It’s the end of an era. The vehicle that General Motors pushed as a more profitable replacement for it’s all-electric EV1 program has ceased production in the United States.

After 18 years of manufacturing, and with almost 200,000 sales in the USA alone, the H3 will join it’s H1 cousin and go belly-up.

On the 2nd of June last year General Motors attempted to sell the Hummer brand to the Chinese company Tengzhong as part of its bankruptcy requirements. This plan fell apart however with the Chinese company saying they failed to get approval from the Chinese government.

As well as the terrible loss of 700 American jobs, it also means Rainier Wolfcastle & friends will have to shop elsewhere for their cars.

While I have nothing against the car as a functional off-roader these things look ridiculous in the city, speak volumes about the mental insecurity of the driver, and offer endless amusement for bystanders when it comes time to parallel the beast.

Even here in New Zealand where gasoline equates to $5 US per gallon I’ve seen dozens of the things roaming the city streets. It makes no logical sense to waste money like that.

I mean, if you really want an over-sized car and can afford an H3 in NZ, why not buy an Audi Q7 instead? It looks better, it’s around the same size, it’s around the same price, yet you’d save yourself a small cellar’s worth of money each year in gas.

And as for styling? Well, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. The old phrase, “Money can’t buy taste” certainly springs to mind.

I can almost hear the thousands of ecologists worldwide letting out an exasperated sigh of relief.

So I bid you farewell H3. Don’t think of this as goodbye; think of it more like waking up from a long and bizarre dream.