Mission Accomplished: Iraqis now have bad taste in cars

[Lux Interior]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/world/....html?_r=1&ref=world

The Hummer H3 is very popular in Baghdad. And in the School Bus deco to boot!

Hasad thukuri, indeed!

[cbelt3]

Robust SUV's are the ONLY vehicle to have in countries where roads are often dirt, sand, and rock. While they are, in the main, not needed in the USA, they are definitely needed elsewhere.

Those itteh bitteh Fiats bog right down when you try to run 'em over a dune-covered track. Hummer ? Drop the tyre pressure down, put 'er in low 4x4, and power right over.

My fave for driving around Baluchistan was a 6x6 Unimog stakebed with combat tyres. Sucker climbed right up a 1 meter wall when we were stuck in a wadi once. The fave civilian road vehicle was a Mitubishi "Pajero" (read Montero in the US).

I remember talking to a guy who was test driving the first HWMMV prototypes in Nevada back in the early 80's. He flat out loved it. He said the only more durable vehicle was a Russian combat car that they had *ahem* acquired. He said the Russkie car would go off a 3 meter cliff and just bounce. The engine and transmission were total crap, but the structure was just unkillable.

[Mac1337]

Those who who have been eating steaks all their lives are usually the first to sing the virtues of going on diet. This is not news to me. People of the third world who have been riding the kind of cars we are urged to drive here would kill for a ride in a Coupe de Ville. Absent that, the Hummer would do. They don't want to worry about or be reminded endlessly how many grams of CO2 they have emitted today. They want to live.

[mattkime]

>>They don't want to worry about or be reminded endlessly how many grams of CO2 they have emitted today. They want to live.

Man, now i know why my life is so pathetic. Its my bike commute.

[Carnos Jax]

The problem is unless you're talking about an H1, those others are a piss poor substitute for an off road vehicle (relatively speaking more style over substance). So one can only conclude it's ineffective excess. A Mercedes Geländewagen (G Class) would be a better substitute.

[Lux Interior]

cbelt3 wrote:
Robust SUV's are the ONLY vehicle to have in countries where roads are often dirt, sand, and rock.

Sure, no argument there. But this is about H3s, not robust SUVs.

[Mac1337]

Carnos Jax wrote:
The problem is unless you're talking about an H1, those others are a piss poor substitute for an off road vehicle (relatively speaking more style over substance). So one can only conclude it's ineffective excess. A Mercedes Geländewagen (G Class) would be a better substitute.

You can have an H2 for well under $50K. G-wagen is $100K+. An H3 might look puny here but take that to Baghdad and it will tower over anything else on the road. Throw in the $30K sticker price and it is no contest.

[OWC Jamie]

If the had 'good' taste in cars , they'd be driving Citroens and Peugots.

[DharmaDog]

Hummers are a joke. So says the Jeep enthusiast.

[BigGuynRusty]

DharmaDog wrote:
Hummers are a joke. So says the Jeep enthusiast.

H2/H3 are worse than a joke, real offroaders call it a "Tahoe in a Top Hat", low cost components that break in a heartbeat.
I have a great video of an H2 snapping a tierod when trying to negotiate a small rock.

BGnR