Filed under: SUVs, GM, HUMMER, Earnings/Financials
GM sends HUMMER sales prospectus to suitors
General Motors is moving full steam ahead on its hopeful sale of HUMMER, moving to make a decision on the SUV marque "as quickly as practical." Shortly after appointing Jim Taylor to the head of the brand, the automaker has contacted interested parties with a full sales prospectus. By now, you're surely aware that sales of the gargantuan 'utes are very slow, posting declines of over 50-percent so far this year. No surprise then that the General would be anxious to get the former military-spec brand off its books. Though GM claims it is not necessarily committed to selling the marque, we're not so sure they have many other options. An entire revamp of the HUMMER line would use up precious resources that would surely be better spent on more fuel efficient, forward thinking products like the Chevy Volt, Cruze and Orlando. In any case, look for an announcement regarding the brand's future in short order. Thanks for the tip, Mike!
[Source: The Wall Street Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cellien 6:11PM (10/17/2008)
I'll miss the Hummer. I'd be interested in seeing what the next Hummers would look like in a couple years. I may have even been a customer if the HX came out.
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aaron 6:32PM (10/17/2008)
This is still a great brand even though it represented the materialistic views of U.S. in a very negative light. I tell ya, my dad has an '06 H2 and it really is nothing like it out there. Sure, you could get a Tahoe/Denali, but those don't look that great (the new ones; I like the older ones) and have been a dime a dozen since the early 90's. Look how much alot of us hated the Excursion and now people more than ever are looking for some prime examples (mostly diesel) to buy even with 3 dollar gas.
Anyway, I hope alot of jobs are saved w/ a new suitor AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN FINALLY HAVE A DIESEL H2/H3.
MajorGeek 8:17PM (10/17/2008)
As quickly as possible I assume to mean 4-6 years in GM years. Yawn.
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Randy 8:28PM (10/17/2008)
GM= Poor management decisions.
Pretty cocky attitude thinking nothing in the world could affect creating three civilian versions of a gas hog. And then introducing the first gen H3 with a totally anemic inline-5. Pathetic.
The only marketable products they now have to show for innovative thinking and quality development are two sedans: CTS and Malibu; one pickup: Silverado (better hurry up with the 6-speed auto, however), a very intriguing coupe, that being the painfully slow to be available Camaro, and a true sports car, the Corvette (albeit with its Cobalt quality interior).
Hmmm. If they were smart, that's what they're product line should entail. Kinda close to Honda's business plan, eh?
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BoxerFanatic 8:30PM (10/17/2008)
Are they nuts...
With talks over Chrysler, and possible off-loading of Jeep, why would they not pull back the hummer cards?
If Jeep goes to Mahindra, Tata, or Renault/Nissan, GM would be left with the official american off-road brand name.
It would be about their speed to liquidate just before they could see a tide change.
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michael pettibone 8:44PM (10/17/2008)
Still want to see Tata buy it&make a H-9 on the Nano chasis.What could be better? Iconic HUMMER style and real economy.
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Cardude 8:54PM (10/17/2008)
GM, PLEASE just dump this stupid turd and get it over with already! Of all the fake poser mobiles out there, these ugly, overpriced pieces of junk have got to be the worst of 'em, though they get competition from the equally ugly and stupid Maybachs, Escalades, and Navigators
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MajorGeek 9:22PM (10/17/2008)
Well, Cadillac, Saturn, Lincoln (just to name a few) are brands with loyal customers. Hummer should be to off road what Cadillac is to luxury vehicles. Heres the deal. Hummer got caught image-wise the worst during this "gas crunch" followed by the current hard economic times. Had they another couple of years to work on projects, the HX would be out, my local dealer suspects the H2 was (or is) on its way out in the next year or two and you would be looking at a totally different Hummer brand, more along the line of Jeep. The H3 would finally be all I6 engines base. Of course, people forget the Wrangler gets 16-17 mpg average, the SRT-8 Cherokee gets about 9 mpg and the popular Commander can go as low as 9 mpg (source: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm) so Jeep isnt the most fuel efficient line, like most Chrysler products but Hummer takes slack for a vehicle that sells very small numbers (H2). Hummer could have snuck up on Jeep with their Flexfuel HX, but instead all we have is uninformed comments in a very, VERY weird time for car companies.
MajorGeek 9:25PM (10/17/2008)
My bad, just saw your recent posts with repeated "suvs suck" and your the only guy who likes Knight Rider the new series. Sorry for my reply, thought you might be reasonable, I was wrong. Back to my Jamesons and ginger ale.
Diffrunt 10:58PM (10/17/2008)
Don,t sell! Scrap that pile of never shoulda happened.
Started off stupid & got worse
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Cardude 1:03AM (10/18/2008)
MajorGeek, I hate suvs and yes I like the new Knight Rider. That doesen't make me "unreasonable". What a childish thing to say.
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RLQ 1:24AM (10/18/2008)
GM should of sold Hummer two years ago.
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knifetramp 7:55AM (10/18/2008)
Yes RLQ, and you should have sold your stocks 2 years ago? What's that... you didn't sell your stocks 2 years ago? Oh my, what a horrible management decision on your part. :-)
skadebo 12:43PM (10/18/2008)
I'll buy for 2 bucks.
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guido 4:59PM (10/18/2008)
Hummer sales in Europe are up, 60% or so and with no diesel option yet.
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Tony 7:34PM (10/18/2008)
I bid five bucks with auto bidding to a maximum of fifty bucks and I will throw in my 1996 Bonneville SE.
As for "there is nothing like it out there". THANK GOD.
I just wish I had the money for an Unimog
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hohohoih 11:09AM (10/19/2008)
This is why GM is going to eventually go under. Hummer was the only vehicle of late I was actually thinking about buying! There is a slew of people of there who want a real capable off roader. Your not going to sell 250,000, but a wrangler size vehicle would sell really well.
This is the problem with GM, they want volume and they want 10k profit on every vehicle. Its not going to happen!
I stopped shopping hummer when I found out they were going to sell. That's why sales are down stupid. No one is going to spend 30k on a vehicle which might not have parts and support over the 20 years.
GM, you suck.
p.s. - stick the volt up your ass. Its overpriced. I am not paying twice what I would for a mailbu to save $1500 a year in gas. Only some stupid tree hugging liberal idiot would think that made sense.
They found a way to charge you more for the same basic vehicle. Once the fancy lithium bits are paid for, this is going to be more profitable than their trucks.
Americans are truly stupid. Now be good little dummies and go vote for Obama. Another fraud.
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