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Its purchase price is over $100,000 and it can take $100 and nearly 2 hours to fill the battery at a charging station.
Who would want such limitations on an electric vehicle, even though EVs may seem cool to some people?
Apparently, 70,000 people did earlier this year, General Motors said, noting pre-orders for its new electric Hummer.
And GM is having to scramble to produce them.
GM got rid of that gas-guzzler more than a decade ago.
But late in 2020, it re-introduced Hummer as an EV and reportedly sold out pre-orders in 10 minutes, The Detroit Free Press said.
And GM thought the new Hummer EV was just going to be a niche brand, Motor Biscuit reported in March.
But why the overwhelming demand? Is it the coolness factor?
Must be, because the new Hummer has serious limitations, a Saturday Motor Biscuit story said.
“GM is marketing the Hummer in this EV world as the Hummer of the future. While it may be more environmentally friendly (depending on where the electricity comes from), it actually doesn’t appear very cost- or time-effective. “
But it’s fast, according to a Car and Driver review of the 2022 Hummer – its three electric motors can rocket the vehicle to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Except you then have to stop it, and its braking is not all that great.
Then there’s the price tag, $110,295, according to Car and Driver.
And since the highest-priced Edition 1 model, is sold out, you might want to sign up for the next price point — $106,645 – but that probably won’t be available until 2023.
Wait long enough and the lower-priced models will be available – the $96,645 Hummer in 2023 and the $86,645 Hummer in 2024.
There’s another heavy-duty expense – the $100 battery charge.
Car and Driver’s Testing Hub took one of the vehicles to an Electrify America station. Beginning at 10 percent of battery capacity and charging up to 90 percent cost $81.
Car and Driver extrapolated the charge to 100 percent (however, for some reason there are repeated reports of EVs unable to take complete charges) and, including taxes, the charging bill would go over $100.
Also, the “fast” charge took 1 hour and 49 minutes.
In its review of the Hummer, Car and Driver said its testing at 75 mph showed a 290-mile range between charges.
Meanwhile, Investopedia reported in February that 88 percent of EV owners charged their cars at home. That added $30 to $60 to their monthly electric bill, but home charging is slow.
Homeowners can put in their own fast-charging equipment, but that requires electrical upgrades that can range from $400 to as high as $12,700.
Summarizing the Hummer, Car and Driver said, “… although GM has attempted to recast the Hummer for the electrified era, that doesn’t mean it’s cheap to fuel.
“It is, after all, a 9640-pound, 1000-horsepower, four-wheel-drive pickup truck that costs six figures, no matter what it’s powered by.”
Motor Biscuit’s summary – “The 2022 GMC Hummer EV is extremely rad.
“However, there is no way to argue that it is efficient, practical, or even good for the environment.
“It isn’t. It’s a 10,000-lb truck that has 1,000 hp, costs $100 bucks to fill, and nearly two hours to do so. All this comes at the initial cost of somewhere north of $100,000 and a loooong wait.
“The Hummer might as well be a Miata as far as practicality is concerned.”
Practical or not, for some reason, given current orders, GM is so far having 70,000 laughs to the bank.