Hummer Dealer Opens

Idaho’s first Hummer dealership has opened to accommodate sportsmen with a lot of disposable income.

Randy Hansen of Twin Falls has opened the state’s first Hummer outlet - Hansen Hummer.

“The Hummer is quite simply the toughest four-by-four on Earth,” Hansen said. “This is the perfect vehicle for some of the working and driving conditions you encounter in the state of Idaho.”

It is not quite a town car. At more than 7 feet wide and 11 feet long, a Hummer can barely squeeze through a drive-up window lane.

But trips to McDonald’s are not really what the Hummer is for, said product manager Richard Baylis.

It is an Army truck with a civilian paint job and luxury interior. The vehicle received acclaim for its role in the Persian Gulf War.

It can scale 18-inch vertical walls, climb 60-percent grades and traverse 45-percent side slopes - while carrying up to two tons of people and gear.

Hummers cost between $45,000 and $75,000.

Customers range from ranchers and fire departments to the super-rich.