Hummer finally launches in Britain just as pollution tax jumps
This week Hummer launched their first British dealership in Manchester, England and introduced the first right hand drive variant at the same time. The right hand drive is available on the "small" H3 Hummer. Unfortunately for Hummer, a new budget is coming out in England this week and it includes a measure that will hit the H3 and other SUVs hard.
The annual vehicle registration tax will now be graduated for vehicles in various polluting categories. The more a vehicle pollutes, including CO2, the higher the registration fee, with vehicles like Hummers being charged upwards of £400 (~$800) annually. Sport utilities are also being increasingly stigmatized in Britain and Europe as a whole due to their size and fuel consumption. Even the 3.7L H3 can't even manage 20mpg on the highway, and in a land of $6-7 per gallon gasoline, that's not a good place to be. The H3 doesn't even have an available diesel engine, which may as well be the kiss of death in the European market.
[Source: CAR]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karkus 12:26PM (3/21/2007)
Yep, that's another bad business (and publicity) move by GM. Good for the British for taxing these things more appropriately. And I don't see where you're going to park one of those things in a typical European city anyway.
Since the British won't be able to use the FUH2 slogan, I came up with a more British sounding version for the H3. FTH3 (where T stands for Thee)
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Joseph 7:47PM (3/21/2007)
Is GM crazy? Europe has no SUVs (at least last time I went to France) Why??? The gas, mroe like diesel, is too friggin expensive!!!
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MikeW 5:10PM (3/23/2007)
Did GM put the 6L80 6 speed automatic in it yet?
Lock up that converter!
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