Do these Hummers really get 100 mpg?

 

I suppose this had to happen at some point.

Creating a Hummer that gets 100+ miles per gallon is a huge public relations story for the company that has managed to build one. And bloggers love to jump on the story and say that a Hummer can kick a Prius’ butt. 

Raser Technologies unveiled their Prius-kicking Hummers (an H3 and H3 SUT) at this year’s SAE World Congress in Detroit last week, and I have to admit at first glance, the technology is impressive.

Raser customized their H3 with a system similar to that in the Chevy Volt, which runs for the first 40 miles on pure electricity, then uses a gas engine to generate electricity for driving up to 400 miles on one tank. Drive 50 miles per day and this H3 will return 185 miles per gallon. Driving 200 miles or more drops the mpg to 33 (still about double the mileage of a gas-powered H3). 

It’s pretty obvious that Raser is proving a point by creating a Hummer, the epitome of gas hogs, that can run virtually gas-free on daily commutes. They might even be hoping to secure a licensing deal by impressing the bigwigs at the Big 3 and proving that the technology for extreme efficiency in trucks and SUVs does exist.

I do have doubts that an electric Hummer can maintain the legendary towing, off-road, and all-weather capability of its gas-powered counterparts.

But…

If electric Hummers were available that had the same capabilities as gas-powered versions, would your opinion about the brand change?

-tgriffith

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