This is not Your Father's Hummer, Travel Tips Article

Spoils

Admit it: you already think that as personal transportation goes, a Hummer is a little overeager. And you haven't even seen Tim Hildabrand's yet.

Hildabrand's four-door, open-top Hummer (Is it a car? Is it a truck? Is it NORAD?) is, shall we say, accessorized. "This is the ultimate vehicle for accessories," says the 42-year-old founder of New Dimensions Ltd., in Santa Clara, Calif. New Dimensions sells car parts, which explains at least part of Hildabrand's obsession. And we weren't aiming to explain the rest -- we just wanted to look inside his cab. Among the highlights:

A Garmin GPS III Plus ($400), hooked to a laptop with street atlas software and an external antenna. "You type in an address, and -- boom -- it tells you how to get where you want to go," Hildabrand says.
A $400 Valentine One radar detector.
An Audiovox mobile phone ($150) and Audiovox Hands Free Kit ($199), which he secures to the car's dashboard with an HR Auto-Comfort bracket ($30). The Hummer also sports a Larsen Kulglass external antenna ($40) -- separate from the one for the GPS -- "that boosts your reception while in the car."

Hildabrand admits that his setup trades safety for productivity. "Right now there are more distractions in cars than ever," he says. "People are watching screens, pushing buttons, and running off the road."

Of course, running off the road is the point of a Hummer. But even Hildabrand would prefer not to hit anything on the way.

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This is Not Your Father's Hummer
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