Rodedawg Coming to USA
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 07.15.06
Just when you thought it was safe for eco-minded drivers to take back the roads: on the heels of the announcement by GM that they will kill the Hummer, Rodedawg is preparing to enter the US market. TreeHugger put this one in the un-TH category when we first became aware of the vehicle which can Out-Hummer the Hummer. Now Rodedawg has announced that the vehicles are "in the Plainfield, N.J. USA Certification Center undergoing testing for compliance with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and DOT (Department of Transportation) regulations."
Brainchild of Luis Pallais, the commercial attaché to the Nicaraguan Consul General's Office in San Francisco and former auto-industry insider, Rodedawg is refitting Chinese military vehicles into truck-utility, sports-utility and convertible versions. The company lists disaster relief as the first of its two target markets, and we can certainly imagine that a vehicle with a propeller might be handy in certain situations. However, the signing of Rapper Ice-T as spokesperson suggests that Rodedawg is out to compete with the pimpedest of rides in the consumer retail sector.
The Rodedawg fuel efficiency rating is 25 mgp (9,5 L/100 km), which is a step up from the Hummer--and could its is four-cylinder, 2.77 liter Isuzu 4JB1 turbocharged diesel engine be fueled by bio-diesel? But at the end of the day, this is one market introduction which tests the direction of the American consumer: can Americans without a commute through the swamp or a Katrina on their daily "to-do" list just say no?
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Though it may be as, or more, capable than the Hummer as an off-road vehicle it is no where near as nasty for fuel use.
Hummer 6.6 L turbocharged deisel (300 horsepower)
Hummer H2 6.0 L V8 (325 horsepower)
Hummer H3 3.5l L inline 5 cylinder (220 horsepower)
Rowedawg 2.77 L inline 4 turbocharged deisel (91 horsepower)
Just in case some one wishes to brings up poor chinese quality when taking about the Rowedawg's engine; the vehicle is powered by an Izuzu engine.
It's an ugly vehicle but it's not even as bad as most full-size SUV's let alone a Hummer for fuel use.
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And yes - if I had the money I'd buy one for back country use.
It's a boat, it's a truck(suv) ... most importantly it's a 4 cylinder deisel which we can fuel up with bio-deisel :D
I dont think its going to appeal to anyone who wont really need an offroad vehicle. Its not even a macho rugged ugly, its just plain ugly.
Ah, there are so many men in the world who need huge cars to compensate for their shortcomings... It's very sad.
In any case, GM is only killing the Hummer 1. The rest of the line is alive and well, I'm sorry to report. Judging from the streets of Manhattan, where I live, this disgusting car is still very popular among men with small penises.
It's truly ugly. It looks like a tank, a Jeep and a minivan had a kid. maybe if you are on safari and decide to pick up the kids after soccer practice...and then invade a country, it might just be for you.
the H3 has an MPG of 16-20... about the same as a Ford F150 and there are LOT more of those on the road.
Take a look next time you're driving.. most roofing, construction and tradesman use this vehicle if not the larger F250.
I would drive one. Sometimes a man has to drive in water.
If it could cut down on your comute by avoiding driving round a lake or something then it would be helping the environment.
But seriously, it's not like someone is going to use this as their every day vehicle.
Am I the only person who likes this poor ugly duckling of convergent function? Sure, I don't need it any more than I need a regular fuel efficient car -- I mean, the bridges around Virginia, DC and MD are perfectly capable of handling the massive amounts of traffic with aplomb and ease, so why would I, for even a second, fantasize about simply floating across the water and then driving along to work?
Sometimes, a thing that is endearingly ugly does not deserve scorn, when its purported evil is not particularly evil. Many people with active imaginations have wanted car-boats, or seaplanes, or sea-plane-car-buggies, or Buick-starships, at some point in their life... Especially at points that occur a couple weeks after a regular car floated away in a real life flood and was totaled.
I like it!
Take a look next time you're driving.. most roofing, construction and tradesman use this vehicle [F-150] if not the larger F250.
I've got no problem with contractors using trucks. They need it. But why does the insurance adjuster across the street need one?