Hummer buyers are back

Gas prices have been up for quite a while now, so are buyers of the H2 Hummer, the king of sport-utility vehicles, pulling
back?

Not as much as one might think, says Corey Lockhart, Hummer general manager at Lockhart Hummer in Fishers.

Sales a couple of months ago were down by about half from the heyday of two years ago, when gas prices were a fraction of
todayâ??s levels, Lockhart says. But the downturn coincided with the American Axle strike, which crimped the flow of parts to
the H2 plant in Mishawaka and ultimately the number of finished vehicles on Lockhartâ??s lot.

Now that H2 inventories are climbing and gas prices have stabilized, buyers are returning, he says.

The buyers are the same crowd as before: self-employed people who want to drive a big vehicle. With average household incomes
of more than $150,000, paying more for gas isnâ??t a big issue.

Gas prices never came up during sales chatter a couple of years ago, Lockhart recalls. Now the topic usually surfaces, but
not for long.

â??Half the time, itâ??s half-hearted joking about it,â?? Lockhart says.

What do you think?