The Hummer H2, by the numbers (2002)

Moving this leviathan of a truck required a suitably powerful engine. Hummer chose a 6.0-litre V8 tuned to develop 312bhp in early models. Four-wheel drive and an automatic transmission came standard.

The H2 initially looked like a winning combination. Fuel prices were low, SUV sales were skyrocketing across the United States and Hummer’s smallest model resembled nothing else on new car lots. Pricing started at approximately $50,000 (about $70,000 today) yet that didn’t deter nearly 19,000 buyers from signing the dotted line during the 2002 calendar year and about 35,000 more in 2003.

Cast in the right light, the H2 actually looked affordable. The H1’s base price had ballooned to $110,000, or over twice the cost of a Chevrolet Corvette Z06.