REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million
Hummer H3T - click above for high-res image gallery
Not so many years ago, Hummer appeared to be one of General Motors' most potentially lucrative brands. Now, the fallen brand looks poised to fall into the hands of the Chinese very soon. Bloomberg is reporting that a deal to sell Hummer could be finalized in the coming days as Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. hammers out a purchase price. During its bankruptcy proceedings, GM estimated the Hummer brand to be worth $500 million, but last week's collapse of the Saturn deal with Roger Penske appears to have made the Detroit automaker ready to accept whatever it can get. The final tab paid by Sichuan Tengzhong could be as low as $150 million.
The Chinese government has thus far been reluctant to approve Sichuan Tengzhong's move for Hummer, in part because of the brand's image as a gas guzzler. The hope is that once a purchase agreement is complete, the regulators will allow it to move forward. For its part, GM likely just wants the deal done and some extra cash in its coffers so it can move on with its streamlining efforts plans.
Gallery: Review: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ross 10:42AM (10/09/2009)
Wow. As I recall, when gas prices were at their peak a year ago, that was about the cost of a Hummer fill-up.
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Venom 10:47AM (10/09/2009)
That is wishful thinking on your part that you could fill up a Hummer for only $150 million....
James 11:23AM (10/09/2009)
From $500M down to $150M...that's already 70% off there for the Chi-coms.
Wonder what's next on GM's bad news desk...next thing we'll know Hummer's worth next to nothing!
Tool 12:27PM (10/09/2009)
A paltry $150 Million? The attorney fees and due diligence were probably more than this.
GM would have been smart to immediately shutter HUMMER last year, as a symbolic move to show that indeed the old GM was over.
chris 12:31PM (10/09/2009)
I'm not understanding why anyone would want it. It's the Rush Limbaugh of auto brands. So does anyone know anything about the Chinese company that may buy it? what do they produce besides tractors?
carguy 10:45AM (10/09/2009)
Whoever is contemplating paying 150 mil for the Hummer brand should negotiate a better deal.
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Ian B. 10:48AM (10/09/2009)
Exactly. No one pays top dollar for an obsolete dinosaur.
nrb 10:54AM (10/09/2009)
Ian, 150mil is top dollar?
Ian B. 10:59AM (10/09/2009)
Yes, it is. That's far from its true value. I would have renegotiated it for $1.58 and a Peez candy dispenser from the Kelly Bundy collection.
Allied Sales 12:32PM (10/09/2009)
Kelly Bundy! My was she hot.
chris 12:35PM (10/09/2009)
no candy included
MajorGeek 10:47AM (10/09/2009)
Too bad they could not figure out how to turn this into a Jeep style brand in a timely manner. Instead of an HX, we get the H3T, which I have seen 2 on the road ever. As a prior owner of an H3 and H2, the vehicles fail simply by being too large without any real space inside the vehicle. Considering the time it takes GM to get new vehicles to market and the Hummer name, offloading it ASAP for any price is their only move.
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nrb 10:57AM (10/09/2009)
I tend to agree. With the exception of the H1 (which is too large for normal use), Hummers fall far to short in practicality.
The Other Bob 10:57AM (10/09/2009)
"As a prior owner of an H3 and H2, the vehicles fail simply by being too large without any real space inside the vehicle. "
That space is taken up by the equipment/drivetrain and ground clearance that makes it a good offroad vehicle. If you want more space, you should have considered a minivan.
For those that rip on the fuel efficency of the H3, they clearly haven't compred it to other vehicles. The mileage sucks, but no worse than its competitors, such as Jeeps and even the Honda Ridgeline.
Eddie 10:59AM (10/09/2009)
I think the Hummer brand was simply allowed to rot. It became a laughing-stock. Hummer should have remained a niche brand. Make the H1, and a smaller Jeep-like offroader and Hummer would have remained the iconic brand that it was under the management of AM General.
MajorGeek 11:19AM (10/09/2009)
LOL @ The Other Bob, that has nothing to do with the rear trunk space in a H2, or lack of arm space in an H3. Know the product before commenting.
The Other Bob 11:34AM (10/09/2009)
"...to do with the rear trunk space in a H2, or lack of arm space in an H3."
Yes it actually does. The lack of rear overhang in the H-2 and 3 is designed so it has a better ability to navigate over objects. The lack of rear overhang reduces the trunk space. Wider vehicles with more arm space are also lousy navigating between objects like trees.
I think you bought a vehicle that didn't suit your needs.
MajorGeek 12:02PM (10/09/2009)
I think your repeating crap you have been fed. I have owned a few, loved beating on them. You modify your argument for everything except the claim that I bought the wrong vehicle. I currently own 6 or 7 vehicles actually, so I got a vehicle for ANY need, thanks :) If a lack of arm space is so the H3 could be narrow then the H2 could have been narrower, it was plenty wide enough. Funny you backed off on all the 4x4 stuff that takes up space and change to the angles of departure which do not cut into the space at all actually, the rear of the H2 sticks out beyond those angles.
Anyway, you bore me with your changing explanations, please show me all the " equipment/drivetrain" that takes up so much space over a Yukon, for example. You can have your last word from there, because I am sure you will make up something or repeat what you heard. Funny a Jeep Wrangler can somehow do all the same things in a smaller vehicle with more space.
British_Rover 1:12PM (10/09/2009)
Bob you do realize that the H2 is wider then every other vehicle in its class? Its even wider then the Tahoe it is based on. The whole reason for the look of the H2 is to make it look big and outlandish a full sized tonka truck.
It is the opposite of the form follows function concept that a vehicle actually designed to work well off road should be designed by.
the4thheat 10:46PM (10/09/2009)
Oh give me a break with the overhangs being the reason all the Hummers get crap mileage. Why does the H2 *have* to weigh 3 tons? Why does the H3T even exist? These decisions were all made based on a combination of tax loopholes and being able to use existing production lines and parts in GM's version of saving money.
Seriously the H3T is a travesty that is probably only equaled by the original Blackwood in it's idiocy.