They conducted in-depth interviews with twenty US -born and raised Hummer owners and found among these consumers an equally strong current of 'moral authority', says an UW-M release.

'As we studied American Hummer owners and their ideological beliefs, we found that they consider Hummer driving a highly moral consumption choice,' write the authors.

'For Hummer owners it is possible to claim the moral high ground,' the said, explaining Hummer owners employ the ideology of American foundational myths, such as the 'rugged individual,' and the 'boundless frontier' to construct themselves as moral protagonists.

These findings were published in the Journal of Consumer Research.