Hummer buyers are back

July 29, 2008
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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?
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  • There will always be a few late-adopters who can't or won't adopt to the new reality and social responsibility.

    Are new buyers able to avail themselves of the IRS's accelerted depreciation schedule for the big SUVs which were created several years ago? Your tax doillars at work again.
  • Whenever I see someone in a Hummer, I immediately think A**hole. And I see why the rest of the world hates us. We are excessive and ridiculous and to me the Hummer symbolizes that. Hummer people are egotistical show-offs who seem to think they have no responsibility to the rest of the world. I actually get angry when I see them on the road. People we've got to start changing the way we live!!
  • You people need to seek counseling. You get angry when you see someone driving a Hummer? That's sick. When I read comments like that the first thing I think of is A-hole......
  • Ifif people want to drive Hummers they should be paying more--more for gas since they're depleting our resources, more for taxes to repair roads torn up by these monsters, and more for insurance since they demolish anything they run into. Come on, people. It makes me sick when I see ads for zero percent financing on these monstrosities.
  • Brett must be a Hummer owner.
  • I don't think gas prices have 'stabalized'.
    This is a temporary bubble.
    Hummers are merely a sign of status. They are a waste of materials and gas. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should buy it.
    They leave behind horrible amounts of pollution and have terrable gas milage.
    They are cars people, not children. We should purchase cars that are not only good for us, but good for society, which sometimes means not owning a car at all.
  • Ifif people want to drive Hummers they should be paying more–more for gas since they’re depleting our resources, more for taxes to repair roads torn up by these monsters, and more for insurance since they demolish anything they run into. Come on, people. It makes me sick when I see ads for zero percent financing on these monstrosities.

    Please, get help...

    They are cars people, not children. We should purchase cars that are not only good for us, but good for society, which sometimes means not owning a car at all.

    Good then move to China and get a rickshaw..
  • Interesting how some equate driving a larger vehicle to consumption of gas. I know many people that have economy and mid-size cars that drive more miles than others. Not much common sense and no statistaical support!
  • I happen to be one of those A-holes who is leasing an H3. I wanted something that would be safe for my wife to drive everyday, be able to haul large loads from the home-improvement store, and yes, look pretty cool while doing it. Had it for over a year now, and it has about 8,000 miles on it. Now tell me, who's doing more environmental harm? Me, or the soccer mom making a dozen short trips every day in her minivan, shuttling kids all over the place? Are people really concerned with the environmental effects, or just what's more socially acceptable?
  • Hummer drivers aren't a-holes. Hummer drivers with big chrome rims are a-holes.

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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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