Wendy and I are making our last preparations before we depart for the rally, and I am going through my checklists for our vehicle - the H3. Given all the news last week regarding HUMMER, I thought I would make a few points. Wendy and I will be traveling in all types of terrain and we will basically be on our own and we need the best, most purpose-built vehicle possible. I have had the great opportunity to drive many SUVs and small trucks and I have a choice of vehicles to consider for the rally — and I choose the H3. I compare it to other sports. If you were going to ski Denali and were on your own for a few weeks, you would want the best ski, boot, binding combo for the conditions and also the most reliable and durable - knowing you can’t run to your favorite ski tech if something breaks or goes wrong. It’s the difference of performance as well as safety. Well, this situation is no different - it’s just that our gear is our vehicle.
Capability - Last year we competed in the Isuzu D-Max. It was a great truck, albeit stripped down and completely stock. But it lacked some key design features that I feel will be extremely helpful as we try to step it up and take the shortest (and sometimes toughest) lines to keep our km penalties as low as possible. The H3 will have almost 3 more inches of ground clearance allowing us to clear more obstacles - rocks, camel grass, etc. The approach and departure angles are greater (13 degree difference on the departure angle!) which is basically a fancy way of saying the H3 can approach and depart steep angles with less possibility of damage.
We will be running aftermarket Rod Hall Edition Fox Shox and we’ve switched to the BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO. Last year we ran the BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2 but have chosen the KO in favor of improved fuel economy and float in sand. (Although, we did love our Mud Terrains in the sand!) A few key accessories include the Monit T-200 rally computer, Danforth compass, Max Trax sand ladders and Warn air compressor. While these four items might seem trivial, they are everything for this type of competition.
A big thank you to Paul Chedid of Paul Chedid Automotive Group (Chevrolet, Corvette, HUMMER and Indian Motorcycles) who has provided and prepped the H3 in Paris. We could not have done this without the help and support of HUMMER, HUMMER France and our sponsors who continue to show their support of us. And to the design team back in Detroit, thank you for the beautiful graphics! FYI…The skier on the passenger side is Wendy and that is the official Crested Butte Mountain Resort ad. As our Argan Oils sponsor said, the desert and snow graphics represent the diversity of the Moroccan landscape.
