I just can't decide

Should I get the '04 H1 model Hummer or the '05 H2? Sure, the base model of the H2 starts at $51,800, and the other models range from $54K to $56K (about $500 more for the H2 SUT, which stands for Sport Utility Truck--hooah!), but how do I know that I'm getting the quality there that I could get by paying $117,508 for the H1 Wagon?

The Hummer website claims that the H2 is no girlie-man SUV, and that it "proves that there is still one out there that can stop and give you 20." And it does have a 32-gallon fuel tank capacity. I see that it is longer and lighter than the H1, with about 1.5 times the horsepower, but it can only ford 20 inches of water, while the H1 can ford 30.

And they say that the H1 "gives you an incredible feeling of freedom, and allows you to experience the world, and your place in it, as never before."

Is that the freedom of knowing you don't need to worry about whether it's such a hot idea to drive a vehicle that, because it is so large and heavy, does not have to meet governmental fuel standards? I read that Hummer isn't even required to publish its fuel economy figures, but that drivers report about 10 mpg for normal use.

Let's see: that means in my H2 I could travel 320 miles on one tank of gas, although there are pollution elements to worry about. My same source says:

Based on G.M.'s optimistic claim that it gets13 mpg, an H2 will produce 3.4 metric tons of carbon emissions in a typical year, nearly double that of G.M.'s Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

Aha--here is the REAL bonus:

The H2 is a tax loophole. Under Bush's new tax plan, business owners can deduct the entire cost of their $55,000 H2. If you are in the highest tax bracket, that's a tax savings of nearly $20,000! The government rewards you more savings for buying an H2 than you'd get for buying an electric car.

We are back to the same old deal, where if you can shell out $55K for a car, then you can get it tax-free. God bless America.

Jim McCraw wrote in Car and Driver about the H2 SUT, which is supposed to combine a pickup truck with the standard Hummer:

There isn't enough room in this rugged pickup truck's bed for a dirt bike, a personal watercraft, a mountain bike, or a snowmobile—all things you might want to haul into some craggy interior portion of Our Great Nation. Not one of these will fit into the bed with the tailgate in the up position. And you can't put the tailgate down to add a tailgate extender without having the spare tire swinging around in traffic. So, you have to carry only what fits in the bed and stops at the tailgate.

We would be interested to read a reasonable justification from anyone, for owning and operating this vehicle.