[Ruidselisse]

GM had a wonderful opportunity with the Hummer. It could have been developed into becoming GM's Jeep-like brand. Like "Jeep", the name Hummer (Humvee) is legendary... it has real history and recognition connected to it. And it is known globally.

A limited production over-the-top H1.... well, why not? But it should have been introduced together with the smaller H3 and then followed with even smaller models. GM could have built a very cool brand. But they kept with the big monster Hummer as the only offering for too long really killing the name's appeal.

[amannddo]

Because the H3 defeated the purpose. It was not a true HumVee adaptation anymore. If I remember right it was just a truck chassis and engine with a hummer body put on it for show.

This lost the enthusiasts that liked the original vehicle and pretty much turned it into just another gas guzzling SUV.

I believe some of the commercials even showed an almost suburban mommy looking driver in them....


As for "So", they are SO over teh top that really great things could be done with that amount of cash. It is PURE excess. Absolutely no need for its power or ability (or, in the case of Rolls, opulent decadence). I am not going to go into "you could feed XXX kids with the money blah blah" but it gets to be more than a bit sobering when you look at some of the higher priced models and realize thata small school could be built for teh same price.

I have no problem with quality or durability or workmanship, the line for me is drawn where you spend the extra cash to put Gold Wings on your Italian Loafers.

Or Gold leaf on your Bagel, for that matter!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ry.html?cat=22

Range Rover has been dancing that line for so long now it is rediculous. I always laugh at the idea of 95% of their client base EVER having to do more offroading than parking on an unpaved driveway.

I respect the engineering and the craftsmanship, but not commercial product itself.....

Just like Art, I think it is stunning and though provoking to look at and to share, but somehow OWNING the more remarkable works seems.....off.

[nicktender]

The preaching and morality is tedious.

For plenty of people in the world, your life-style is ridiculously wasteful too.

Do you really need that much space? That much food? That much heating and airconditioning ? That much of everything?

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There has always been a Rolls.

And the domesticated Jeep has been around since the 1960's. Marketed to houswives: "Jeep" ... a WWII Army vehicle, marketed to housewives?

You don't seem to get my point at all about the Hummer. It was a great opportunity to do with Hummer as as other were to do with Jeep.

[lierro]

The preaching and morality is tedious.

For plenty of people in the world, your life-style is ridiculously wasteful too.

Are you trying to split hairs?

You are saying that spending $250K on a vehicle that does nothing more than entertain you (serves no real purpose) can be compared to a 15 year old Mazda I have had as my one and only car since College and my commute to work?

You really are barking up the wrong elephant there Fab....

Do you really need that much space? That much food? That much heating and airconditioning ? That much of everything? Yes, yes, yes and yes.

I get mad at wasted leftovers, I turn the heat down in the house to below what most people find comfortable, and if there is no AC, I cannot sleep, work efficiently when I come in, and earn money/design buildings that others want designed.

Woof woof?


There has always been a Rolls. Never said there wasn't. There were also regal horse and carriage, it does not mean that something that has been around for a while validates its very existance because of its age.

And the domesticated Jeep has been around since the 1960's. Marketed to houswives: "Jeep" ... a WWII Army vehicle, marketed to housewives? They tried to market it to the weak segment. Guys wanted jeeps, women were the ones that probably kept the guys from buying them.

How many women do you know that hook up the boat to the trailer to go fishing as implied in that "fun" ad you showed there?

And they crapped up the Jeep with their 4 cylinder and other design changes. It is not the rugged little vehicle that could get you to where you wanted to go even after its floorboards rusted through (yes, a friend had a jeep with holes in the floor.... Fine, unless it rained....)

You don't seem to get my point at all about the Hummer. It was a great opportunity to do with Hummer as as other were to do with Jeep. I think I know what you are saying, but the Hummer was one step further. It was ENORMOUS. And taking a vehicle and divorcing it so completely from its original intent makes it difficult to continmue to support or validate.

The Jeep I knew was the knockabout. It was the one that was relatively small, inexpensive to buy and upkeep. It was the used vehicle of choice to many who wanted more than an old datsun or pinto.

Marketing and redesign cheapened the vehicle and made it less durable, and they changed who they were aiming it at. It turned the same way the artist colony turns into cheap Yuppie Condos. V6-$ cylinder, colors like Turquoise come out, and commercials show bubbleheads on their way to the beach.

You saying that doing the same for Hummer would have saved it, but Jeep is dying. One of the main reasons I hear now is just because they suck. No matter how much "fun" you paint it with, a car can only keep a reputation for so long.....


But whatever. It does not matter. I don't think I will change your opinion on this, and when I think about it... it really does not matter...... :I

[GrottereewNus]

Up In The Sky, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, Nooooo, It's Another Post Going Completely Over the Head of Ninjahedge!

[KitRittyTug]

Hint: The point is brand-recognition. A name was taken, and transformed into a new genre. Every SUV made today anywhere in the world points directly to Willys-Jeep.

[voksveta]

But they kept with the big monster Hummer as the only offering for too long really killing the name's appeal.

Huh? Sticking with the big old H1 for too long did them in? Seems to me Hummer had its greatest success when it released the H2 back in late 2002.

[markbila]

It was a different world in 2002. Again I repeat: "they kept with the big monster Hummer as the only offering for too long really killing the name's appeal."

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As Ninjahedge calls jeep a dying brand, February Wrangler sales are up 28% over 2008. Apart from the new Challenger, Jeep is the only bright spot in Chrysler corp sales.

An interesting article from Ward's Auto :

Jeep Brand as Intrepid as Its Vehicles
By Eric Mayne
WardsAuto.com, Sep 10, 2008 9:44 AM

In an economic climate where SUV has become a 4-letter word, what does an auto maker do with a brand solely comprised of utility vehicles? If you are General Motors Corp., you put Hummer up for sale. And if you are Tata Motors Ltd.’s Land Rover, you thumb your nose at volatile pump prices by repositioning the marque as an elite luxury brand. As for Jeep, analysts recommend little or no change. “Jeep is secure just because it’s Jeep,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision Inc.

Regular-grade gasoline prices peaked in July at $4.11 per gallon, nearly 50% above year-ago levels, according the American Automobile Assn., and sucked the life from the once-thriving SUV segment. Jeep deliveries fell also, but at a lesser rate, 24%, than SUV sales. The brand recorded 247,717 sales through the year’s first eight months, compared with 326,209 in like-2007.

Observers credit Jeep’s strong brand image for its resilience. And while Chrysler LLC executives are eager to highlight Jeep’s substance, they concede the brand benefits from a unique style. “It’s a really tribal brand,” says Deborah Meyer, vice president and chief marketing officer. “People become part of a club. You drive your Wrangler and (other Jeep drivers) wave at you. You wave at other Jeeps. You have that whole sense of community.” This affinity even has spawned a $500 million cottage industry around branded consumer products, from T-shirts to toys. In the fourth quarter, marketers expect to sell their 2-millionth Jeep-emblazoned baby stroller.

“Think about where branding’s going today,” Meyer tells Ward’s in a recent interview. “People, when they choose brands, a lot of times, bring it into their lives, because it’s part of who they are. We see it as a big trend, and we think it’s going to continue.” Says Edwards, whose California-based consultancy studies consumer buying patterns and brand loyalty: “Jeep is not your soccer-mom SUV, even though it’s used as a soccer-mom SUV.”

He contends Jeep’s bold message, derived from its military heritage as a battlefield workhorse, is best defined by a special-edition Wrangler released in 2003. Featuring an appearance package that suggested toughness, the limited-run model celebrated video-game heroine Lara Croft, who was portrayed that year in an action film starring Angelina Jolie.

Compass sales in 2008 lag last year’s levels by 24.7%, according to Ward’s. However, Patriot deliveries, which totaled 44,154 through August, are more than double the Compass tally and represent an 89% jump compared with the first eight months of its launch year. “The hard-core Jeepers will probably never accept those products,” Plecha says in a recent interview. “But that’s OK as long as we give them great products like (the) Wrangler.” In addition, Ralph Gilles, who became vice president-design Sept. 1 following the retirement of Trevor Creed, tells Ward’s he envisions a Jeep-brand pickup inspired by the JT concept truck Chrysler unveiled last year. “Jeep will be all right in the end,” Peterson says, partly because of the brand’s cache.
Says Meyer: “Consumers are at a much higher level of brand sophistication or brand savvy than they were when I started in marketing 20 years ago. So, when they choose a brand, it is something that they take on as part of their lifestyle.”
The phenomenon can be explained, in part, through the theory of “conspicuous consumption” put forward by 19th century sociologist and economist Thorsten Veblen, according to Canadian academic Vicky Paraschak. Conspicuous consumption is the act of acquiring over-the-top possessions, and being seen to acquire them. Combine this with the fundamental human need for socialization and you have a snapshot of the Jeep experience, suggests Parashak, a sociology instructor at Ontario-based University of Windsor. “You crave belonging, a sense of self-esteem through being valued by the group,” she says. “(Jeep owners) find a community they can belong to that lines up with the values that they ascribe to themselves.”

http://wardsauto.com/ar/jeep_cachet_intrepid_080910/

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As I was saying: GM messed up a great oppurtunity with the Hummer brand.

--

[opelayday]

Up In The Sky, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, Nooooo, It's Another Post Going Completely Over the Head of Ninjahedge!

You are so funny I forgot to hit you.

[Zaxsdcxs]

Hint: The point is brand-recognition. A name was taken, and transformed into a new genre. Every SUV made today anywhere in the world points directly to Willys-Jeep.

Clue: I know this.