GM saw the civilian H1 as a launching point for a brand that would compete against Jeep and Land Rover for the faux “adventure” set.
Unfortunately, the H1 and H2 hit the market just as oil prices shot through the roof. The ineptness of these follow-on vehicles didn’t help either.
And when the unsophisticated consumers FINALLY caught on that they were just re-branded Chevys, GAME OVER.
The H1 & H2’s never fit that bill, all they would ever be would be “status” symbols for some, and the H3 was just a pitiable and laughable thing.
The H1 was a great machine for what it was designed to be, but to take that and try to spin it into a retail brand, frankly was silly, cheap or expensive gas would not have changed this brands fate.
There are only so many tiny women with penis envy who are going to buy an overpriced and oversized machine, and only so many hard core offroaders, the status symbol set would never be happy with an H1, no matter how much they tried to refine it. Its a beast, built to do some serious things, but a beast none the less, and its never going to be a Land Rover.