By Chris Chase, CanadianDriver.com

The original Hummer, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle developed by AM General, earned celebrity status through its high-profile use in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) of 1990-1991, and then by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who liked it so much he had to have one.

2006 Hummer H3

AM General capitalized on the publicity by selling a civilian version, the H1, starting in 1992. General Motors would buy the Hummer brand name in 1998, and began selling the H2, a lighter-duty model based on GM full-size pickup platform architecture, in 2002.

2006 brought an even smaller Hummer model, the H3; predictably enough, this one was based on the compact Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon pickup platform. (more…)