In the bright lights, the H3T sat like a movie star behind a don’t-get-too-close railing….all while its styling screamed, “GET ME OUT OF HERE AND INTO SOME DIRT!
The shiny, bright orange 2009 Hummer H3T displayed at the Cleveland Auto Show looked a lot like a kid fidgeting in his dress-up clothes after church, just waiting for the moment mom turns her head away and he can burst out the door to play in the mud on the edge of a nearby creek.
In the bright lights, the H3T sat like a movie star behind a don’t-get-too-close railing….all while its styling screamed, “GET ME OUT OF HERE AND INTO SOME DIRT!
With a 60% grade capability, 40% side slope capability and its ability to travel through 24 inches of water, watching the H3T slowly spinning on a carpeted display just didn’t do it justice. Even in these environs, the H3T had visitors staring at it with far-away looks. (Perhaps the Ohioans, who travelled through a heavy late-February snow to get to the show, were picturing using it to conquer the white menace?)
Snow, dirt, mud…none will be a big obstacle for this vehicle. And every adventure can include five passengers and as much gear as one can stuff into its five-foot bed.
The folks developing this vehicle say it stands apart from other trucks in its segment because of its off-road capabilities, pointing out that the H3T is the only midsize truck to come standard with full−time four−wheel drive, 32−inch tires and functional skid shields. It is also the only midsize truck to offer front and rear locking differentials, as well as 33−inch tires.
Visitors of the auto show with good eyes could see “Alpha” embroidered high on the seat backs. No, this is not to mark the territory of high-testosterone males; it is a tip of the hat to the H3T’s V8 Alpha edition that will tow 5,900 pounds. Alpha is one of four H3T trim levels, some of which will be powered by a five-cylinder engine.
The first versions of the new Hummer H3T should hit showroom floors in late summer. (The Alpha is expected later.)
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