Hummer

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once symbolized America's love for hulking SUVs, faces a shutdown after its sale to a Chinese heavy equipment maker collapsed. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. said Wednesday it pulled out of the deal to buy the company from General Motors Co. Tengzhong failed to get clearance from Chinese regulators within the proposed time frame for the sale, the Chinese manufacturer said. GM said it will continue to honor existing Hummer warranties. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances.

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once symbolized America's love for hulking SUVs, faces a shutdown after its sale to a Chinese heavy equipment maker collapsed. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. said Wednesday it pulled out of the deal to buy the company from General Motors Co. Tengzhong failed to get clearance from Chinese regulators within the proposed time frame for the sale, the Chinese manufacturer said. GM said it will continue to honor existing Hummer warranties. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances.

YOU SEE THEM popping up on the roads, more and more of the mean-looking behemoths that fill the width of a highway lane with a "What's-it-to-you?" sort of attitude. These 4-ton machines are called Hummers and word is that General Motors can't make them fast enough. Such popularity, on the eve of another possible war with Iraq, comes with exquisite irony. The Hummer is the civilian version of the Humvee, the big four-wheel-drive military vehicle whose popularity can be dated to the first gulf war of 1991 when it appeared on television carrying victorious American troops over the dunes of Iraq.

A name says a lot about a bar. A newly renovated corner bar trying to lure in neighborhood residents needs to have the right name. Otherwise, people might get the wrong impression. That's the biggest drawback for Hummers Bar and Grill in Canton. With a name like Hummers, you expect to walk into a no-frills sports bar. And though I can see myself going there for a football or baseball game, it's a good deal more than your average sports bar. Instead, Hummers is a sharp, clean and streamlined bar and lounge.

John Ayodele of Nigeria recently became the proud owner of a used Hummer. He went through his daughter, a grad student living in Maryland, to buy it from a Perry Hall plumber for $24,500. Ayodele, an engineering executive, has practical reasons for buying and shipping across the Atlantic a vehicle seen by many as an eco-villain. Nigeria's potholes are like lunar craters. And the truck could almost certainly plow through most log roadblocks laid out by highway bandits. Too bad for Hummer there aren't more highwaymen out there.

First of all, what would possess anyone to leave a heated home to navigate, claw and slosh through the area's frozen all-terrain to the Maryland State Fairgrounds to see this year's international auto show?What would drive anyone to come out in 12-degree temperatures? What could drive anyone here?"IT'S NOT A CAR. IT'S NOT A TRUCK. IT'S NOT ANOTHER 4X4."IT'S A HUMMER!"Quick, get out of the cold. Here in Exhibition Hall 200, follow the mob of men past the sparkling white Cadillac DeVille to the Amazing World of the Hummer.

IN BALTIMORE COUNTY Assateague rangers search for Cockeysville woman ASSATEAGUE ISLAND - Park rangers were looking yesterday for a 24-year-old Cockeysville woman last seen with a man whose body was found on an Assateague Island beach early Sunday. Surfers found the man's body near a Hummer mired in the sand. Park rangers think the driver was driving off-road when the Hummer crashed and flipped over. Missing is Jennifer Holly Ashe, 24, of Cockeysville. Police said that according to witnesses, Ashe was last seen leaving to go driving with the man who was found dead.

Talk about impulse buying: The weather this past week may have had you wishing you could trade in your car for a cross between a jeep and a tank.And if a salesman for AM General Corp. had been chugging up your icy street in a brand new Hummer, there's no doubt about it: You would have been tempted to sign the dotted line on the spot.Hummer is the rugged -- its big knobby tires come up to your waist -- civilian version of the all-terrain Humvee that AM General produces for the military.It's not a thing of beauty.

Investigators are trying to determine why a Baltimore woman's body was found several miles from where a sport utility vehicle crashed on the beach at Assateague Island. Jennifer Holly Ashe, 24, of Baltimore was found dead Monday on the north end of the island, near the Ocean City inlet, authorities said yesterday. She was found about five miles north of where the body of her companion, Adam Starkey, 25, of Cockeysville, was found, said Robert Fudge, chief of visitor services for Assateague Island National Seashore.

"Like nothing else." - Hummer slogan LeBron James' celebrated schoolboy basketball career may go down the tubes. But, man, he sure has nice wheels. Maybe you heard that Ohio high school officials are investigating whether James, an 18-year-old who could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft this year, broke any eligibility rules by tooling around in his new Hummer H2. James reportedly got the H2 as a birthday gift from his mother. But the Hummer has a base price of $49,190. And when a high school player rides around in something that goes for that number of Benjamins, it's not just eyebrows that get raised, it's entire facial and skeletal structures.

John Ayodele of Nigeria recently became the proud owner of a used Hummer. He went through his daughter, a grad student living in Maryland, to buy it from a Perry Hall plumber for $24,500. Ayodele, an engineering executive, has practical reasons for buying and shipping across the Atlantic a vehicle seen by many as an eco-villain. Nigeria's potholes are like lunar craters. And the truck could almost certainly plow through most log roadblocks laid out by highway bandits. Too bad for Hummer there aren't more highwaymen out there.

Investigators are trying to determine why a Baltimore woman's body was found several miles from where a sport utility vehicle crashed on the beach at Assateague Island. Jennifer Holly Ashe, 24, of Baltimore was found dead Monday on the north end of the island, near the Ocean City inlet, authorities said yesterday. She was found about five miles north of where the body of her companion, Adam Starkey, 25, of Cockeysville, was found, said Robert Fudge, chief of visitor services for Assateague Island National Seashore.

IN BALTIMORE COUNTY Assateague rangers search for Cockeysville woman ASSATEAGUE ISLAND - Park rangers were looking yesterday for a 24-year-old Cockeysville woman last seen with a man whose body was found on an Assateague Island beach early Sunday. Surfers found the man's body near a Hummer mired in the sand. Park rangers think the driver was driving off-road when the Hummer crashed and flipped over. Missing is Jennifer Holly Ashe, 24, of Cockeysville. Police said that according to witnesses, Ashe was last seen leaving to go driving with the man who was found dead.

By almost any measure, China is a world away from Havre de Grace. The two places are separated by geography, of course, but also by culture and language. But on Thursday night, about 75 people at Havre de Grace United Methodist Church learned about a bond they share with some in China - Christianity. China Outreach Ministries is trying to introduce the Chinese to Christianity, often one person at a time. The organization, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., works with students from China who are attending colleges and universities in the United States.

THE FIRST CLUE I had that today's America is different from the America I grew up in came shortly after my son and I flew in from England to attend a funeral. I was trying to drive my normal-sized rental car carefully because I hadn't taken out collision insurance, and I was surrounded by enormous vehicles larger than run-of-the-mill SUVs. My little car was overwhelmed by these monsters. I had trouble pulling out of places as they blocked my vision the way skyscrapers steal sunshine from city dwellers.

NEW YORK - Two weeks ago, when the New York Yankees were struggling to get to .500, the amazing early-season performance of former teammate Roger Clemens must have been a painful two-edged topic in the clubhouse that Ruth built. Who would have blamed the Yankees for being a little put off by Clemens' decision to postpone retirement and join his hometown Houston Astros? They did, after all, give him an emotional sendoff - and a new Hummer - after he spent a year convincing everyone that 2003 would be the last season of his impressive career.

Thursday's Ravens game was a network television debut for PSINet's latest field. Like the team, it didn't look its best.The center part of the field was noticeably lighter in color than the outer two-thirds. ESPN's commentators even pointed out the differences in the fourth quarter, using on-screen pens to show the seams. Quarterback Tony Banks also appeared to have a hard time keeping his footing.The developer of the team's field said color differences will fade in coming weeks. He said slipping by players was probably due to nighttime dew or the use of the wrong cleats.

By almost any measure, China is a world away from Havre de Grace. The two places are separated by geography, of course, but also by culture and language. But on Thursday night, about 75 people at Havre de Grace United Methodist Church learned about a bond they share with some in China - Christianity. China Outreach Ministries is trying to introduce the Chinese to Christianity, often one person at a time. The organization, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., works with students from China who are attending colleges and universities in the United States.

On July 11, 2003 REV. JOHN A. LOVEJOY, of Abingdon, MD, beloved husband of Margaret Lovejoy (nee Hummer) devoted father of John Steven Lovejoy, Susan Elizabeth Lovejoy and Patricia Lovejoy Hegberg. Loving grandfather of six grandchildren. A private interment will be held at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery, in Owings Mills. Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at Grace United Methodist Church, Sunday July 20, 2003 at 3:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Grace United Methodist Church, 110 W. Bel Air Ave., Aberdeen, MD 21001 or China Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box 310, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Carmelo Anthonyby the numbers: 20.7 points per game 9.3 rebounds per game 45.6 Total field-goal percentage 36.5 Three-point percentage 35.3 Minutes per game SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The mind and body that once caused Carmelo Anthony so much grief will make him very rich very soon. In the interim, America's other 6-foot-8, 18-year-old basketball prodigy is getting kicks that beat driving a $50,000 SUV. How peculiar, that while the hoops world turns on the status of his Hummer-driving, throwback jersey-wearing buddy, LeBron James, Anthony has found a cocoon in the Carrier Dome, home of the world's largest regular-season crowds.