the buzz log

It's been a long trip, seemingly headed toward a sure victory lap, despite all the invective along the way. Now, concession may finally be at hand.

We're talking about the Hummer. What else?

Vilified by environmentalists and embraced by Hollywood musclemen, prom dates, and other people with inadequacy issues, the Hummer's swollen militaristic might might soon follow the dead-end route of the Edsel and the Oldsmobile—at least as far as General Motors is concerned.

GM executives, who saw American dominance elbowed aside long before the current round of falling car sales and slashed prices, announced that it's closing the plants that build the company's trucks and SUVs. Not only that, but among the brands "under review" is the civvie version of the Humvee.

The price of gas (if not the economy overall) has been the scapegoat, but investment officers opine that GM should have unloaded Hummer three years ago. Certainly its overwrought masculine appeal has waned since then: The average weekly searches for all "hummer" look-ups (that includes "hummer," "hummers," "hummer 3," "hummer 2," and "hummer 1") have hurtled downhill, dropping 66% compared to 2007 and 74% compared to 2006.

Even more drastic, five times more prom or wedding parties last spring hailed a "hummer limo" online. This season's taffeta-and-tuxedo crowd skipped that ride.

So what other wheels might teen boys and teen boys-at-heart eye? Turns out that people checking out the H-mobile also kick the online tires of the "escalade," "dodge viper," "land rover," and "range rover," as well as the "lamborgini," "porche," and "hammer." (Spelling is not a prerequisite for driving very big cars. Yet.)

Overall queries are tiny, but in the past week, there's been a 48% bump for "humvee," the high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicle that inspired it all. Spy satellite radio, optional.