General Motors is already having meetings with its dealers regarding all the possibilities for its HUMMER brand. According to reports, there are several companies interested in making a purchase of the military-inspired vehicles, though Tata Motors now appears uninterested despite earlier reports. One suitor is said to be Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian company that plans on making a big splash entering the American market itself over the next few years. Just-Auto quotes an unnamed official at the company who says "Mahindra is very keen on acquiring the Hummer." Hmm... Isn't it interesting how one little word can change the meaning of an entire sentence. Anyway, Mahindra already produces a vehicle that shares an eerie resemblance to the original GI-spec HUMMER that it sells to the Indian military.
Currently, the vast majority of Hummer sales are made in the States, but Mahindra doesn't sound worried about that. "The U.S. market might not be able to afford their own HUMMER any longer, but India is a growing and strong economy. When Indians like something we go out and get it, no matter what the cost, because we know how to make it work for us," according to an unnamed source. Uh huh... good luck with that.
[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MajorGeek @ Jun 17th 2008 9:44AM
Sigh. Waits for Vintage to appear.
desmo @ Jun 17th 2008 11:35AM
Exactly what I was thinking.
Dude @ Jun 17th 2008 9:47AM
Not sure why GM would want to drop HUMMER. While the H2 is a butch Tahoe and deserves some of its bad reputation, the H3 is not big and just needs to be further refined. If they can make the H4 to compete with the Wrangler and some variants off of both, they would have a perfect niche brand of traditional SUVs. It would be GM's Jeep.
MajorGeek @ Jun 17th 2008 9:57AM
Dude, no real argument with you overall i even appreciate your honesty while being intelligent and polite. I can (and have) argue for the H2 all day long and when it comes to facts, people always lose on their misconception of the H2.
Main points to stick to:
Its a niche vehicle that has a certain purpose, mainly to be this big off road vehicle similar to the original Hummer. To diss the H2 on fuel economy means you need to show up in EVERY full size pickup, SUV and more importantly, most sports car thread especially Lamborghini, Bugatti and other 10-12 cylinder monsters to bitch about their gas mileage. The H2 gets 12+ MPG the same or better then some trucks, SUVs and any 10-12 cyclinder car I know of. Since pickup trucks and SUVs outsell this thing massively, its obvious the sales of Dodge Rams, Jeep Cherokees, Toyota Tundras and Nissan Titans (to name a VERY few) must be destroying the environment at 50X the pace of any Hummer 2 . No one does it though, they just feel better dissing the H2. Hypocrisy must feel good?
John @ Jun 17th 2008 11:22AM
One big difference. All those other vehicles are designed for a practical and functional purpose - hauling lots of either people or cargo. Now, there's no question that many of them turned into fashion statements, carried on a rising tide of cheap gas, but that was following a trend.
The H2 IS a trend. It was conceived to be a total in-your-face ego statement, with its myriad of scoops, chrome, giant wheels and generally ridiculous appearance. I remember statements by one of the lead designers around the time of its introduction, which blathered on in a pompous manner about how this vehicle was a "lifestyle" for people who understood its style and how so much more was going to be coming for it. Nowhere mentioned was that fact that it actually could scale mountains.
The thing is a fad whose time has passed. Time to move on.
iCameiSawiConquered @ Jun 17th 2008 12:34PM
Please...the H2's slogan back in the glory days of 99 cent gas was "If we made it any smaller it would be European"....it was an obvious vehicle made for guys with small d*cks who wanted to show off their big bad tank and play dress up soldier. If you need an SUV for utility, an H2 was about the wost type of car to get. GM made a conscious decision about how to market HUMMER and now they're stuck with the hideous image they created.
HUMMER cannot be saved and I welcome GM's move to sell it. It is completely beyond rehabilitation image wise.
MajorGeek @ Jun 17th 2008 1:35PM
Regardless, neither of you can counter my points because I love the truck and its design from front to back. Your using the old penis jokes (grow up) and ignoring its off road capabilities. I have also towed cars across a couple state lines and am hauling my jet skis, kayaks and more on a regular basis, I prefer to do it with my H2 then a pickup truck that I find ugly.
Jack Edward Sharpe Higginson @ Jun 17th 2008 11:06AM
There's a reason why Mahindra's older line of jeeps resembles the original Willys' - they're based on them. Mahindra built them under license, and continued to develop them to the present day.
The Other Bob @ Jun 17th 2008 11:13AM
And buying Hummer will instantly give them a dealer network for them.
Bill @ Jun 17th 2008 12:41PM
Wasn't there a copyright suit regarding the grille? 5-bars vs. 7? Yes, Mahindras built Jeeps under license in India. This would not be an unusual fit.
Now all Mahindra has to do is revise their grilles, and rename the Appalachian the H4 or 5 instead, and they're ready to go. Even though the Hummer name is tainted in the eyes of many North Americans, it's far more widely known than Mahindra. That little Mahindra truck is far more of a true off-road and work vehicle than anything else in Hummers lineup, short of the H1.
Avinash machado @ Jun 17th 2008 11:15AM
Hope if Mahindra buys Hummer, they won't rebadge the 'Appalachian' as Hummer.
Ron @ Jun 17th 2008 11:24AM
word, I hope they are not that stupid! It is very ambitious of the 'other' M&M to try wriggling into this tough market.
Guenther @ Jun 17th 2008 11:27AM
That Mahindra Axe is nowhere near the type vehicle the H1/HMMWV is. Much smaller. I think Mahindra is mostly looking for a premium brand to Tata's Jag/Rover.
Automobilindia @ Jun 17th 2008 11:28AM
GM's Hummer finds no takers
General Motors' iconic brand Hummer has been put on sale, but it does not seem to have attracted any interest. Mahindra and Mahindra or M&M and Tata Motors may have been approached but they are not biting the bait yet.
GM is hoping Indian manufacturers like M&M and Tata Motors will bite. But with the recent excise levy on gaz guzzlers in India, the Indian auto-makers maybe apprehensive as well. Moreover, Tata Motors already has the Land Rover. Mahindra & Mahindra has aspirations of being a global SUV player, but sources say, it may not want to take on board an ailing brand.
Source:
Moneycontrol.com
Automobilindia @ Jun 17th 2008 11:30AM
GM's Hummer finds no takers
General Motors' iconic brand Hummer has been put on sale, but it does not seem to have attracted any interest. Mahindra and Mahindra or M&M and Tata Motors may have been approached but they are not biting the bait yet.
GM is hoping Indian manufacturers like M&M and Tata Motors will bite. But with the recent excise levy on gaz guzzlers in India, the Indian auto-makers maybe apprehensive as well. Moreover, Tata Motors already has the Land Rover. Mahindra & Mahindra has aspirations of being a global SUV player, but sources say, it may not want to take on board an ailing brand.
Source:
Moneycontrol.com
John P. @ Jun 17th 2008 12:12PM
My Indian neighbor loves his H2. He's making it work for him.
wrussi @ Jun 17th 2008 12:12PM
if they get rid of the gas engine for a very efficient diesel and reduce the weight of the h2 and h3 somehow they could sell that car anywhere. except for probably here in the U.S. because ladies woulndt like a noisy engine when picking up their kids from the daycare or when going to get groceries
Corrine McNair @ Jun 17th 2008 12:23PM
Question, why would any auto company want to buy Hummer? Where is the value? Their product line consists of old designs based on GM truck plateforms. They are in only one single segment of the market; large suv's. Their distribution system and dealer network is glued to other GM brands. The Hummer name having been around for about 20 years does not carry the weight and good will value of Land Rover or Jeep. So, I ask the question; What up side does a Hummer purchase offer? None. Hummer value = 0. Hummer will be sold to a Chinese or Indian company at a fire sale price or it will simply go away.
iCameiSawiConquered @ Jun 17th 2008 12:38PM
I'll tell you for who it works: rich Arab sheiks or Russian oligarchs--the types of totally tasteless nuveau riche in 3rd world countries that like to show off. The HUMMER would be a hit with them. The brand is beyond saving in America at this point, GM should absolutely try to find a foreign buyer that can tap this market in 3rd world countries.
TriShield @ Jun 17th 2008 12:25PM
GM was planning to offer their new 4.5L Duramax in the H2.
I guess that plan is up in the air now, especially now that diesel and gasoline cost so much and GM is getting weak-knees on the brand.
HUMMER is pretty much GM's only unique brand. Only HUMMER can do what it does and has it's image and heritage. The rest of GM's brands all do the same things and are nowhere near as distinctive and constantly overlap. This is also what makes HUMMER the only brand with any real value GM can sell.
GM's huge problem with HUMMER is it appears they thought it could be mainstream, when in fact it could not. Like Jeep HUMMER only does one thing and it's a niche market. It's a market GM can dominate and profit from if they want to and manage HUMMER correctly.
Had the H4 (see HX concept) been here by now they would have been in vastly better shape to weather the fuel spike storm.
GM has already put this much work into the brand, only to give up on it. And it's their strongest brand.
Yet they will continue to keep brands like Buick and Pontiac on an IV trickle even though they literally have no value, no distinction and no future. They wasted billions "remaking" Saturn only to have sales continue into a freefall. GMC, GM's other gas-guzzling 4x4 brand only sells Chevrolets with different grilles and Denali badges and a now unpopular crossover minivan thing. And GM keeps all this afloat but not HUMMER?
Why is Wagoner making the money he does again?