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Hedging its bets - HUMMER dealer anticipates doom, pre-emptively downsizes

Dan Roth — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:33:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, SUV, Truck, Etc., GM, Hummer

There's no official obituary for GM's HUMMER brand yet, but haters are lacing up their dancing shoes while lovers wring their hands. Dealers with HUMMER franchises have a lot of skin in the game, so the uncertain future is bound to give business officers ulcers. Not willing to wait around to the bitter end, Milwaukee's Bergstrom HUMMER is planning to move into the same space as the group's Chevrolet store. The HUMMER-specific Quonset hut style dealership building will be toned down and pressed into service as an outlet for Certified used GM vehicles. Other HUMMER dealers across the nation are staring down the same conundrum, being on the hook for that big, rugged showroom, test track, inventory, and staff, while the parent company looks to clamp off bleeders. Some might follow Bergstrom's lead and shove the big trucks into a corner of a showroom dominated by a more stable brand, while others are shipping inventory as fast as they can.

Moving product is a tremendous challenge when the bobbleheads on the nightly news continue shrilly about the price of fuel and you've got a lot full of low-mpg, high weight trucks that happen to be a favorite target of vandals euphemistically masquerading as "activists." Customers that do make it through the door are looking for deals, and HUMMER will spot you five thousand bucks to take an H3, PLEASE. Existing customers are looking to get out of their vehicles any way possible, even if it means a financial hit. The mass exodus isn't solely due to hysteria, when it costs over $100 to fill the fuel tank, it chafes to watch the fuel gauge's precipitously quick drop toward "E." Retail issues aside, HUMMER still offers capable vehicles with a high level of style. If you've got a boat to pull, and want to look like the Governator, an H2 could still be just the thing, and now you'll be able to find one for a song; most likely the blues.

Gallery: 2009 HUMMER H3T

[Source: Inside Line]

Hedging its bets - HUMMER dealer anticipates doom, pre-emptively downsizes originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GeigerCars muscles up with HUMMER H3 GT

Alex Nunez — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:31:00 EST

Filed under: Tuners, SUV, Europe, Hummer

Germany's GeigerCars has an affinity for American metal, and is unafraid to go to wacky extremes in its efforts to create its customized whips. Often, HUMMER provides the canvas for these tuners with dubs on their brains, and the arrival of the V8-powered H3 Alpha has inspired them to whip up a new ground pounder. The result is the HUMMER H3 GT you see here. An engine software tune, new intake, and sport exhaust (note the dual outlets in back) boost the Alpha's numbers to 335 horsepower and 323 lb-ft of torque. The rig is also dropped, given uprated brakes and a set of 23" rims. The windows get the blackout treatment, as do the taillamps and markers in front. Finally, the bodywork is given a monochrome finish accented with a racing stripe in whatever color the owner chooses. On the green tip, GeigerCars can also rig the H3 to run on natural gas, reducing emissions up to 20%. It's all laid out in the press release after the jump. You see? The Germans know how to roll with mad flavor, too.

[Source: GeigerCars.de]

Gallery: GeigerCars HUMMER H3 GT

Continue reading GeigerCars muscles up with HUMMER H3 GT

GeigerCars muscles up with HUMMER H3 GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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V8 for '08: Chevy Colorado engine lineup expanding

Alex Nunez — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Chevrolet, GM

The addition of GM's 5.3L V8 to the HUMMER H3 Alpha for 2008 has resulted in some trickle-down goodness for the SUV's pickup truck platform-mate, the Chevy Colorado. PickupTruck.com is reporting that the smaller Chevy truck will indeed receive the same infusion of V8 power in 2008. We've driven both the Silverado and the GMC Sierra with that engine, and we liked it a lot in the big trucks. Imagining it in the Colorado has grins spreading across our faces, as it will certainly add a good amount of pop, and with the 5.3's cylinder deactivation system, it should also be respectable at the pump, considering it'll have a lot less truck to move around than with the GMT900.

The addition of the 295-horse V8 will catapult the Colorado to the top of the heap in the midsize pickup segment in terms of power, edging the new Dodge Dakota (290 hp), and putting it well beyond the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger (numbers 1 & 2 respectively on the sales charts). GM's been teasing everyone with V8-powered small concept pickups for a while now, and though it won't officially confirm or deny the report (a spokesman only says, "stay tuned"), it sure looks like the General's finally decided to give us the real thing. Good.

[Source: PickupTruck.com]

V8 for '08: Chevy Colorado engine lineup expanding originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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