Range Rover

In 1948 American born artist Man Ray wrote, "There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it." This is nearly 30 years after he glued some spikes to the bottom of an iron and called it art. And you know what? We couldn't agree more. Meet Jeremy Dean. He's a New York-based artist that began reading about "Hoover carts" during the recent economic bad times. Turns out that Hoover carts were broken down old cars that horses used to lug around during the Great Depression.


With that in mind, Mr. Dean decided to turn a "perfectly good" Hummer H2 that he purchased for $15,000 into a horse drawn cart. We'll let the artist explain the why:

At this time of record financial gains, the auto industry began producing ever extravagant cars and these huge American gas guzzlers became a status symbol in society leading to increased demand for oil and fuel prices soared. So with our very American idea of Manifest Destiny, we meddle in any country that has oil and send our men and women into harms way so that we can continue consuming almost 80% of the worlds resources. But how long can that last?

My own satirical prediction of the future: Unless we come up with alternative fuel sources and rethink our reliance on a hyperinflated consumer based economy, we may be left with no other options than to hook our cars up to a horse. As a symbol of this I [will] take either a Cadillac Escalade or HUMMER H2, which have become monuments to America's consumption, greed and arrogance, and convert it to a horse cart. The cart will maintain all its former glitz and glamour: chrome rims, GPS, working sound system, DVD player, and TV screens. But [it] will be pulled by a horse.


Hey man, horses need jobs, too. As for Jeremy Dean, he has apparently sunk his entire life savings into this project and is hoping to sell it to recoup his costs. We can only wish him good luck and ask one question: Isn't purchasing art for what we can only assume costs an entire briefcase full of Franklins just as much of a "status symbol" as big, ungainly luxury SUVs?


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The latest creation of Romanian designer Andrus Ciprian is the HUMMER HB, an extreme off-road vehicle with almost no front or rear overhangs, and massive wheels and tires for tackling almost any surface.


Truth to be said, no one knows what the future beholds for Hummer now that GM sold the brand to a little-known Chinese company called Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. But that hasn't deterred independent designers like Andrus Ciprian from envisioning future products for Hummer.


The HUMMER HB's construction consists of a body-on-frame format with aluminium and carbon fiber being the main materials used throughout. The vehicle would be offered in two different versions. One would be equipped with a smaller windscreen split into three sections, and an array of cameras around the vehicle which relay video to screens around the driver. This model would be aimed at buyers who want greater security. The second model is fitted with a more conventional single frame windscreen and is designed more for the serious off-roader with additional lighting mounted on the roof.


The designer says that the Hummer HB adopts a body-on-frame construction with power being provided by a biofuel capable V6 engine.


The underside of the HB is protected by armored paneling which protects the drivetrain and passengers from rocks and other potentially damaging objects.

Hidden within the front bumper is a powerful winch for helping extract the HB, or other vehicles, from sticky situations.


There are two versions of the HB, one with a smaller windscreen split into three sections and an array of cameras that relay video to the driver through screens, and another with a conventional windscreen and additional lights on the roof, designed for the more serious off-roader.
Via: Diseno-art carscoop

HUMMER owners who feel morally justified in their choice of the brand due to its
American symbolism need not freak out completely: if the sale to Sichuan
Tengzhong goes through, the Chinese company plans to put the global brand
headquarters near Detroit, thanks in part to a $20.6 million state tax credit
from Michigan.

Back in June we brought you the lowdown on HUMMER's talks with Chinese firm
Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., and since then the updates on
the deal's progress have been steady. Now a report from a source briefed on the
deal says Sichuan Tengzhong and GM could sign a deal as early as tomorrow.

If you're asking yourself why China wouldn't want one of its native companies
buying the HUMMER brand, it's a fair question with a curious answer. Turns out,
Communists don't like gas guzzlers. Apparently they don't hate them enough,
however.

Chicken counting should not yet commence, however, as the deal will
still have to be approved by Chinese and U.S. regulatory agencies before it's
officially done.

 

On the other hand, nothing official has been announced by either party and with
the sudden and complete breakdown of the Saturn sale to Penske last week, it's
clear that nothing is certain these days. A rumor earlier this year that the
Chinese government had forbidden the purchase by Sichuan Tengzhong caused some
mild panic on the web, but has since blown over.

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