FormerUser
Well-Known Member
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- 179
Sadly, must come to an end. And today I find myself reflecting..
It was with mixed emotions that I said goodbye to my 2010 H3 Adventure this Saturday. Mixed emotions, because I really liked owning the truck, but try as I may I couldn't make it into something it wasn't. Different, it was for sure. 1 of 25 in Canyon Metallic, and 1 of 5 in the color with the Adventure package - at least according to GM. A very capable factory stock off-road machine it was, but it was something that I got to experience only once in the 2 years of ownership. A commuter it was not, and try as I may - I just couldn't make it work. 4.56 gears and factory 33" tires with a inline 5? I told myself it was fine when I bought and that it had plenty of of oomph. But stepping down from a DuraMax, I was just fooling myself. With the absolute best mileage I ever saw was 22(one time) and routinely 18.1 on a still stock rig(highway) but only a dismal 14 in town to a avg of 17.6, I was chewing through $50 a week in fuel. I wanted it to be so much more - looking at all the pictures of the places some of you have been in your H1, H2 and H3/T's. This past winter - how brief it was - mine was as sure footed as a mountain goat, going places that only snowmobiles should travel. SatNav and XM radio, comfortable cloth buckets and ample storage for 2, it should of been. Great visibility, but poor lighting made for more than few things driven over. But with 33" BFG AT's, they were only speed bumps.
The grass is always greener, or so you think.
I traded down. Out of a '10 with remaining warranty into a '08 with a warranty. But its not a Hummer. In some ways it is everything I wanted my H3 to be, but in some ways it is lacking what made the H3 unique. Gone is the excellent approach and departure angle, and the beefy 33" tires. Gone is the anemic 5 cylinder. Gained is a refined interior, and a very thrifty V6 Diesel. First partial tank mileage shows 25.6mpg on the highway @ 70mph w/A/C on. The distinct INSTANTLY recognizable silhouette is replaced by something aerodynamic, and a little bland. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge, and to give it a little time to grow on me. To hear that little clatter-clatter of the diesel mill in the morning is so enchanting, but to not see my icon in the driveway is disheartening. And 2 days after I traded it, I miss it. (for the record, I'm moved into a '08 Jeep WK Grand Cherokee Diesel 4x4 Quadra-Trac II)
Had GM not killed the brand, merged it into GMC or something - perhaps I wouldn't be here writing my swan song. All of us would still be here, and this would be instead a song of praise. But it is what it is.
And it is also my goodbye. The last 2 months I have been barley active on the web, trying to instead fill my life with a return to higher education, and reemployment. Some of you know me, via the World Wide Web, and for 2 of you - actually in person. Like so many before me, it is time to move on. I might pop in from time to time and nose around. I still have a couple of H3 things that need to go to a new home, and my memories and pictures will be staying put. But all good things must come to a end.
It was with mixed emotions that I said goodbye to my 2010 H3 Adventure this Saturday. Mixed emotions, because I really liked owning the truck, but try as I may I couldn't make it into something it wasn't. Different, it was for sure. 1 of 25 in Canyon Metallic, and 1 of 5 in the color with the Adventure package - at least according to GM. A very capable factory stock off-road machine it was, but it was something that I got to experience only once in the 2 years of ownership. A commuter it was not, and try as I may - I just couldn't make it work. 4.56 gears and factory 33" tires with a inline 5? I told myself it was fine when I bought and that it had plenty of of oomph. But stepping down from a DuraMax, I was just fooling myself. With the absolute best mileage I ever saw was 22(one time) and routinely 18.1 on a still stock rig(highway) but only a dismal 14 in town to a avg of 17.6, I was chewing through $50 a week in fuel. I wanted it to be so much more - looking at all the pictures of the places some of you have been in your H1, H2 and H3/T's. This past winter - how brief it was - mine was as sure footed as a mountain goat, going places that only snowmobiles should travel. SatNav and XM radio, comfortable cloth buckets and ample storage for 2, it should of been. Great visibility, but poor lighting made for more than few things driven over. But with 33" BFG AT's, they were only speed bumps.
The grass is always greener, or so you think.
I traded down. Out of a '10 with remaining warranty into a '08 with a warranty. But its not a Hummer. In some ways it is everything I wanted my H3 to be, but in some ways it is lacking what made the H3 unique. Gone is the excellent approach and departure angle, and the beefy 33" tires. Gone is the anemic 5 cylinder. Gained is a refined interior, and a very thrifty V6 Diesel. First partial tank mileage shows 25.6mpg on the highway @ 70mph w/A/C on. The distinct INSTANTLY recognizable silhouette is replaced by something aerodynamic, and a little bland. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge, and to give it a little time to grow on me. To hear that little clatter-clatter of the diesel mill in the morning is so enchanting, but to not see my icon in the driveway is disheartening. And 2 days after I traded it, I miss it. (for the record, I'm moved into a '08 Jeep WK Grand Cherokee Diesel 4x4 Quadra-Trac II)
Had GM not killed the brand, merged it into GMC or something - perhaps I wouldn't be here writing my swan song. All of us would still be here, and this would be instead a song of praise. But it is what it is.
And it is also my goodbye. The last 2 months I have been barley active on the web, trying to instead fill my life with a return to higher education, and reemployment. Some of you know me, via the World Wide Web, and for 2 of you - actually in person. Like so many before me, it is time to move on. I might pop in from time to time and nose around. I still have a couple of H3 things that need to go to a new home, and my memories and pictures will be staying put. But all good things must come to a end.
