Filed under: New York Auto Show, SUVs, HUMMER
New York Auto Show: HUMMER H2 gets an interior for grown-ups
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Up to now, the interior of the HUMMER H2 could be pointed to as a case study in how to make a vehicle interior as cheap-looking as possible. The salt in the wound, of course, is that such crap was attached to a vehicle costing north of $50,000.
Well, that's over, thank goodness. The 2008 HUMMER H2 gets a spiffy new powertrain in the 6.2L V8 with a 6-speed automatic sourced from the Cadillac Escalade, but the real story is the gigunda SUV's 100% improved passenger cabin. The '08 on the floor at the New York Auto Show is an orange H2 SUT, and when you open the door to look inside, the first thing you think is, "Why didn't it look like this in the first place?"
New, comfortable leather seats are the perches from which driver and passenger gaze upon an all-new instrument panel featuring clean, readable, chrome-ringed gauges, and a proper center stack that uses the General's top-shelf parts bin audio and HVAC controls. HUMMER product director Ross Hendrix takes great pride in the new analog clock installed in the middle of the dash. Costing an unbelievable $26 per vehicle, the clock was something he said he had to fight tooth-and-nail for. But Hendrix is an effective advocate for his brand, and he won in the end. Thought by some at GM to be "too Escalade" for the HUMMER, the clock in the H2 is, unlike the Cadillac's stylized time-teller, actually readable. The 2008 H2's dash covering and door panel tops are also made of soft-touch plastic that has a notable "give" to it when you press down. In short: much, much better. If you visit the show, compare the '08 to the red '07 H2 parked nearby, and we think you'll be in full agreement.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Viv 6:23PM (4/09/2007)
That's more like it. This interior looks like something that belongs in a 50K car and not a Cavalier ripoff. Good job Hummer.
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Carguy 6:40PM (4/09/2007)
5 MPG has never looked so good and so 5 years ago.
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Bryan 6:58PM (4/09/2007)
Much better and about time!
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Viv 7:28PM (4/09/2007)
You being a carguy i hate to break it you but anybody who spends 60K on a Hummer don't give a damn about paying an extra quarter for a gallon of gas. Why don't you people come and mouth off about Ferrari and it's "great" fuel economy? It's not exactly a Prius.
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hoeun kim 8:14PM (4/09/2007)
not too bad considering its coming from hummer. still no match for the likes vw toureg
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naif 8:30PM (4/09/2007)
had to argue over spending $26.00 on a clock in a $50,000 vehicle. this is a great example of what i have professed for years. it is due to the BEAN COUNTERS that gm has lost most of it's shirt and market share. not the designers or the engineers or the damn union. the BEAN COUNTERS!!! i feel better now.
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mike 10:06PM (4/09/2007)
i agree with #4. why does everyone always rip on hummer and gm and their "gas guzzlers". why not rip on the ferraris, the porsches, the lambos, even the TOYOTAS (gasp!). dont blame gm for building the best trucks- its not their fault that people lineup to buy these things. blame the people that buy them. not to mention, for the most part, gm trucks are the most fuel efficient in their respective classes (cant say the same for they cars, but theyre close). and for who said its a waste. why is it a waste? there are actually people in this world who see their vehicle as more than an appliance and enjoy spending time in their car. and yes, if you are spending that much on a car, is the price of gas really all that important? (and the prius doesnt do anything that a small diesel cant- hate to break it to u)
back on topic, finally the h2 gets a nice inside. but the best part to me is the 6.2 cranking out close to 400 hp- and alll that torque.
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MikeW 10:20PM (4/09/2007)
Does it still have Neon caliber headlights? HB5/9007 when the H3 has H13s.
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Mustang2005cs 10:29PM (4/09/2007)
Congratulations Hummer on your new interiors, because you sure haven't made any progress is gas milage.
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HotRodzNKustoms 11:15PM (4/09/2007)
I would like everyone to know that $26 clock is absolutly huge when you are fighting with GM bean counters. I had a talk with a Saturn executive several months ago on why the then preproduction Sky Redline did not have those slick turn indicators in the mirrors like the then preproduction Outlook did. He laughed and said "You have never seen us fight tooth and nail in meetings over pennies!"
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Mack 3:36AM (4/10/2007)
A waste of natural resources in my opinion.
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Avinash machado 1:05PM (4/10/2007)
#11. The same could be said of the Landcruiser and Sequioa.
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Barney 8:18PM (4/10/2007)
"dont blame gm for building the best trucks- "
I don't think there will be much of that,
Mike. Some may not even blame them for building "good trucks". Leather seats do not make a vehicle better. Not even a Hummer.
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The FedEx Man 2:10PM (4/11/2007)
Its a crap tardis.
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