SEMA Preview: Trio of HUMMER H3s set to invade Vegas

HUMMER’s presence at this year’s SEMA show will be typified by a trio of tuned H3s, ranging from a mildly modded Alpha to an H3T ready to traverse the desert surrounding Sin City.
The most sedate of the three is the warmed-over H3 X Alpha concept, which features new 18-inch wheels shod in 35-inch all-terrain tires, black chrome trim, body-colored bumper extensions and clear turn signal housings. The exterior is coated in Canyon Metallic, while inside, the leather seats, armrests and shift knob all receive contrasting orange stitching along with matching piping and a HUMMER Accessories DVD headrest system.
Far more impressive is the H3T Weekend Warrior concept (above), which capitalizes on HUMMER’s off-road cred with a series of engine and suspension mods. Output of the 5.3-liter V8 has been increased by around 70 hp through the use of an LS2 cylinder head, high-lift cam and custom 3.5-inch exhaust. Rolling stock is comprised of HUMMER Accessories’ 20-inch wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich Baja T/A rubber, suspended by a Light Racing Jounce Shocks and Rod Hall Racing piggyback performance reservoirs, with brakes provided by DBA.
Finally, Four Wheeler magazine got its own H3 Alpha to play with, and began by “de-glossing” the Victory Red paint scheme with a PPG flattening agent mixed with clear to give it an incredibly cool satin appearance. The only engine mod is a MagnaFlow cat-back exhaust, but what Four Wheeler didn’t spend on motivation it made up for with suspension components. Nitrogen-charged, two-inch Rod Hall Racing performance shocks and Light Racing Jounce Shocks compliment the flat-black 16-inch Simulock wheels coated in BFG Mud-Terrain T/A tires.
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Microheat Inc., the company responsible for inventing and supplying General Motors with their HotSpot windshield cleaning system, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The technology utilized heated liquid to clean the front glass of debris, ice, and snow. Unfortunately, a short circuit on a printed circuit board could overheat and lead to a fire (removing contaminants from much more than just the front windshield). As a result, GM recalled 944,000 vehicles and dropped Microheat, and their HotSpot product, from the lineup. Even with the system no longer offered on vehicles, things are cooking in court as GM is now seeking $20-25 million in damages to cover the cost of the recall. Without the assets to cover the charges, bankruptcy protection could only be expected. While GM’s HotSpot recall solves the overheating problem with a simple inline fuse, the new filing by Microheat only seems to be fueling the fire.


The new Dodge Challenger is offering tuners one of the hottest platforms to work with since the Mustang in 2005, and there will no doubt be plenty of different variations on the floor at SEMA in just a few weeks. We don’t know if we’ll be able to spot them all, but we are definitely going to be keeping our eyes out for these two bad boys built by Mr. Norm’s Garage. Who’s Mr. Norm, you ask? He’s the legendary owner of Grand Spaulding Dodge that was famous for building some of the fastest Mopars in the country. Mr. Norm is now working his magic on the current Dodge lineup, and will be be showcasing the two Challengers you see here. The Super Challenger features a supercharged version of the 6.1L Hemi putting out 900 tire-shredding horsepower plus Rodtana forged wheels, Hotchkis suspension upgrades, massive SSBC brakes, and a custom front spoiler and side scoops. The other Challenger features similar performance upgrades but has been converted to replicate the legendary AAR Cuda.

