Hummer, We Hardly Knew Ye: Five Things You Didn't Know About the Tank that Took to the Roads

(MoneyWatch)  You're probably aware that Ah-nold had a Hummer (or eight) and you might even know that so did LeBron James. And Shaq. And 50 Cent. But unless you are truly, madly, deeply invested in the controversial passenger tank, we're betting here are Five Things You Didn't Know About the Hummer: 1. Mileage? Not so bad: Hummer became a symbol of gas-guzzling excess, but in truth its mileage wasn't as bad as people assume. For instance, the Hummer H3 shares a five-cylinder engine with the GMC Canyon and the Chevrolet Colorado. The thing is, the Hummer is about 1,000 pounds heavier. Therefore, it gets 5 mpg less on the highway. Still, that's an EPA-estimated 18 mpg, not the single-digit number many people expect. According to the EPA, the least-efficient SUV is a high-performance Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, at 15 mpg highway.

2. Alternate fuels? Coming right up: Hummer was in the process of introducing "flex-fuel" engines capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol, or alcohol, for all its models by the end of this year, starting with variants of the Hummer H3 in late 2009.

3. A green machine: A Hummer concept vehicle won an award in 2006 for environmental sustainability in design. The concept, called the Hummer O2, had algae-filled body panels that used photosynthesis to take carbon dioxide out of the air and to produce oxygen, which was released into the atmosphere, inside and outside the vehicle. The concept was built entirely with recycled materials, and ran on hydrogen fuel cells.

4. Say HMMWV three times fast: Hummer is short for Humvee, which in turn is short for "High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle," the military Daddy to the civilian Hummer. No wonder the name got shortened. Incidentally, the original Humvee got its squashed, flat-roof appearance from the fact that as big as it is, it still had to fit under the wing of a cargo airplane. The Humvee was to the first Gulf War what the Jeep was to World War II. (Fun fact: While there is disagreement about the origin of the "Jeep" name, "G.P." for "General Purpose" figures into it.)

5. Not dead yet: GM's Hummer brand is winding-down mode, but with America fighting two wars, the company that originated the Humvee survives. That would be AM General, South Bend, Ind. The company produced the first 55,000 Humvees for the Army in 1985. The company continues to produce the Humvee for the military.