really, it's a comfortable, roomy SUV.

Because the H2 is based on a moment in history, as with the other cars mentioned above, changing it will change it's focus and lose the thing that made it attractive (to most people) in the first place. Therefore, I think it's safe to assume that we'll see little or no cosmetic changes to the H2 in coming years, meaning that our cars should always be the current model

"Great!" I hear you say, "But so what?", well, with the escalade, you see the previous model on the street, and it looks old. No escaping from it - it's a relic compared to the new one, but think about it how cool is it that we will never be in that position with our H2's....?

If there was ever a reason not to sell your hummer, surely that's it?

Discuss....