Byline: Steve Finlay

MILWAUKEE - John Bergstrom's new Hummer dealership here is a first of its kind in the nation, looks like an elaborate Quonset hut and costs more than the owner cares to say.

The store also reflects General Motors Corp.'s aggressive efforts to boost Hummer sales with a new dealer network selling a new product, the H2.

Bergstrom anticipates spending less on three more Hummer dealerships he plans to build in Madison, Appleton and Chippewa Valley, WI. He reckons he can save 20% from lessons learned in building the north Milwaukee facility, the first from a General Motors design.

It's done in a military motif intended to complement the rugged spirit of the vehicles that will be sold there, especially the new Hummer H2, a smaller and less expensive version of the original Hummer, now known as H1.

The H2's base price is $48,800, typical price $53,000. That's about half the H1's sticker.

GM has high hopes for the H2. It officially went on sale the same day in July as Bergstrom Hummer's grand opening in north Milwaukee.

It's the first dealership off the blueprints of how General Motors Corp. wants future Hummer dealerships to look. The auto maker acquired the icon brand in 1999.

Costs aside, Bergstrom is delighted with the five-acre facility as well as his role as a pioneer Hummer dealer.

"It was very expensive because it was the first time," says Bergstrom, CEO of Bergstrom Corp. with 26 dealerships, 19 brands and $650 million in sales. "But we're not revealing the construction cost. We don't want people to think it's an expensive place to do business."

Top GM executives, impressed with Bergstrom's bet on the brand, attended the store's grand opening. President and CEO Rick Wagoner led the GM officers' corps to Milwaukee.

"This represents a major commitment," says Wagoner. "The dealership is authentic Hummer. It's bold and fun. It's a great place to try out the product."

Customers can do those try-outs on the dealership's off-road course, a winding track that features rough roadway, steep grades, rocky terrain, water, mud and moguls.

Says Bergstrom, "We have to be able to show what this vehicle can do on the track. It's almost unbelievable."

GM will require such courses at all future Hummer dealerships. However the auto maker is not requiring its 139 Hummer dealers to build dealerships from GM's prototype design - yet.

Wagoner says, "Over time, we'd expect to see all dealers build facilities like this one."