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The story of the Hummer starts in 1979 when there was a competition to
develop a vehicle to meet U.S. Army standards in an HMMWV (High Mobility
Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle, better known as Humvee). Although the
competition was hot, with the likely favorites coming from Chrysler and
Teledyne, AM General came from behind to initiate a design that was
original in all ways. The result was The Hummer. Testing of the
prototype began in the deserts of Nevada in mid-1980, less than a year
after it first drove off the designer's boards. It still had not won
the competition, which heated up in early 1981, as the U.S. Army began
to evaluate six proposals against their specifications. Three vehicles
were successful, with contracts being awarded to General Dynamics,
Teledyne, and AM General in June of 1981. The tough Army requirements
demanded light armor, Arctic and desert operational ability, and deep
water fording. They also had to be reliable, durable and readily
maintainable. It was AM General that was the first company to complete
its test vehicles, providing the Army with prototype Hummers in April
1982. The Army tested the prototypes over a 5 month period. The Hummer
proved to be durable, lightweight, and able to achieve high performance
ratings. In March 1983, AM General was awarded the Hummer production
1.2 billion contract, in which 55,000 vehicles were required to be
delivered over a 5-year period. The Army vehicles, were naturally
followed by the civilian public Hummer. In late 1999, AM General sold
the Hummer name and marketing rights to General Motors. AM General
continues to build the original Hummer (now popularly referred to as the
H1) at its plant, and also builds the Hummer H2, in a new plant
next-door. In 1984, AM General headquarters moved to Livonia, Michigan,
and two years later moved to South Bend, Indiana, where the main
manufacturing operations are located.