HUMMER Driving Academy launches in the Sahara

The Dakar rally may have packed up and left North Africa following threats from al-Qaeda, but bands of roving terrorists aren't about to scare off HUMMER. The go-anywhere GM division has set up a driving academy smack in the middle of the Sahara desert to give participants a hands-on training program for off-road driving through some of the harshest terrain Mother Earth has to offer.

The inaugural session will kick off this coming November, taking 28 participants in 14 vehicles – each with alternating pilot and co-pilot – on an 800-mile, five-day journey through the Moroccan Sahara. The 14 HUMMER H3s used in the course are equipped with survival gear, sand tires and GPS equipment, but are otherwise stock. The program costs nearly $6,000 per two-man team and includes luxury accommodations at each stop along the way in addition to tutelage in driving and navigation techniques. The experience promises to bring participants closer to the elements, and the brand closer to potential buyers. Follow the link to the academy's dedicated website for more information in testing your limits behind the wheel of HUMMER.