Based on the US Army’s Military High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (MMWV or Hum-Vee), the Hummer is the layman’s answer to a tiny tank and its off-road capabilities are more than awe-inspiring.

The original version of this behemoth of automobiles was contracted by the US military and came resplendent with gun turrets and radar; additions that could arguably come in handy in particularly dodgy areas like the ‘Gang Capital of the Nation’, Los Angeles and the Bronx in New York City.

The military weren’t that convinced as to the efficacy of a vehicle in ‘full metal jacket’ and adapted it to be an even more brutish combatant – including a directional microwave crowd control beam!

However, the greater public only became aware of the Hummer when, in a publicity stunt, two of these veritable Goliaths travelled overland from London to Beijing, handling the rough and virtually impassable tracks of central Russia with ease.

But it was Operation Desert Storm in 1991 that really got car pundits breathing heavily and rushing off to their closest car dealer in an effort to claim one of these highway bullies for themselves.

In the late 90’s, GM acquired the brand from the AM General Corporation and, although the latter would still build the Hummer cars, it was up to General Motors to market and distribute the range world-wide.

Interestingly, the H3, a sporty variant of the original Hummer, has been manufactured in Port Elizabeth, South Africa’s answer to Detroit. Although many of the vehicles were destined for the international market, locals have been buying both new and used Hummer cars like proverbial ‘hot cakes’ – so much so that there is a two-month waiting list.

Although the ‘Testosterone Tribe’ may very well be enthralled by the beast, it has proven to be an ecological disaster with very poor fuel economy. So, boys, if the Hummer is your dream SUV, make for the Marines as its future will be decided on 31 March 2009…and it might not be a rosy one. The options are to sell the brand, re-design the entire production line or simply to discontinue this mercenary of motor vehicles.

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All across the country, car and truck dealers are feeling the new reality as their beautiful, fully-loaded sport utility vehicles collect dust in their lots. The old proverb of, “can’t even give them away,” seems especially fitting, as Americans are now neglecting the low mileage SUV’s, and turning to the hybrids and higher fuel efficiency models instead.

Car dealers have been stung by the SUV/RV inventory glut, so they don’t want any more vehicles that they can’t sell. So when people come in with these SUV’s to try and trade them in, they are getting low ball offers. This in-turn hurts sales for the new fuel efficient vehicles because many of these trade-ins would be buyers, but they can’t even afford to make the purchase without a decent trade-in value. Manufacturers have stepped up to the plate to try and increase sales of these hybrid cars with rebates and special offers, but not every model or every deal qualifies.

So if there’s no help at the local car dealer, what’s an SUV/RV owner supposed to do when they want to get rid of their vehicle? Many have turned to their local newspaper’s classified ads for relief. But, a quick scan of just about any newspaper’s classifieds quickly illustrates the abundance of SUV’s and RV’s currently on the market. The result of this, of course will further drive down the price. At this point, even low miles and excellent condition on a car seem to have little to do with what you can get out of an SUV. The resounding answer seems to be, that you’re not getting much at all, especially when contrasted with hybrids.

Another option does exist and an increasing number of SUV/RV owners are experimenting with selling their vehicle on the Internet. eBay and other online buy-sell forums offer a new type of classified ad. Many of these are interactive and follow an auction bidding process. With this process, you determine what you want to start the bidding at, and you can set a price for someone to “buy it now.” At the same time there is no guarantee that your vehicle will sell either. But at least there is an alternative worth exploring.

Like all dark clouds, the days of “can’t give them away,” for SUV’s and RV’s will eventually pass and America will return to it’s can’t get enough of the bigger, bolder, go-anywhere, do everything vehicle. We’ve been through these cycles before and we’ll be likely to continue to go through them in the future. This suggests that if an SUV owner has enough strength in them to ride out this storm, this may indeed be their best strategy for beating the accelerated depreciation we currently experiencing.

Bond Mejeh produces automotive related articles for Quick Cash Auto, a cash for cars service. Quick Cash Auto not only buys pre-owned vehicles of any year, make or model, but they also provide numerous articles about vehicle repair and automotive news.

Please visit QuickCashAuto.com for more information and be sure to check out our automotive blog.

Do Some Research

Don’t be vague. Know which make and model that you are most interested in. Find out as much as you can about your car of interest including:

Pricing – Shop around for the best price. Always find out the sticker price, including any options and packages you want added. This will help you know how low the salesman will go. Make an offer and DO NOT back down. Remember, the salesman wants to sell you the car.

Cost of Ownership – Don’t end up buying a car that you can’t afford to drive. Check out the costs of Maintenance, Gas Mileage, Sales Tax, Depreciation, etc. You never know what your car costs you until you have bought it, owned it for awhile, and sold or traded it.

Don’t Buy Based on Monthly Payments

Another way to know how to avoid car dealer fraud is to be observant of loaded questions. “How much can you afford to pay each month?” This is usually one of the first questions that a salesman will ask. Do not let the dealer handle your financing. This is an area where dealers can manipulate the numbers and make quite a bit of money at your expense. Always try to have a pre-approved loan before you go into the dealership.

Know When to Walk Away

Knowing how to avoid car dealer fraud may result in simply not making the deal. Remember, there will always be other cars, other dealers, other offers. So, if you do not like the deal, or you need to think things over, you can just politely excuse yourself and leave. A car is a sizable investment, make it wisely.

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