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(Credit: SlashPhone)

Hummer is coming out with the second version of its branded handset, but it somehow doesn't seem to live up to the reputation of its nameplate. The original version seen last year at least made an attempt with a camouflage design, but the latest model from ModeLabs Group bears hardly any indication that it's related to the Hummer at all, at least in appearance.

The "HT2" appears to take a candy-bar form (apologies to macho Hummer drivers for the reference) as opposed to the original slider, but there may be other versions. The mobile phone does have a wide-bodied look reminiscent of its namesake but otherwise seems fairly unremarkable with a 2-megapixel camera, MP3 player, and 11MB of built-in memory, according to SlashPhone.

Perhaps different designs will make it to the U.S. market, but it's hard to imagine that they'll be tougher than one planned for Russia, as this one is. Maybe the only fitting statement would be a phone that weighs 5 pounds and is too big to fit in your hand.

An MRAP on display at the New York auto show.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

Walking through the lower level of the 2008 New York auto show, we noticed a massive sand-colored vehicle up against the back wall. Thinking it might be a movie prop, like Speed Racer's Mach 5 in a booth nearby, we strolled over, only to have a soldier doing one of the military's better PR gigs inform us that this vehicle is an MRAP, short for "mine-resistant ambush-protected." The military began deploying MRAPs to Iraq last year as a complement to the HMMWV, or Humvee, which, even in armored form, hasn't offered enough protection against roadside bombs. The soldier on duty at the MRAP told us that there have been no casualties in the deployed MRAPs. (Apparently this GI missed the Associated Press report in January about the first MRAP fatality.) The vehicle, based on an International platform and built by Force Protection, gets power from a 330-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine. The 15-ton truck can drive at 55 mph on highways and has a range of 600 miles. Its armor and glass can withstand small-arms fire, while its underside is designed to deflect blasts. In a personnel carrier configuration, it can hold 8 to 10 people. It is an impressive vehicle, but we hope that it doesn't inspire a civilian version, as the Hummer did.

Click here for more 2008 New York auto show coverage.

(Credit: General Motors/Zerc Customs)

Here's one that's sure to chap the hides of eco-warriors everywhere: An engineering lecturer from a university in the U.K. has converted a full-size Hummer H3 into a remote controlled toy.

So those folks who get bent out of shape when they see people commuting alone in ginormous SUVs will really love the idea of a Hummer that can pollute without anyone in the car. Now that's progress.

James Brighton from Britain's Cranfield University converted the new right-hand drive version of the H3 in about a month's time. No doubt it's certainly an impressive feat of engineering; the car can climb a 16-inch vertical wall and operate in up to two feet of water.

The press release sent out to journalists touts the creation as "the ultimate boy's toy." And as a girl who's into cars, I'd normally take offense. But I admit, aside from the "wow" factor, this is one I just don't get.

Can Hummer make light and youthful its calling card? We take a first look from the 2008 Detroit auto show.

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

Hummer doesn't embody environmentalism, but that's the spin GM CEO Rick Wagoner gave when he introduced the Hummer HX concept at the 2008 Detroit auto show. The Hummer HX is smaller and lighter than Hummer's other three models, but, more importantly, uses an E85-capable 3.6-liter V-6 engine. Wagoner extolled the virtues of ethanol as fuel during the press conference, punctuating the point by announcing a partnership between GM and Coskota Inc. to produce ethanol fuel using a new, cost-effective process.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

As for the Hummer HX, it is a rugged-looking concept that brings Hummer design cues into what looks like a Dakar rally competitor. It sits high up on 35 inch off-road tires, and is well-armored underneath with skid plates. Front and rear overhangs are minimal, giving it steep angles of approach and departure. Many of its body components, such as fender flares and roof, are removable. The HX doesn't have a radio or CD player, instead featuring a simple USB port for an iPod or other MP3 player. In good concept style, it has three LCD gauges in the center of the dashboard which can be used for a variety of different displays, including both on- and off-road navigation. To keep weight down, the interior uses such aircraft construction techniques as drilled aluminum frames supporting the seats. Smaller and lighter is a direction we wouldn't mind seeing with Hummer, but we're not sure it would play with the brand's fans.

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.

In the midst of all the bleak news for the American car industry, there was a ray of hope of sorts. A recent survey on "retained value" (what percentage of retail price a car maintains on the used market) has the Hummer coming in the top 10. As Autoblog reports:

"[T]he new Power Information Network retained value rankings for the automakers came out, and while the top ten list is pretty much owned by imports, Hummer crashes the party, coming in at the #8 spot. Hummer vehicles retain 63% of their original value, an increase of 3.5% over their last showing. Scion sits in the top spot, retaining 69.8%

Toyota (Scion #1, Toyota #5, Lexus #6), Honda (Honda #2, Acura #4) and BMW (MINI #3, BMW #10) actually account for seven of the top ten, with Subaru (7th) and Nissan (9th) rounding out the list along with Hummer."

So the Hummer (or as the manufacturer would prefer, HUMMER--it's all about the yelling) is the only American nameplate to get into the Top 10. A ray of hope, but also worrying that it was the only brand to do so. And it will be interesting to see if it can sustain that in the face of increasing fuel prices - is this just a residual effect from Hummer's early rep?

Whatever you think about the Hummer, it provides a unique experience, and that is a large part of its appeal. The macho look, the huge size, the gonzo tires, the military image - your basic Chevrolet or Ford or Dodge pales by comparison.

But what was even more interesting was how this played out with the imports. Scion and Mini are both new brands (well, sort of in the case of Mini). Both are distinguished by creating holistic, coherent experiences across multiple touch points. From the cars themselves to their immersive websites, their characterful dealerships, their offbeat advertising, and of course how both allow large degrees of customer involvement in personalizing their rides. In all the ways that they speak with and interact with their customers they have had a clarity of focus to their messages, and executed them spectacularly.

How has this paid off? Scion at #1 outpaced its parent Toyota by 4 places, and Mini at #3 an astonishing 7 places ahead of blue ribbon parent brand BMW. I would argue that the quality and consistency of the user experience created by these brands has had a large role in pushing them so far ahead so quickly. Certainly they are not selling mainstream cars that try to compete on the usual dimensions - bigger, faster, more comfortable, and so on. They have succeed in spite of going against the grain with their product choices. This too has been part of their voice as brands - iconoclasm, appealing to people who consider themselves independent thinkers, yet still style-minded.

Infiniti was the only upscale Japanese brand not to make it onto the list, which in part surely has to do with its confused image for the last 10 years. In the last three years Infiniti has stepped up its game considerably, so expect it to do much better soon. Likewise Acura is on a resurgence after years of producing competent but mostly bland cars, perhaps explaining its sitting behind the lower-end parent Honda.

(Credit: Midlands Limos)

There's only one thing that this luxurious pink Hummer H3 stretch limousine needs, and that's a nice fat Hello Kitty decal on the driver's side. Otherwise, this bubble-gum-hued vehicle is a fitting embodiment of all things obnoxious and opulent (obnoxulent?) and nauseatingly cute. Inside, it's equipped with pink-and-white leather seating and space-age lighting worthy of the flashiest nightclubs and an enviable bar--and mirrors on the ceiling (if you're into that degree of sketchiness).

There's also touch-screen heating and air conditioning control, four flat-screen TVs, a DVD player and multi-speaker sound system. There's no whirlpool like in that Mini Cooper limo, which is just a tragic shame.

(Credit: Midlands Limos)

A note to all jet-setters with poor taste: You can rent the pink Hummer from the U.K.'s Midlands Limos on your next jaunt across the pond. It comes with a "chilled bottle of complimentary champagne"--sounds like a great deal to us!

(Via Born Rich)

(Credit: Core77)

Even if they involve Optimus Prime, we're sick of geeky cakes.

The convergence of the automotive and confectionary industries reached a fever pitch quite some time ago, in that South Park episode where Satan demands to have a "Ferrari cake" at his Halloween party, after all. But that doesn't mean there's no room left for innovation in the field of tooth-rottingly-sweet edible homages to technology.

We are, for example, totally loving this masterpiece by artist Heidi Hesse. has created a wire frame shaped like a Humvee (the military vehicle that inspired our wonderful, beloved Hummer) and filled it with tasty, tasty gumballs. Not sure if Schwarzenegger would approve, but we'll take it, provided there's some way to surreptitiously steal the gumballs and chew up their sugary goodness.

It's so colorful, it really deserves its own Sony Bravia commercial.

(Via Core77)

In the last couple of years, the claim that the Toyota Prius has more environmental impact than a Hummer garnered attention on forums and blogs around the Internet. Hybrid-haters ecstatically point to a study by CNW Marketing Research called "Dust to Dust: The Energy Cost of New Vehicles From Concept to Disposal" (PDF). The premise of this study is that, when taking research, production, and fuel into account, a Prius will use more energy per mile than a Hummer. Knowledgeable people refuted elements of this study, but that didn't stop pundits such as George Will from happily quoting the study.

Now the study has been well discredited in a paper titled "Hummer versus Prius: 'Dust to Dust' Report Misleads the Media and Public with Bad Science" (PDF) by Dr. Peter H. Gleick of the Pacific Institute. Dr. Gleick's paper pokes holes in the original study, pointing out its poor assumptions such as the usable life of a Hummer H1 (35 years) versus the life of a Prius (11) years. The original study also based its conclusions on the lifetime miles of a Prius versus a Hummer H1, where it assumed 109,000 miles versus 379,000 miles, respectively. The 109,000 mile figure for the Prius is truly bizarre, as many people have documented their Priuses getting well over this number.

So the next time someone says, "You know what, a Prius uses more energy than a Hummer," you've got plenty of fuel to tell them they're completely wrong.