Humvees are designed to drive off-road through difficult terrain and became more familiar when the United States military used them in Operation: Desert Storm in 1991. In previous wars that the United States was involved in the military would use Jeeps to move their war generals and other members of the troops around from location to location. The Humvee was designed to navigate rough terrain and also had some armor placed on it specially for the military. After the H2 and the H3 were introduced by Hummer, they renamed the original vehicle, used by the military as the H1. The H1 is also available on the auto market today for civilian purchase but is not as popular as the other two models.

Hummer did not go international until 2006 when they decided to use select importers and distributors in Europe and some other markets. The H3 is produced in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. There are 300 Hummer dealers in 34 countries, with 173 of those dealers located within the United States.

The Hummer is the only vehicle in the United States that is offered with off-road tires, low-range transfer and a high-ground clearance. There are no two-wheel drive Hummers offered anywhere in the world as of yet. In 1993, before the corporation became known as Hummer, the Team Hummer Racing group was formed for competitions. Team Hummer picked up 11 wins at the Baja 1000 and has established itself as one of the best manufacturing companies involved in auto racing.

There are four concerns/criticisms about Hummer vehicles. They are poor fuel economy, safety, size and ecology safety. Hummer vehicles get on average 14 miles per gallon on the highway and only 10 miles per gallon in the city. They weigh in at roughly 6,000 pounds, which makes it illegal to drive the vehicles on certain streets and highways. Hummers do not offer side airbags, child safety locks, child seat tethers and stability control. Hummers also have large blind spots because of its massive body size which makes it difficult to park and dangerous to drive at times. Because of the size of Hummers, there are the blind spots but there are also problems parking and difficulty parking the vehicle in a garage. The fourth and final concern regarding Hummers is that they are not ecologically sound. They create noise pollution, air pollution and destroy wildlife when used in off-road activities.