The U.S. Army auctioned off some of its retired umvees, bringing in big bucks. The auction involved 25 trucks where each had a starting bid of $10,000. The bidding amount went between $21,500 and $41,000. About 75 percent of the total revenues went to the federal government.
The lowest winning bid went to a 1989 AM General M1038 Humvee HMMWV that had an auction price of $21,500. The highest bid was for a 1994 AM General M998A1 Humvee HMMWV declared sold at a bid amount of $41,000. HMMWV, pronounced as "Humvee," stands for High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
On average, the successful bid was around $30,000.
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has around 4,000 surplus Humvees. Some will have to be transferred to local law enforcement agencies while the remainder will be placed for a public auction from IronPlanet, an online auction house.
The age-range of the Humvees is traced to begin from the Reagan-era (1987) up to the days when President Clinton was serving his first term in the office.
Humvees had started to gain worldwide attention during the Gulf War's "Operation Desert Storm." Made of strong steel and iron, the 2 to 3 ton Humvees were perfect for crossing a desert landscape.
Though they may have an imposing look, the Humvee is definitely not built for road cruising. Its engines range from 6.2 liter V-8 diesel to 6.5-liter V-8 turbo-diesel along with a 3 or 4-speed automatic transmission. What set the Humvees apart are their rugged build, torque-rich engines and their heavy-duty 4 by 4 hardware.
"The Humvee was designed for a military mission and was not designed to meet civilian safety standards," stated AM General LLC, the Humvees' manufacturer. "AM General does not endorse nor support the sale of these military vehicles to the general public or private entities. AM General further opposes any use of these military vehicles by individuals or entities outside the military context for which the vehicles are designed. AM General does not sell the military vehicle or service parts for the military vehicle to the general public."
Almost 300,000 Humvees were built both for the U.S. military and for its allies. The first civilian version came out after Arnold Schwarzenegger had talked to company officials on building a model that he could drive around. The brand was then bought by General Motors which started to build the vehicles until 2010.
The DLA is reviewing the next batch of Humvees that they can place under auction. The new round of auction is said to be on Jan. 7.
