Hummer Going the Way of the Dodo

The days are numbered for the military vehicle that carmakers turned into the bane of pedestrians, cyclists and planet Earth. GM has announced plans to wind down Hummer production after a deal to sell the brand to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart. According to the Times, the Chinese government wanted no part of Hummer because it is "trying to put a new emphasis on limiting China’s dependence on imported oil and protecting the environment."

A Hummer H2 weighs in at more than 6,600 pounds, measuring about 17 feet long by 6.75 feet wide. Anyone with a plain old driver's license can pilot one on crowded city streets. Evidence suggests that laws should be amended to protect the public from such a risk. Now, at least, there will gradually be fewer and fewer chances to wield these civilian tanks where they don't belong.

Video of Arnold testing out the first civilian Hummer via complex.com.