Bankrupt - Hummer

In the early 2000's, General Motors had released what would be one of the most controversial vehicles of the decade. The Hummer H1, H2 and H3 were all either loved or hated by Americans and with decent sales and an enthusiastic set of supporters, the massive SUV became an icon of the era. But, within just a few short years, the early success of the Hummer quickly declines until GM killed off the brand entirely before the decade was over. Join me as I find out why.

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BrightSunFilms 2023

Presented in 4K

[MrSmithSAH]

saw the title of this video and immediately hit with the 2 emotions of: "Forgot that Hummer existed" and "How has there not been an episode on Hummer until now?"

[MikeKobela]

I'll always remember Hummers for becoming big memes in Hungary a decade ago, when a driver wanted to go through a frozen Lake Balaton with it on a particularly very cold winter period, thinking the ice on it was thick enough, sank, then another Hummer came to tow it out, which also sank. Pics of those Hummers stuck in ice, edited in to many images, flooded the social feeds.

[Wildcat_Media]

My grandmother joked once that she wanted a Hummer. Then the joke went on long enough that she became serious about it. It took some time to convince my grandpa to agree - and her little Buick breaking down - and she bought an H3.

So you have this petite little lady tooling around town in a great big Hummer. And that’s the perfect image of my grandma’s personality. 😊

[AK-lwjw]

Growing up in Houston in the early 2000’s, we’d always pass this massive hummer dealer on our way to Galveston. It had its own off-road course next to it and there were cars mounted on the top and sides of the building and parked around the lot in various creative ways. It was definitely an eye catcher, and from what I remember all of the dealerships had the same architecture which in my option still holds up in its design.

[madwatchstudios]

I remember in late 2008 when gas prices pushed over $4 / gallon, there was a Hummer dealership in Orlando offering "buy an H2 and get an H3 at 50% off" ...absolutely insane times.

[davemarm]

5 years from now: "Bankrupt - Hello Fresh" video sponsored by Hummer

[Replicaate]

Lived in quite an affluent 'hood in southern Canada for my middle school/high school years, and lemme tell you I saw LOADS of these things in McMansion driveways, usually driven by some tiny blond lady in huge sunglasses. Then one day they just seemed to...vanish. The whole Hummer phenomenon felt like a mid-00s hallucination sometimes.

[ChrisCam]

I’m hoping we get a whole series of these videos that cover all the shuttered GM marques like Oldsmobile, Pontiac and especially Saab!

[waterdelirious]

I actually had no idea Hummer went under until I saw this video. I just thought people stopped driving them due to rising gas prices.

[nicestoriesnottherealstori]

As a 2000s kid, I always thought this thing was so cool, and I always wanted it.

[acrain]

There’s something odd about the way a Hummer H2 is put together- it simultaneously feels like it’s going to fall apart, but also like it will outlive you only so it can piss on your gravestone. The plastics on the inside are some of the cheapest, most hollow materials I’ve ever felt, but they’re put together incredibly well. The seats feel like they’re straight out of every geriatric’s leather reclining armchair, and are as supple and comfortable as they are slippery. Yet, as you slide around on tight dirt backroads or even uneven pavement, you somehow feel secure. You’re in a car so otherworldly by todays standards that you feel empowered to just be yourself- because hell, if you didn’t stand out before you got in it you sure do now. The brake pedal feels like pushing through a house or cards while also stepping in wet cement, and the steering is loose and vague, but also controlled, like a stern hand on your shoulder without any grip to back it up. The transmission isn’t really under your control so much as it’s under your suggestion- if left to it’s own devices, it shifts when ever it decides to, or sometimes doesn’t shift at all, and the engine belts out a tune like it’s under the spot light at a karaoke night after a few too many shots, all while going nowhere. It leans and pitches, and through the spaghetti like handling all the sense of toxic masculinity fades away, and you’re left with a bizarre vehicle that feels giant inside and out, but isn’t much bigger than a Tahoe. It’s a terrible, amazing car.

[idontevenknow]

I remember seeing hummers in my old neighborhood as a kid. They felt so out of place against the backdrop of smaller cars and pretty tightly packed towns and roads. I think the reason they are ridiculed today like you said they represent a time in the bubble between 2001 and 2008. The 2008 economic crisis brings back haunting memories for a lot of people who were fired, or college kids just graduated when it all went down to somehow find work. The hummer is a weird memory of somewhat okay times when all things considered we were doing fine even after 9/11. When we felt we can build and do what we wanted, no matter how silly.

[houstoner]

Ahhh the H2 and H3, thank you for keeping me in business when I was an auto tech. Same goes for PT Cruisers, they kept food on the table.

[natatatt]

Such an iconic early 2000's car. It was featured in all the teen movies that came out around that time.

[Fuchswinter]

It's fascinating to see from a European perspective how you actually have space in the street for these massive things. I can't remember ever seeing a Hummer in real life. And these things are memorable because even 'normal' American cars are twice the size than the average European one. There's a RAM in my town and it's twice the size of even our bigger car. No parking spot is big enough, they park in an industrial area. It's wild lol

[foxesamu]

It’s still shocking seeing an H1 in person. It’s crazy that they were ever available for civilian private sale. They’re just so damn big. Should’ve needed a CDL just to do a u turn in one.

[kolonarulez]

My cousin (who shortly after went bankrupt himself) was the person I knew to actually own one and what a beast of excess it was. It was an impulse buy after a raise and I remember his wife being so angry. They had a hard time reselling it.

[bigtxbullion]

Amazing how your perception changes over the decades. As a teen and young adult I wanted one so bad. Then when I needed power and towing found out they simply cant compete with modern trucks. Still always look great but thats about it.

[venomousnate]

Ah Hummers, I always wanted one, I used to collect models of them. Never had one because they went under years before I got my license.
Also, love the new intro to Bankrupt.

[Choralone]

There was a Hummer dealership near me that had the giant H logo as part of building design just like in this video built a year or two before the bottom fell out on Hummer. They also had a small "test track" that featured some paved hills and such to simulate off-roading. The dealership was built right next to Interstate 80 in an extremely visible location. Locally it sort of became a joke that the place barely seemed to open and then the brand disappeared.
The place was empty for a couple of years before an independent car dealer that had a few other locations in the region setup shop there. They slightly modified the face of the building to try to downplay the giant H but they too only lasted a few years.
Then when Fiat and Alfa Romeo were trying to make inroads in the US market in the mid-to-late 2010's the place reopened with a dealer that sold those brands. Along with additional changes to the building to try to downplay the old giant H. But that dealer also closed at the end of Sept 2022. I'm pretty sure that whole site it cursed! However, the little Hummer test track still remains to this day on the west side of the property!