Why doesn't GM just go ahead and admit they're selling HUMMER? In spite of accusations of media "speculation" and assertions they "have not negotiated with any parties" by HUMMER GM Martin Walsh, GM just keeps moving steadily towards the auction block. In a phone interview, General Motors Middle East Managing Director Terry Johnson told Reuters: "There has been interest from various parties within the Gulf … there is a precedent in the cases of Aston Martin, Ferrari or Daimler and those kinds of solutions could be very realistic solutions." GM is getting their paperwork ducks in a row and "has initial expressions of interest from [two] potential buyers that it hopes to develop into formal sale talks." However, in keeping with the corporate party line, Johnson also stated that keeping HUMMER humming is still "a realistic option" and selling was not a "forgone conclusion." The sun rising tomorrow isn't a "foregone conclusion" either, but the smart money is still on it happening.
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Whoever buys Hummer could also take Saab with them, as well, for all the relevance it has…..
Hmmm…last I heard (about a week ago) Hummer definitely had a “For Sale” sign on its head. According to GM, trying to make the brand more fuel efficient would cost too much money, money the General obviously doesn’t have, although diesels would be a nice way to gain some efficiency and give the brand more prestige (so to speak).
Since Hummers are just rebadged GM vehicles, how is a sale going to work? You either still have to have a REALLY close relationship with GM, or just buy the rights to the name and figure out what vehicles to slap it on.
Right, isn’t the H2 just a Tonka-fied Tahoe? And wouldn’t you love to see the next country we invade also have Hummers?
H2’s are not exactly rebadges. The trucks share much with 3/4 ton Suburbans, but it is actually a hybrid of many previously existing and unique pieces. The frame borrows from both 1/2 and 3/4 ton GMT800 platforms as well as a midsection that is entirely unique to the H2. While it uses many GM parts and power-train components, the truck is manufactured through contract by AM General. To call the H2 badge-engineered is not entirely accurate.
Only “parties in the Gulf” have enough fuel to drive these things.
John
They have explicitly said that everything but Cadillac and Chevrolet is on the block—it was on the front page of the WSJ a few weeks back, fer chrissakes. May as well roll up everything else into a big ball of yumminess, while they’re at it, and sell off the whole damn thing.
Actually, you could make a case for bundling those divisions into attractive packages:
· You’ve got the heavy-duty line of GMC and Hummer, with ACDelco and whatever Allison they still own;
· The sporty Euro line of Saab, Opel and Vauxhall;
· The performance line of Holden and Pontiac (Opel or Oldsmobile could be part of this, too);
· The economy line of Saturn and Daewoo, with the remains of GMAC.
· And the Heritage/near-luxury Oldsmobile, Oakland, Marquette, Buick and LaSalle.
Heavy-duty goes to, say, a Middle Eastern, Indian or Russian buyer like AutoVAZ;
Euro to an English or German consortium, maybe a VC-backed worker buyout;
Performance spun off as an independent with contracts in place with Euro;
Economy…Hyundai? Private equity?
And Heritage is a natural for a Chinese acquisition, like SAIC.
And GM has another few billion in cash to burn through.
The H2 and H3 are more an exercise in parts-bin engineering than in badge engineering.
Hummer may actually be able to work long-term as an SUV and… an industrial equipment brand.
The name has plenty of brand recognition and many of the dealerships are located in areas with plenty of need for the later. Plus, it’s very hard for many foreign brands to overcome the prejudices related to their countries history. A Russian company with a Russian sounding name would have plenty of issues these days as would a Middle Eastern one.
Hummer is very marketable. Unfortunately, they’re doing this at a time when the financial services industry is experiencing an overhaul. It would be very hard for even a well run ‘Hummer’ to compare with the margins that are found in that side of the business world.
Not only is it not accurate to call a HUMMER a “rebadge,’ It’s actually kind of childish.
Anyone who can bend down and take a closer look can quickly see the differences if they knew what they were looking at.
But they prolly think the new Fj is exactly like the older FJ. But better with a CD player!
Sorry Frank. But it appears that you’ve never spent time in either. I do hope that one day you can sit in the seat and do the Rubicon. I did.
monkeyboy,
I never called it a rebadge.
I have spent time in an H2. And hated every minute of it. It’s way too large on the outside, way too small on the inside and way too thirsty for its own good.
How much would it cost to make Hummer a halal brand?
Frank Williams : My friend’s acquaintance was given a free H2 and got rid of it a few weeks later because he thought it was too thirsty. It needed $70 of gas every 3 days and this was back when gas was cheap.
I agree, Frank. The H2 has gigantic exterior proportions but is cramped and uncomfortable inside. I kept having the feeling I was going accidentally hit a button to eject my passengers. Driving one didn’t improve things. And the real world fuel economy numbers really only need one digit.
Despite all that, it’s a perfect niche vehicle and I’m sure that done right it’ll continue selling well. People that like that sort of thing will keep on liking that sort of thing. Better to keep them buying more Hummers than resorting to Jeeps.
From what I have seen in the media, with their govenment subsidized gasoline prices and high percapita incomes, Arabs in the “stable” middle east (UAE, Kuait, et. al.) are big HUMMER fans as it is. I think it would be better for GM and the USA if we cut off the supply of all gas guzzlers to the middle east so that they use less oil and have more to put on the world market. Putting more HUMMERS in the driveways residents of oil producing countries seems counter productive. With money flying out the door daily, GM would never consider something so long range and macro economic like that though.
npbheights,
Kuwait has about 2.6 million people. The nation is about the size of some of West Texas’ larger counties. It has a staggering 101 billion barrels of oil reserves. The US is over 500 times larger than Kuwait and only has less than a quarter of its oil reserves. Current production is 2.7 million barrels per day, most of that is exported. If GM should let the free market send some unsold H2’s to Kuwait and other such nations, I doubt that they would be significantly stifling the global supply of oil.
All figures are sourced from the CIA World Factbook
I thought this article was about GM selling the entire HUMMER division to Arab investors, not just not some unsold 2008 H2’s that are laying around.
The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates consume as much energy as China and they export little, unlike China who makes just about everthing we buy in America.
The middle east as a whole (including the oppressive countries there) have increased their oil consumption by about 6% a year, every year since 2004. Enabling them to use more does not seem in the best interest of stable oil prices.
Selling the HUMMER division for a couple of hundred million bucks may be good for GM today, but if it encourages another society to fall in love with gas guzzlers, (that someone else will profit from) and use more even oil, it can’t be good for them in the long run… It’s just a thought
“Why doesn’t GM just go ahead and admit they’re selling HUMMER?”
Sarbox?