Hummer H3 humm grows louder

Customers will have to wait for the South African-built 4WD, the Hummer H3 has been pushed back to October. The US-designed, South African-built four-wheel-drive was to arrive next month, but delays in Australian-spec production have slowed the big unit's progress.

GM Premium Brands director Parveen Batish says the delays are due to Australian Design Rules changes.

“We've had some issues with ADR things — mudflaps, wiring looms, the towbar. We've had to get the right cars in Australia but it's led to a slight delay,” Batish says.

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“We'll launch in October. We're hoping to get cars to customers sooner. We'll keep in touch with them. We've even got a computer desktop icon that, once uploaded, will tell them when there's more news.”

The change in the factory from other right-hand-drive markets to Australian-spec vehicles has taken a little longer than expected.

At present GM Premium Brands is holding 300 orders for the brash, squared-off 4WD with military heritage. The $2000 free accessory deal, which ended in May, helped to drive interest.

“We've got more than 300 orders now, which is fantastic given that no one has seen a right-hand-drive car,” Batish says.

“We took a lot of orders at the motor shows. They generated a lot of traffic.”

Batish says the sub-$60,000 price for the top-end model means the initial orders have been a high percentage of the flagship.

“The model mix is high-end. The Luxury spec is about 70 per cent, with the Adventurer representing about 20 per cent and 10 per cent for the base model. I think it's because it's good value,” he says.

News on the V8 and the rumored a turbodiesel is limited, but the Australian arm appears keener to get hold of a diesel model, given the market demands Down Under.

“There is a lot on the horizon for the brand,” Batish says.

“We'll try to expand what we have and see what comes up. We'd like to have the diesel. It's a little way off.

“The V8 and the diesel look like late 2008 for right-hand-drive or early 2009. We have to evaluate the engine as well. We'll have to make a decision as to what we'll take.”