Autoblog

HUMMER, a brand that has seen its sales drop by a shocking 40% so far this year, is apparently burning an SUV-sized hole in General Motors' pocket. Main money-man at the biggest American automaker, Fritz Henderson, says that GM wold like to rid itself of the brand as quickly as possible, saying that its sale is being approached "on an urgent basis." The time frame given was by the end of this year or early 2009 for a completed transaction. So, who would want the brand that represents wretched American excess? We have no idea, but it seems that somebody does as Henderson reiterated that the General's been approached by multiple suitors. Interestingly, these comments were made in India, a country that had previously been rumored to have two separate bidders for the HUMMER brand. Considering the growing sentiment for small cars in the U.S., it wouldn't be surprising to see HUMMER sold to a company that does most of its business outside America.

[Source: Reuters via Hummer Guy, photo by Grant McDonald | CC2.0]

GM President Frtiz Henderson came squeaky clean about the state of GM's brand portfolio, hurdles and losses. On the issue of too many brands, he admitted that the reason GM still has so many is that it is simply too expensive to kill any one of them. GM spent almost a billion large putting Oldsmobile to sleep, and with The General coming off a $3.25 billion Q1 loss, every half penny counts. In the mean time, GM will have to make do with its four new brand czars.

Henderson and CFO Rick Young also admitted that sales projections could be described as "rosy," the word "Delphi" is beginning to rhyme with "albatross," and that the intergalactic rise in gas prices has changed consumer buying habits "faster than we thought."

Fritz summarized the situation with: "We have to adjust. We have to learn how to make more money in cars and crossovers and tighten our belts with regard to cost expenditures." That's not the writing on the wall, that is the wall itself. Thanks for the tip, throwback!

[Source: CNN Money]

According to the Financial Times, General Motors has actually created a group to explore a potential purchase, alliance or other relationship with the Chrysler Group. Rumors have continued to persist that General Motors is interested in outright purchasing the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler, but the fact that this exploratory group is headed by the same guy, Fritz Henderson (shown), who led the team that studied and eventually recommended against a possible tie-up with Nissan/Renault, adds more fuel to the fire. Of course, GM is still sticking to its original comment on the situation, which is that it regularly has discussions with other automakers on topics of mutual interest.

So far Hyundai, Volkswagen, Fiat and Nissan/Renault have ruled themselves out as potential buyers for the Chrysler Group, though reports have surfaced that at least four private equity groups are in preliminary talks with DCX concering a possible purchase deal. DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche has been quoted as saying that "all options are on the table." Just like it was with the exploratory group set up to study the Nissan/Renault deal, it will be months before Fritz and the gang will be able to provide a recommendation to GM.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]