By RHONDA SWAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 07, 2008
Debi Preston-Jarvis' two-year lease was up on her Hummer, so she bought another one. And anyone who has a problem with that is just a hater.
Preston-Jarvis, an Ocean Ridge resident who owns a plumbing company, was at the Schumacher Hummer dealership on Okeechobee Boulevard on a recent Monday test-driving an H3. She left with it that afternoon.
Arthur Ventre, a disabled Vietnam vet, says his Hummer 'drives like a tank,' but he wishes the seats were more comfortable.
When Claudette Lattie bought her Hummer, gas was less than $3 a gallon. Now, she says she's paying an extra $40 every time she fills up the tank, and she wouldn't buy another one.
Tiffany O'Brady, 23, says she's had a Hummer, a Toyota Corolla and a Lexus. She gets some ribbing for driving an H3, but it's her favorite of the three.
This time she wanted one with a manual transmission because it's better on gas.
In the era of $4 fuel, the Hummer is hurting.
A 60 percent drop in sales is one of the reasons General Motors Corp. announced early last month that it will close four production plants and start making more small vehicles.
GM also is considering whether to revamp the Hummer or sell the line to another auto manufacturer.
The Detroit automaker is under increasing pressure to adjust to the change in consumer demand from trucks and sport utility vehicles to cars and crossovers.
In fact, the ailing company's GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave — which are built on smoother-riding car chassis — are two of the hottest-selling vehicles in the nation.
All that does little to sway Preston-Jarvis.
She is fine with her Hummer just the way it is. And her H3 is the line's smallest and least gas-guzzling truck.
Her response when first asked whether she owned a Hummer was, "Why, are you going to shoot me?" She noted she'd heard a comedian joke that people should have a right to shoot Hummer owners.
In fact, Hummer haters have their own Web site, FUH2.com.
But unlike the many Hummer owners who have been yelled at, flipped off and cut off by angry environmentalists, Preston-Jarvis says she's managed to avoid becoming a target.
"They all want one," she says. "Everybody that says something, they just can't get it."
Fuel concerns
Future California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first person to get one in 1992 after persuading manufacturers to make Hummers for nonmilitary purposes.
The design is based on the Humvee, a multipurpose vehicle used by the U.S. military.
But the former star of the Terminator movies reportedly was worried enough about the Hummer's environmental impact that he has retooled two of his to run on alternate fuel.
Claudette Lattie of Loxahatchee is more concerned about the extra $40 she is spending to fill up her tank.
The Realtor owns an H2, a 4-ton vehicle that she says gets from 9 to 12 miles per gallon. She's all for GM revamping the truck.
"That's exactly what they need to do and then they won't have to close the plants," Lattie says. "They designed it that way, so I'm sure they can make the vehicle to give you better mileage."
When she bought the truck a year ago, gas hadn't yet reached $3 a gallon and she and her husband had planned to convert the engine. That never happened.
Would she buy another Hummer?
"Hell, no!" she says. Her next car will be a hybrid.
"The gas mileage is terrible," Lattie says. "I'm hanging in there for now, hoping that we either convert the system or that gas prices will go down."
Tax savings
On the bright side, Hummer owners enjoy a tax break most other drivers don't.
They can write off up to $100,000 as a business expense because of a loophole originally designed to give farmers a tax break on their trucks.
The legislation defines the vehicle by weight, not use, and Hummers are among the biggest trucks on the market.
Even the H3 weighs in at 5,000 pounds, or 21/2 tons.
Still, tax savings don't seem able to compete with gas spending.
Sal Delgreco is general sales manager for Schumacher Hummer, the only Hummer dealership in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
He says sales dropped from about 1,500 in 2006 to about 1,000 in 2007.
However, he's only slightly worried about the dealership's future.
Hummers are getting better on gas.
The H3, which starts at $33,000 and tops out at $42,000, gets up to 20 miles per gallon.
And Hummer customers, like Preston-Jarvis, are loyal and the demographic is expanding, he says.
The truck is no longer limited to the rich and famous.
Tiffany O'Brady, a 23-year-old part-time student at Palm Beach Community College who works at Sprint, says it's her favorite vehicle.
She's had a Toyota Corolla and a Lexus.
"I like it a lot. It's one of my better vehicles I've ever had," she says.
O'Brady says she's gotten her share of ribbing for driving an H3, but nothing she can't handle.
Her parents own an H2. They don't drive it, though. Instead, they carpool to work in the Lexus because of gas prices.
Arthur Ventre, a disabled Vietnam vet who lives in Delray Beach, says gas wasn't his top priority when he bought a used H3 six months ago.
"I was looking for stability, strength. It drives like a tank," Ventre says. "I've had other trucks, many trucks — Ford pickups, Expeditions — this one seems to ride the sturdiest."
Will he buy another one?
Yes, if they make the seats a little more comfortable.
What about the gas?
"That's the way life is. Gas prices are what they are. You can't fight city hall."
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This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your Car Lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com.
Print | posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 5:54 PM