REPORT: Independent Hummer sees alt-fuel model within five years, still looking at H4
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Jun 4th 2009 at 10:28AM 
Hummer HX Concept - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Now that General Motors has all but officially offloaded the HUMMER brand to Chinese machinery and equipment manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., the next logical question is where does the brand go from here? Perhaps the best person to answer that question would be Jim Taylor, the man who was put in charge of the brand to get it ready for sale and who will reportedly stay on to lead Hummer under its new ownership.
Speaking in an interview with Paul Eisenstein from The Detroit Bureau, Taylor had plenty of interesting things to say about Hummer's future. For instance, he notes:
"We need to head towards CAFE compliance – which means smaller and more fuel efficient, or we're dialed out. Think of the smaller H4 we were showing at the auto show and it could safely conjectured we would enter into that space."Taylor goes on to suggest that "a ground-up hybrid or electric vehicle, [would] make a lot of sense for the Hummer brand" since it "would help us change our image." What are the chances we'll see an electric, hybrid or otherwise alternatively-fueled Hummer within the next five years? "I think five years out, excellent, assured. It's 100%."
Admittedly, that's a lot to chew on. A more environmentally-friendly Hummer would surely be a tough nut to crack, especially since the brand's followers will understandably expect future Hummer models to uphold the rough-and-tumble, go-anywhere nature of the breed. It should prove very interesting to see how this all proceeds, and Taylor certainly has our interest piqued.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: HUMMER HX Concept
[Source: The Detroit Bureau]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kooshball 10:33AM (6/04/2009)
that is one bad ass cute-ute. i'd definitely get a hybrid h4 as a second vehicle personally.
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tekd 2:23PM (6/04/2009)
The exterior looks good but I hope the designers manage to get real usable space on the inside. I think one of the major problems with the H3 is that it has a pretty cramped interior considering it's overall size and the amount of gas it burns, and at least some of that can be blamed on trying too hard to make it look like it's bigger brothers on the outside.
Hopefully we see more genuinely usable Hummer's that aren't mostly for image.
dsharp23 6:04PM (6/04/2009)
I witnessed the unveil of the HX concept and the CTS coupe...and i told my buddy then, and I still feel the same now...even with all the mess around GM....I'd buy that HX the day they started selling it.
JayP 10:40AM (6/04/2009)
Who says Hummer has to meet any CAFE standards? Wouldn't surprise me if Hummer is sold in China only and other countries not hamstrung by fuel mileage standards. Time will tell.
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Human Powered 1:41PM (6/04/2009)
Agreed, I would be stunned if they also purchased the US distribution etc. Get the tooling and platform then sell it in markets the US won't touch, e.g. Iran, Venezuela etc. Even selling in China may be tricky if they keep production in the US, not to mention the Chinese don't like big engine gas guzzlers. There are a few rich folks who will but most tend to think of them as rich but stupid.
Polarstar 10:39AM (6/04/2009)
Put me on the list for an HX.
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Eddie 10:45AM (6/04/2009)
An H4 would be cool. Make it under $30,000 and give the Jeep Wrangler some competition.
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Motor_Yakuza 10:58AM (6/04/2009)
Jeep Wrangler will be dead soon anyway. But it's still sad to see an american icon in the hands of the chinese, what will they buy next? Mc Donald's, KFC, GE?
MajorGeek 11:08AM (6/04/2009)
Yakuza,
This is really nothing new. Ford, Dodge have all bought overseas car companies and sells their cars overseas. GE, for example, sold its plastics division to a company in Saudi Arabia in 07. GE is also most profitable in their finance division, a lot of that being in Japan!
So, at first I thought the same thing, having owned an H3 and H2, but Hummer is not exactly AM General (the American icon) anymore. Chevy bought the rights to the name back in 99, but all of the recent Hummers are made over Chevy trucks. Too bad they did not have the H4 years earlier, it could have possibly saved them, I am sure the company who bought it is thinking the same.
akboss302 11:43AM (6/04/2009)
Re: Motor-Yakuza:
I love how your list of "American Icons" includes the poster truck for passenger vehicles causing global warming and two of the worst fat-factory fast food companies in existence. If those are the corporate icons by which America defines itself, its a sad state of affairs.
Motor_Yakuza 11:54AM (6/04/2009)
Fast food it's not that bad as hippies say, if you don't eat to much and exercise like you should be doing to stay in shape, but many people eat like pigs and are to lazy to any exercise. And Hummer, WTF? even people who do not have any thing to do with cars, know that Hummers comes from the USA.
Marcello 1:20PM (6/04/2009)
to Motor_Yakuza:
Chinese buying McDonald's wouldn't be that bad...."Ill take a big Mac with a side of Kung Pow Chicken Please!" lol
Rich 2:57PM (6/04/2009)
You seem to be confusing American icons with symbols of American excess.Motor_Yakuza: You seem to be confusing American *icons* with symbols of American *excess*.
Besides, you're wrong. Fast food is all hydrogenated fats and cancer-in-a-bun. When they sell you a salad, it's actually worse for you than their biggest helping of fries. There *are* good fast food restaurants, but you didn't name them. If you watched Supersize Me, you didn't learn anything, did you?
Motor_Yakuza 3:01PM (6/04/2009)
" good fast food restaurants " Like what? Taco Bell?
Albert Valera 11:01AM (6/04/2009)
wow.. this reminds me of the Jeep Jeepster Concept from the 90's.. only not as girly... i'm digging it ^_^
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Doogs 11:03AM (6/04/2009)
Hummer would do well to basically ignore the H2 and all that baggage and focus on smaller, less luxo-flashy, go anywhere vehicles. In other words, go after the Wrangler.
And alternative powertrains make sense. He's right about that. A diesel or diesel-electric hybrid Hummer that pulls down 30+ MPG would change a lot of people's minds. And diesels and electric motors provide a lot of low-down torque, which is exactly what a competent offroader needs.
And a fully electric Hummer would be amazing. Offroading in near-silence, without the sound of the engine snarling in low gear. I honestly can't imagine what that would be like.
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216 11:09AM (6/04/2009)
Hummer's future has to lie in Diesel Hybrids...
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KB 11:25AM (6/04/2009)
I'd buy one if it were priced less than 30K. Reminds me of the warthog from Halo.
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vipercookie 11:41AM (6/04/2009)
Forget a hybrid, I think if they made this with a small diesel, and priced $23K -30K, it would be their best seller and, give the Jeep Wrangler a serious run for the money.
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Rob 11:42AM (6/04/2009)
"especially since the brand's followers will understandably expect future Hummer models to uphold the rough-and-tumble, go-anywhere nature"
What? I promise you that rappers, soccer moms, trophy wives, and business douchebags really don't go offroading. Like... ever.
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