Hummer H3 2007 News

But it's not what you think, and definitely not the much-loved FJ Holden from the 1950s.  The new FJ is actually a Toyota, not a Holden, and so different from the all-Aussie 'humpy' that it should be given a different name for Australia. The new-age FJ is a Cruiser that is coming in October as part of a youth push at Toyota Australia that also includes the funky, boxy, Scion xB.  Both are already sold in the USA but the Australian models are being tweaked with right-side steering and other changes for their time Down Under. The Scion will also have a Toyota badge in Australia. The FJ is part of the LandCruiser family and is built up from the mechanical package of the previous-generation Prado. It is likely to be sold with both two and four-wheel drive, as well as a V6 engine, although Toyota Australia is making no comment despite a preview last week at a major dealer convention in Melbourne.  We do not comment on future model plans," says Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen. Pricing for the FJ Cruiser is likely to start around $40,000 and it will definitely have the same bright body colours and Hummer-style looks as the American model.  Toyota based the FJ Cruiser's design on the famous FJ40 LandCruiser, a working-class four-wheel drive made famous in Australia for its work on the Snowy Mountains scheme in the 1950s. Design cues taken from the FJ40 include the grille, upright windscreen and chunky bumpers, square wheelarches and the rear-mounted and exposed full-size spare tyre. Toyota has upgraded the design with rear 'suicide' rear doors to allow easy access to the rear seat and there is swing-up glass hatch incorporated into the side-hinged rear door. The glass hatch opens independently of the rear door and can accommodate longer items. The Cruiser is designed for serious off-roading and the seats are even covered with a special water-repellent fabric while the floor and rear luggage area is covered in an easy-to-clean rubber-type material.  The ladder-frame body uses a double-wishbone independent front suspension and four-link coil-spring rear suspension. Opinion - Paul Gover The FJ Cruiser looks a lot more fun than it is to drive.  It turns heads, particularly in lollypop colours, but I gave one back to Toyota after less than two hours of a planned two-day drive in California. For a start, the FJ is a reverse-Tardis - just like the Hummer H3 - with far less space inside than its big body promises.  Visibility is poor, the cabin is overly-plastic, the performance is adequate at best, and people turn to look - but often look as if they are about to laugh. The FJ shows the sort of direction Toyota needs to take to put some excitement and fun into its boring local showrooms, but it will need a lot of local tweaking to satisfy the needs and dreams of savvy local buyers.

They say the person with the most toys wins, but maybe you can get points for the biggest toy on the block.British engineer Dr James Brighton has produced what could be the most sought after toy of the year.But in becoming a toymaker, the good doctor has sneered at the idea of miniature cars, bypassed the display of carefully stacked scale models and gone straight for the giant size.The highly respected purveyor of academe at Britain’s Cranfield University has developed a remote control Hummer H3.Apparently the job took about a month to complete and probably had Dr Brighton topping the popularity polls of all those engineering students who spend years of study in absolute certainty that what the world needs is a better gizmo.Because as far as gizmos go — and ones like this go very far indeed — they’d say you really can’t beat the idea of a remote controlled version of one of the world’s biggest private vehicles.Sure, various armies have remote controlled vehicles, but they’re used for very serious purposes indeed. And nobody’s allowed to take them home for the weekend and have a bit of backyard fun at the Sunday barbie. Or at least, certainly not the ones we’ve been invited to. Yes, that was a hint, in case anybody at Defence Central who’s reading this has the keys to that remote controlled armoured tank we keep hearing about.But back to the Hummer, which opens up a whole world of possibilities for Christmas and birthday gifts —- although also a huge world of problems with wrapping paper and bows.Don’t just imagine this is for running around the backyard during the barbie. For a start, it won’t fit. A nanosecond’s pressure on the remote control toggle will have it crashing over the fence and forging a new path through the neighbour’s begonias. Which could mean a very interesting explanation to your insurance company.But where your usual remote controlled car is stalled by a couple of dust bunnies on the hallway carpet, this is a toy that can tackle really tough terrain.Dr Brighton says it can climb a four metre vertical wall, traverse a 40 degree side slope and ford through 60cm of water. He doesn’t say why you’d want it to do any of those things, but people with the word ‘Dr’ in front of their names are much smarter than you and me, so there must be a reason.But perhaps the Doc hasn’t properly researched the abilities of this vehicle.Your blogger at one stage supported her uni studies by lounging around a shopping centre computer store, purporting to serve computers to the public.Business was slow, the boss was often absent and even playing with the latest techno-gizmodo can pall after seven straight hours —- unless you’re a teenager, perhaps.The solution was to send for food by clipping an order and some money to the aerial of one of the remote control cars in the store and sending it through the shopping centre. Extra points for startling little old ladies along the way.Now with this Hummer, you can leapfrog modest goals like getting a bag of biscuits or a box of takeway pad thai in the tray of a scale model ute.The Hummer could thunder over to your local supermarket and come back with a month’s worth of groceries. Then it could take itself off to the car wash and self bathe. Hitch a brace of mowers to the tailgate and have it do wheelies on the lawn while you sit with your feet up on the verandah railing. The possibilities are as huge as … erm, an H3 Hummer really.Dr Brighton’s toy might be able to scale walls, but has it brought him any Thai takeaway? 

I thought I would hate driving this huge, hubristic hunk of Americana – and, to be fair, I did – but it did have unexpected benefits. For a start, I saw a lot more of Sydney that I have in any other week, as I circled, endlessly, looking for somewhere to park this brash behemoth. Unfortunately, I work in Surry Hills, where the streets are reluctant to give up space to anything bigger than a bicycle, which meant that, on two days out of five, I had to ring my boss and tell her I was unable to make it in because I couldn’t stop anywhere. I also feared for my safety because a lynching party had been formed by environmentally concerned locals and I felt it unlikely the Hummer could outrun them, even though they were on sandalled foot. The fact that the tank I’d been lumped with was painted the same colour as the cheese you find on McDonald’s burgers wasn’t helping my feeble attempts to remain incognito. Still, I did rediscover parts of my CD collection that had been long forgotten, because the lumpy ludicrousness of the Hummer made me feel like I could only listen to ZZ Top, Def Leppard and Led Zeppelin. I also discovered that there is nothing particularly wrong with my left knee, thanks to the handbrake, which is cunningly positioned so that it gives you an arthroscopy every time you enter the vehicle. It’s also accursedly difficult to use, which led to the venting of spleen that was probably building up dangerously inside me. Sadly, that’s about it for positives. Hopeless handbrake aside, the cabin annoyed me from moment one, mainly because it achieves the rare reverse-Tardis effect. While the Hummer looks big – to engage in mild understatement – it is ridiculously small inside, with less headroom than one of Russell Crowe’s hats. It also feels like you’re sitting in your grandmother’s living room, because there’s virtually no natural light, thanks to the windows – and the windscreen for that matter - being roughly the size of a lunchbox lid. Speaking of Tupperware, that’s what the centre stack of the dash feels like, which comes as a surprise in any $50,000-plus car, but more so when it’s one based on a rough and tough military vehicle. Mind you, I was shocked and awed by how ugly it was, from every conceivable angle. It even has a plastic picnic table glued to the bonnet, for reasons unknown. Then there’s the 400kg the rear tailgate, which is heavy enough to knock any woman foolish enough to mess with it flat on her back. Oh, and somehow, in their ingeniousness, they couldn’t find room for a footrest, so your left leg is always hovering over the clutch. That is, of course, one of the least annoying things about driving the H3 – the baby of the Hummer range and, thankfully, the only one available down under, thus far. The fact that it feels as wide as a terrace house is off putting, but things get worse when you try and drive it around a bend. The Hummer corners like a… well, like a terrace. The ride is also unfortunately firm and fidgety, yet too soft at the same time. This should be impossible. Driving over speedhumps can induce mild nausea. It’s also very, very slow, as you would expect from a 2198kg (for the five-speed manual tested, the four-speed automatic is 2303kg) vehicle powered, if that’s the word, by a 3.7-litre, five-cylinder engine. It doesn’t take a Newtonian scientist to work out that 180kW and 328Nm are not enough for the task of moving so much metal. The one thing that a car this intimidating shouldn’t be is underpowered. The manual gearbox also reminded me of my grandfather’s old tractor, for some reason. And yet… while I couldn’t think of a single thing to recommend it, everyone else loved the damn Hummer, and it attracted almost exactly the same amount of attention as driving a Ferrari. Possibly more, in fact, because when you’re in a sports car people just hate you from a distance and stare daggers, but in the Hummer, everyone wants to talk to you. I had one guy walk up to me while I was parked in peak-hour traffic in the CBD and ask where he could get one. As I drove off, he ran alongside me, still asking questions, despite my having refused to tell him any details, for his own good. Children who drive past you make Christmas-morning faces and whoop “Hummmmmer” out car windows. It’s also the only non-Porsche I’ve ever been asked to take people for passenger rides in. Mind you, no one was impressed. With all this inexplicable interest, however, it’s no wonder they reckon they can sell 700 of them a year. With prices starting at $51,990, that’s not a bad business case. Then there are the anti-Hummer types, who don’t talk to you but glower and think to themselves, what sort of person buys a vehicle like that? I had to have a t-shirt made up that said: “It’s not mine. I am the Stig.” The environmental question comes up a lot, too, and most people were only mildly surprised to hear that, if you run out of petrol, you can actually run the Hummer on shredded Toyota Prius pieces for short distances. Buying this car shouts: “I’m with John, there’s no such thing as global warming”. In fairness, it should be pointed out that the H3’s official rated fuel consumption is 13.7 litres per 100km, the same as a Mitsubishi Pajero. It’s also 12cm shorter and sits 1cm lower than a Pajero – but it is 12cm wider. It does, however, make a Pajero look like Megan Gale. So, in summation, people are going to buy this car, no matter what I say, because a lot of people really like big things, and other people staring at them. I think they’d be better off buying Mardi Gras floats, but each to their own.  

The solution, a “bling-pack”. Imagine this. A H3 Hummer, add some huge 22-inch chrome wheels, some more bling to the front brush guard, fancy door handles, side steps and towing points and a dual chrome exhaust. It's all now possible at Suttons City Holden where you can transform your Hummer into a blindingly shiny beast. While the range-topper H3 Luxury usually retails for $60,990, there's a new exclusive model at Suttons City which “pimps” it to the max, bringing the total price tag to $89,000. And there are upgrades inside as well as the aesthetic chrome changes, with satellite navigation, a better sound system, a rear-view camera and two DVD players in the headrests for the children in the back, which means there will also be less fighting as they can watch a different movie at the same time. Customers are also able to add the features individually. And the enhancements have already proven to be very popular. Suttons City sales representative Paul Conibeer says every customer who has bought a Hummer since the extras were made available in December, has added some sort of chrome to the mix. That includes many celebrities, such as cricket player Nathan Bracken and So You Think You Can Dance? judge Jason Coleman. Suttons imports the parts and extra features from the US, but all the changes to the car are carried out at the dealership. It takes about two days for the makeover, which can be done on any colour Hummer. And a short drive in the gangster-looking stunner showed it really does know how to attract attention. The chrome dressing sparkles on even the mildest sunny day and there's no way this car can hum along unnoticed. The rear-view camera and satellite navigation are the only really useful added features, but the rest feels like a must-have for individual appearance and the sheer enjoyment factor. “It's more of a car to be seen in,” Conibeer says. “It's a lot to do with the ego. You just want people to notice you and you can see it coming a mile away, you know it's a Hummer.” Suttons says the Hummer with a twist has been sold to many families and businesspeople who want to be noticed on the road.  

Despite the obvious appeal of a utility version of the popular US off-roader, General Motors engineers haven't engineered the car for our roads.The H3T was revealed at the Chicago Motor Show as a dual-cab version of the H3 SUV that's available in Australia.The wheelbase has been extended 55cm to accommodate the load area in the rear.The H3 available in Australia is built at the company's South African plant, which produces left and right-hand-drive variants.GM plans to build the H3T only at its North American plants, and has not considered a right-hand-drive model.“Absolutely we're interested in it, but at this stage it isn't engineered for right-hand drive,” GM premium brands spokeswoman Emily Perry says.However, she warns not to rule it out if interest in the car in right-hand-drive markets proves strong enough to convince GM to engineer an Australia-friendly version.Hummer Australia chiefs have made no secret of their desire to expand the local line-up, and the H3T would be an ideal candidate.The larger H2 has been discounted as too big for Australian roads, and the Hummer brand doesn't have anything else to offer at present.But expansion is not on the agenda, with the current H3 on back order.The company is still trying to clear the rush of orders from the car's launch, resulting in a waiting period of up to three months. 

Hummer caused a sensation when it was debuted at the Brisbane International Motor Show last year and it's back for 2008.After some delays in launch owing to minor compliance issues such as mudflaps, the “baby” Hummer H3 hit the showrooms and in the first three months sold 272 with about 600 orders still outstanding.GM Premium Brands communications manager Emily Perry said more than one in three Hummers have been sold to Queenslanders."It's a suitable vehicle for the outdoors lifestyle of the Sunshine State” she said.The GM Premium Brands stand will feature the H3 Luxury and Adventure models and the new hero "Torch" orange colour for the first time.Sharing the stand is the Swedish Saab range, which will continue its environmental theme with economical diesel and renewable ethanol vehicles.The Saab stand also highlights the tri-fuel offering with the 9-3 range of vehicles available in petrol, diesel and ethanol models.Saab BioPower is Australia's first ethanol production car and it will be on show in a white Convertible and a black Sport Sedan.

This month GM released the Hummer H3 and now Gympie-based right-hand-drive conversion company Performax International is unleashing two massive Yank utes.The first fully complianced 2008 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra utes have arrived with 4.5 tonne towing capacity.Performax International recently achieved Australian Design Rule compliance for the United States-built Silverado after completing design, engineering and conversion work in-house at its Gympie factory.The main model offered will be the Silverado 2500HD crew-cab four-wheel drive, priced at $123,000 plus on-road costs with a four-year/120,000km warranty and four-year roadside assistance. Other models from the extensive Silverado and sister GMC Sierra range are available on order.The 2500HD features crew-cab pick-up bodywork, GM Duramax 6.6 litre V8 turbodiesel power, Allison six-speed automatic transmission with high and low ranges and dashboard-selected four-wheel-drive engagement.Peak engine outputs are 272kW at 3200rpm and 895Nm of torque at 1600rpm.The Allison Adaptive Shift Control gearbox with manual over-ride includes a tow/haul mode, which alters shift patterns to maximise engine efficiency in pulling and braking. Tow/Haul mode also engages grade braking, which selects a lower gear to assist hill descents even when cruise control is operating.Performax International general manager Nick Vandenberg says the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD is the answer for many heavy-duty and long-distance haulers in Australia.“The 2008 Silverado is a big step forward in performance, refinement, styling and comfort for this type of ute,” Vandenberg said. “With towing capacity at 4.5 tonnes, it's the big ute many people have been waiting for."“We had orders for almost 20 even before the ADR compliance process was completed and now we expect many more from both recreational and business buyers.“There is no other new vehicle like it on the Australian market, especially at a price within the range of many less capable 4WD wagons."“The new exterior and interior styling looks great and the cabin provides real comfort, with a spacious rear bench for three large adults, leather upholstery and the comfort and safety items usually found on passenger cars.”Performax International, formerly Corvette Queensland, has been importing and converting American cars for almost 20 years, developing an unequalled reputation for the quality of its engineering work and customer service.It employs more than 40 people and produces about 200 vehicles a year for Australian roads. 

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.“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.”

As Australia's new car juggernaut rolls on towards the magic million sales mark, the number of available models continues to swell. Already recognised as one of the most diverse and competitive car markets in the world, Australian importers continue to add to the mix.With half the year nearly gone, buyers have taken almost 500,000 new vehicles into their garages with some of the traditional biggest selling months still to come.At least three new marques will arrive in Australian showrooms in the second half of  the year; Hummer, Mahindra and Skoda,  testament to the vibrancy of what is, in world terms, a minor market.However, it is the expanding model range within existing brands that will drive the Aussie market over the million mark for the first time.Over the next six months more than 50 new or revised models will arrive in Australian new car showrooms. Here's a look at what's coming soon:ASTON MARTINDip your lid in style in September with the V8 Roadster, a gorgeous extension of the Vantage. AUDI Audi starts its end-of-year program in September with the R8, the biggest, baddest Audi in the garage The Supercar looks with enough performance to keep most on their toes. Also on the cards for October is the A5, Audi's first coupe since the TT. An all-new platform which comes as a front-wheel-drive and quattro. In November the V8 4.2 TDi may answer some questions for the Q7, including on fuel economy. BMW You'll have to wait until October for the new M3, but the latest offering from the M garage has something special. It's the first V8 for an M3. CHRYSLER A Sebring convertible, topless cousin of the sedan launched in early 2007, arrives in December. DODGE The Nitro SUV joins the Caliber for Dodge next month and the US marque backs that up with its Avenger sedan in August. FIAT The baby Ritmo, sold as the Bravo in Europe, will be Fiat's second passenger offering in Australia when it lands in October. Expect petrol and diesel. FORD The rush to oil-burners continues with the Focus getting the honour of being Ford's first passenger diesel next month before the Focus CC, the drop-top concept that set hearts aflutter at Frankfurt two years ago lands in October. The other big news for Ford is the return in November of the Mondeo for a third tilt at Australia. HOLDEN The key second-half model from the General is the VE Ute, bringing all the developments in the VE sedan to the working man's Holden. HONDA The Civic Type-R is razor-sharp styling built around a high-revving fun package. Next month. HUMMER The iconic offroader from the land of the large truck opens its Aussie account in October, a couple of months later than anticipated as a result of production delays for the H3. Surprisingly agile with real offroad ability. HYUNDAI An important second-half for the Korean marque. It starts with the popular Santa Fe SUV finally getting the 3.3-litre V6 from the Sonata to give it some extra punch. In October, the new Elantra hatch joins the sedan in the Aussie line-up after a wait of almost 12 months. JAGUAR An October styling refresh for the marque's luxury sedan, the XJ, is all from the Big Cat this year before a big 2008. JEEP The second of Jeep's non-Rubicon Trail-rated soft-roaders arrives in August to join the Compass for duty around town. KIA The Carens compact people mover has never really taken off here. The new generation is a little bigger and more stylish. It will be powered by a four-cylinder petrol or diesel engine with five- or seven-seat capacity. On sale in October. LAND ROVERThe baby Freelander gets a complete makeover for this generational change. New engines and a new family look all go on show in July. MAHINDRAIndia's workhorse ute, the Pik-Up, starts to roll out to Australia in July. MAZDA A new generation and a new look for the little Mazda2. Sharper styling is the key to this one's October debut. At the same time Mazda will add a diesel option to its top-selling Mazda3 range. MERCEDES-BENZThe key model for Mercedes this year is the meat-and-potatoes C-Class. Bigger, brighter and ready to meet the masses it is available from July. Also on Mercedes' new-model list is an upgraded ML500 and R-Class in September, both getting the 285kW V8 engine. October is a big month for the three-pointed star with the crackingCL65 AMG (a bi-turbo V12 with 450kW and 1000Nm) and the more sociable S320 CDi, which marries diesel with uber-luxury. MITSUBISHI You have to love a fighter. Australia's “other” family car, the 380, wins a minor refresh with some interior updates from next month. In August the automatic turbo diesel, traditionally the model's top seller, completes the Triton range while in October the point guard for the red-hot Evo X (due late in the year), the new Lancer, promises look-at-me-styling and more punch than the current model. NISSANThe baby Micra finally gets the green light for Australia with an October date with sales. In November the X-Trail, a core model for Nissan and the compact SUV that set the benchmark for those who actually can go off-road, gets a full generational change. The Dualis arrives in December. A softer option to the X-Trail, it sits on a similar platform but is more plush. PEUGEOT It's all about size for the French manufacturer. In July the 207CC, the previous generation of which set the standard for accessorising small cars, is back and promising to reclaim the crown. Its far more focused and athletic sibling, the GTi arrives in August with its turbocharged 1.6-litre engine. The station wagon derivative of the base 207 goes on sale in October. PORSCHEThe 911 turbo cabriolet proves Porsche's belief that if you can go fast in a sedan you should be able to go just as fast in a cabriolet. In September you can prove it for yourself. RENAULT August sees the Megane diesel join the Renault fleet, while the Clio Sport returns in November in an all-new guise. SAAB The new 9-3 will highlight Saab's first all-wheel-drive system in a completely renewed model range. All models arrive in November. SKODA Launches into Australia with a two-pronged attack in October. The Octavia medium-sized hatch and the quaintly named Roomster compact MPV will carry the flag initially. SMARTIn September the next next-generation smart ForTwo arrives, a little bigger and a little smarter. SUBARU The new Impreza is one of the most polarising styling departures of the year. In basic and WRX fettle the hatch arrives in September. A cult car heads mainstream and the jury is out. SUZUKIIf it ain't broke ... A freshen-up for the car that put punch back in Suzuki's local range, the brilliant Swift is in showrooms in October with the sedan version of the SX4 “tall hatch” joining the stable in September. TOYOTA The first product from Toyota's new “hot shop”, the Aurion TRD, arrives in August with a 3.5-litre supercharged V6 with sports manners and a load of plastic kit. Also in August is the generational change for Kluger with the SUV getting a substantial facelift and the 3.5-litre V6 from the Aurion. November brings the Landcruiser 200 Series and a TRD version of the HiLux. VOLVO The highlight for the Swedes in the second half of the year is the all-new generation of the XC70 due in November. About the same time the C30 will get the in-line five-cylinder diesel. VW A hot version of the Passat, the R36, is heading Down Under in November. 

Speaking at the New York motor show last week, Hummer general manager Martin Walsh said the company is looking at an "electric solution" for future products but not necessarily a conventional hybrid."I am not ruling them out, but we have looked at hybrids and what we found is that -- because we are serious about off-roading -- you need a lot of torque at all four wheels and we haven't found a hybrid that can deliver that," he says."There are other alternatives like the Chevrolet Volt concept electric vehicle. In association with fuel cell, gas or diesel -- whatever your choice is -- that system can drive a lot of torque to the wheels."The Volt, unveiled at the Detroit show in January, is a fully electric-driven system with a conventional on-board internal combustion engine driving the power regeneration generator for the batteries."We tend not to use the hybrid moniker for it but we are looking for an electric solution and that may be the one we want to move towards," Walsh says. While that development is the best part of a decade away, much closer is the often hinted-at H4, a compact Toyota RAV4 size model."Our growth will be downwards in terms of size," Walsh says."We currently have a strong presence in the larger size end of the market but our best opportunities for growth is in smaller and smaller segments."The two things we will maintain no matter where we go, because they have been the keys to our success, are the iconic design that makes a Hummer recognisable at first glance, and its unparalleled off-road ability. That is the real challenge. You can shrink any vehicle but as you do it becomes more difficult to package a genuine off-road ability."Walsh says the compact vehicle will be unveiled late in 2009 or, most likely, at the January 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit."I don't know that a smaller vehicle would be mean bigger sales than the H3 (56,000 in the US last year)," he says. "But I would expect that it would be responsible for additional sales." Available almost immediately is the 5.3-litre V8 option available in the H3 Alpha. Launched at the New York motor show last week, GM is playing coy on whether the engine will be offered in the Australian models."Of course we will consider it but at this stage there are no plans for the engine," General Motors Premium Channel spokeswoman Emily Perry says. "It is far too premature to suggest that the V8 will be confirmed for Australia."However, Steve Garrity, Hummer's international operations director, is more positive. "I would see that engine being available out of the South African plant around the middle of next year," he says.The Australian H3 models will be built in South Africa. Garrity also confirms development of a diesel program for the H3 is being driven by European, Australian and South African markets but doesn't expect the oil-burner to be available until well into 2009."It is definitely under way but the timing is still a bit back-and-forth at the moment," Garrity says. "There is no argument that the diesel program is to service Australia, Europe and South Africa ... without those three, there wouldn't be a great call for it."