You have to admit, the Hummer is different...

So it’s goodbye to Hummer then. The proposed purchase by a Chinese conglomerate fell through, meaning GM will now shutter the brand.

Unusually, feelings expressed via the internet automotive blogosphere seem fairly universal on this: good riddance. Some forums, where typically almost nothing is agreed on, have that collective feeling of a public tragedy: where were you when the beast finally died?

Well, I for one will miss Hummer.

The gas-guzzler with military pretensions had ‘conspicuous consumption’ hard-wired into it from the drawing board. As such, it was the environmentalist’s ideal whipping boy. What’s more, ask the man in the street for his thoughts on a car, and chances are few would match the 90s-era Hummer for a typical opinion; “for people with more money than sense”; “something ‘bling’ that rappers drive”; “a car for gun-toters who love Arnie films”; and “a symbol of U.S. excess”.

Much of which felt like thinly veiled Anti-Americanism. Hate the Hummer if you must, but the automotive landscape is more drab for its passing.