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08-06-2006, 05:18 PM
THE DURANGO HERALD
Vehicle damage, nasty notes give visitors bad taste
August 6, 2006
By Thomas Munro | Herald Staff Writer
In many parts of the country, Hummer drivers get a thumbs- up from onlookers excited to see their enormous tank-like vehicles.
In Durango, another finger tends to get raised.
"Of all the places I've been, Durango, Colorado, appears to have some of the strongest anti-Hummer feeling," said Dave Breggin, president of the Colorado Hummer Club.
Breggin has traveled around the country for National Hummer Club events, including six or seven trips to Durango for an annual event.
"There are some times when I'll be driving in Boulder and I'll get crusty looks," Breggin said. "But last year or the year before, we had someone on the hotel grounds (in Durango) proselytizing about our vehicles."
Demonstrations of distaste for the vehicle in the Durango area have recently gone beyond obscene gestures and angry words. There were three separate cases of Hummer vandalism in the area in July alone.
Joe Aguilar, 23, an owner of the pickup-like Hummer H2 SUT, was accustomed to middle fingers and name-calling after owning his black-and-chrome truck for five months.
"I get stuff just about every time I drive it," Aguilera said. "It doesn't really bother me."
But when he parked the truck at his apartment complex at 1 a.m. Saturday, July 22, he wasn't prepared for the damage he would discover when he awoke. The high-riding Hummer was leaning precariously on the rims of two flat slashed tires. The slasher has not been identified, and Aguilera has replaced the tires at a cost of $1,000.
On July 1, a man visiting Tamarron Resort encountered a similar surprise. Three of four tires on his Hummer were punctured, at a cost of $700 each.
William Henry Evans, 56, of Glenwood Springs, was arrested on suspicion of felony criminal mischief for what police called "a random act."
On July 28, Lawrence Goudy, visiting from Texas, rented a Hummer in Albuquerque and drove it to Durango. He discovered it "keyed," with a message on the windshield.
"You are un-American," read the message. "Why do you feel like you have to drive a car with such bad mileage? Are you going to war? (Expletive) you. Global warming is a problem."
The massive Humvee, which became widely recognizable after being used by the military to quickly cross difficult terrain in the Persian Gulf War, inspired the Hummer H1, an ultra-luxury vehicle with sticker prices in the $150,000 region. This was followed by the slightly scaled-down Hummer H2, briefly popular enough to be seen by many as the symbol of all that is wrong with the American auto industry. While H2 sales have been declining, perhaps in response to increasing gas prices, sales of its successor, the still-more-SUV-like H3, have been the one bright spot for General Motors over the first few months of 2006.
Breggin, who drives an H1, said it was with the 2003 advent of the H2 that organized protest and vandalism of Hummers began. On the lighter side, a Web site has emerged showing thousands of snapshots of people flipping the bird at Hummers. Some Web sites sell "violation" tickets for Hummers outlining their environmental impact.
Somewhat more dangerously, activists in Europe, finding what they believe is a loophole in the law, have been letting the air out of Hummer tires and escaping prosecution because the air has no monetary value. Some in the United States have gone beyond even one-off vandalism, as in the 2003 "eco-terrorism" incident in West Covina, Calif., in which arson fires gutted a parts warehouse and destroyed 20 H2s.
"If I don't like something about your lifestyle or your attitude, does that make it right to vandalize your property?" Breggin asked.
Aguilar said he purchased his H2 because he likes going over difficult terrain on off-road trips.
"I use it," Aguilar said. "I actually use it."
Breggin said the vast majority of those involved in Hummer clubs like to go "off-highway" and "are very conscious of the environment and try to minimize our impact on it." He said he is nearly a vegetarian and has a super-insulated house.
"Isn't there some way I could get credit for some of that?" Breggin asked.
http://durangoherald.com/news/06/images/news060806_4a.jpg
Lawrence Goudy of Texas found his Hummer "keyed" while visiting Durango on July 28. He also found a message on the vehicle that read: "You are un-American. Why do you feel like you have to drive a car with such bad mileage? Are you going to war? (Expletive) you. Global warming is a problem."
Dave Breggin president,Colorado Hummer Club
"Of all the places I’ve been, Durango, Colorado, appears to have some of the strongest anti-Hummer feeling."
Vehicle damage, nasty notes give visitors bad taste
August 6, 2006
By Thomas Munro | Herald Staff Writer
In many parts of the country, Hummer drivers get a thumbs- up from onlookers excited to see their enormous tank-like vehicles.
In Durango, another finger tends to get raised.
"Of all the places I've been, Durango, Colorado, appears to have some of the strongest anti-Hummer feeling," said Dave Breggin, president of the Colorado Hummer Club.
Breggin has traveled around the country for National Hummer Club events, including six or seven trips to Durango for an annual event.
"There are some times when I'll be driving in Boulder and I'll get crusty looks," Breggin said. "But last year or the year before, we had someone on the hotel grounds (in Durango) proselytizing about our vehicles."
Demonstrations of distaste for the vehicle in the Durango area have recently gone beyond obscene gestures and angry words. There were three separate cases of Hummer vandalism in the area in July alone.
Joe Aguilar, 23, an owner of the pickup-like Hummer H2 SUT, was accustomed to middle fingers and name-calling after owning his black-and-chrome truck for five months.
"I get stuff just about every time I drive it," Aguilera said. "It doesn't really bother me."
But when he parked the truck at his apartment complex at 1 a.m. Saturday, July 22, he wasn't prepared for the damage he would discover when he awoke. The high-riding Hummer was leaning precariously on the rims of two flat slashed tires. The slasher has not been identified, and Aguilera has replaced the tires at a cost of $1,000.
On July 1, a man visiting Tamarron Resort encountered a similar surprise. Three of four tires on his Hummer were punctured, at a cost of $700 each.
William Henry Evans, 56, of Glenwood Springs, was arrested on suspicion of felony criminal mischief for what police called "a random act."
On July 28, Lawrence Goudy, visiting from Texas, rented a Hummer in Albuquerque and drove it to Durango. He discovered it "keyed," with a message on the windshield.
"You are un-American," read the message. "Why do you feel like you have to drive a car with such bad mileage? Are you going to war? (Expletive) you. Global warming is a problem."
The massive Humvee, which became widely recognizable after being used by the military to quickly cross difficult terrain in the Persian Gulf War, inspired the Hummer H1, an ultra-luxury vehicle with sticker prices in the $150,000 region. This was followed by the slightly scaled-down Hummer H2, briefly popular enough to be seen by many as the symbol of all that is wrong with the American auto industry. While H2 sales have been declining, perhaps in response to increasing gas prices, sales of its successor, the still-more-SUV-like H3, have been the one bright spot for General Motors over the first few months of 2006.
Breggin, who drives an H1, said it was with the 2003 advent of the H2 that organized protest and vandalism of Hummers began. On the lighter side, a Web site has emerged showing thousands of snapshots of people flipping the bird at Hummers. Some Web sites sell "violation" tickets for Hummers outlining their environmental impact.
Somewhat more dangerously, activists in Europe, finding what they believe is a loophole in the law, have been letting the air out of Hummer tires and escaping prosecution because the air has no monetary value. Some in the United States have gone beyond even one-off vandalism, as in the 2003 "eco-terrorism" incident in West Covina, Calif., in which arson fires gutted a parts warehouse and destroyed 20 H2s.
"If I don't like something about your lifestyle or your attitude, does that make it right to vandalize your property?" Breggin asked.
Aguilar said he purchased his H2 because he likes going over difficult terrain on off-road trips.
"I use it," Aguilar said. "I actually use it."
Breggin said the vast majority of those involved in Hummer clubs like to go "off-highway" and "are very conscious of the environment and try to minimize our impact on it." He said he is nearly a vegetarian and has a super-insulated house.
"Isn't there some way I could get credit for some of that?" Breggin asked.
http://durangoherald.com/news/06/images/news060806_4a.jpg
Lawrence Goudy of Texas found his Hummer "keyed" while visiting Durango on July 28. He also found a message on the vehicle that read: "You are un-American. Why do you feel like you have to drive a car with such bad mileage? Are you going to war? (Expletive) you. Global warming is a problem."
Dave Breggin president,Colorado Hummer Club
"Of all the places I’ve been, Durango, Colorado, appears to have some of the strongest anti-Hummer feeling."