Hummer to be sold to Chinese firm | FerrariChat

Hummer to be sold to Chinese firm

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by 3604u, Jun 4, 2009.

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  1. 3604u

    3604u F1 Veteran
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    General Motors is to sell its Hummer brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery for an undisclosed amount.

    It is part of GM's plan to reinvent itself by concentrating on fewer brands following Monday's bankruptcy filing.

    GM says it hopes the deal will save about 3,000 jobs in the US. Hummer will remain based in the US.

    Tengzhong specialises in making equipment for the road, construction and energy industries.

    It is based in China's Sichuan province.

    Hummers were originally built as military off-road vehicles by a company called AM General.

    GM bought the Hummer brand in 1999. Its sales have suffered as the gas-guzzling performance and military image have become less popular.

    When it began the sale process a year ago, GM had hoped to make more than $500m (£302m), but analysts say that it is likely to have made about $100m from the sale
     
  2. 3604u

    3604u F1 Veteran
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    Just wondering.. who would be making the Hummers for the military?

    Hmm..
     
  3. M.James

    M.James F1 Rookie

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    After Iraq, the Military doesn't want the HMMWV. A new vehicle is in the works, I'm sure of it. Too many problems with the MIL-SPEC Hummer, its time to start over. For one, an Up-Armored HMMWV is the slowest, least-maneuverable vehicle in the US Army inventory. If the Chinese want Hummer, and can keep US workers gainfully employed, fine by me.
     
  4. RacerX_GTO

    RacerX_GTO F1 World Champ
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    #4 RacerX_GTO, Jun 4, 2009
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  5. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 ryalex, Jun 4, 2009
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    It would be ironic if the Hummer eventually is built in China and becomes super-popular there after the enviro-elites made it unpopular here. An American icon becomes a Chinese one - the symbol which stood for excess and waste to the guilty of conscience stands for progress and power elsewhere...
     
  6. WJHMH

    WJHMH Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #6 WJHMH, Jun 4, 2009
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  7. 8 SNAKE

    8 SNAKE F1 Veteran

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    Those vehicles were never made by the "Hummer" arm of GM. They're made by AM General in Indiana.
     
  8. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #8 Wade, Jun 4, 2009
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    MRAP as an interim replacement;

    http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2007/mrap/

    http://www.marketplacemagazine.com/blogs/blog1.php/2008/10/30/pentagon-eliminates-oshkosh-team-from-bi
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  9. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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  10. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    I'm curious what these Chinese investors see with Hummer? The brand epitomizes gas guzzling excess and is toast. There was probably some back room deal to where they got it for nothing but I still think the brand is finished.
     
  11. RacerX_GTO

    RacerX_GTO F1 World Champ
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    China is not of American mentality when it comes to oil & gasoline. They may very well make the brand for themselves and sell it off to other countries who desire Hummers.
     
  12. Tyler

    Tyler F1 Rookie

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    I disagree. Hummer makes a good product. Gas guzzling? My H2 gets a hell of a lot better gas mileage than my super duty fords. In fact, it gets pretty decent gas mileage compared to other vehicles in it's class. It's comfy and it's capable. It's certainly garnered some unwanted attention in the USA, but in other countries, more comfortable with a caste system and inequitable distribution of resources I think they'll be successful.

    I think the brand could have seen continued success here in the USA if they would've changed a few things and changed their marketing. IMO, they advertised the product to the wrong group and they should have had a duramax option from DAY ONE.
     
  13. M.James

    M.James F1 Rookie

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    Unless China starts dumping huge piles of cash into infrastructure improvements, Traffic Management, and subsidizes gasoline prices there, Hummer will not be the vehicle of choice in-country. Remember, GM has had a foothold in China for some time, and apparently their exposure to a 1-Billion-strong market couldn't keep them afloat, sales-wise. The average Chinese worker doesn't have the buying power of Middle-Class Americans, and if GM couldn't sell Full-sized Trucks and SUVs to Chinese buyers, I dunno who will be buying Hummers there, either.
     
  14. kosmo

    kosmo Formula 3

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    Hummers consistenty ranked towards the bottom in quality surveys.
    Good riddance.
    Wealthy Chinese are very ostentatious.
     
  15. BigK

    BigK Rookie

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    #15 BigK, Jun 5, 2009
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    Quality compared to what? Jeep? Let's keep things in perspective.

    I can't name any trucks that lasted as long as my 98 turbo diesel in the high desert and sand. I can roll across rocks, canyons, and deserts all day, without overheating with the a/c on bust and still have plenty of torque to haul a M101 trailer full of gear and 1,000 lbs worth of tools and gear in my bed, at the end of the day, being able to powerwash the grime off and go out for a show.

    Quality surveys is overrated, Hummer was a military truck foremost and that's is readily apparent with the original model for the first 10-11 years of the brand. You got a M998A2 HMMWV with 12 bolt electrical system and a basic interior. Function before form. Strip the interior out, pull out the electric windows and stereo, and you have, more or less a military spec vehicle.

    The only other vehicles that still claim that is the Defender, G-wagen and Unimog. The rest doesn't compare, especially stock.

    Hummer was misunderstood by the media and most auto enthusiasts for a long time. With the sole exception of the H3 built in Louisiana at the GM / Isuzu plant, GM doesn't "build" Hummers. AM General corporation in South Bend Indiana is the manufacterer. The H2 plant is located next to the H1/HMMWV facility. GM handed the trademark/licensing and the retail/support after the deal.

    Now we have a Chinese industrial firm partnering up with AM General. As long as AM general has input, and the truck is built by them in America, I don't have any issues with this.

    GM is almost universally hated among H1 owners...

    I mean, GM really screwed it up. It turned the Hummer brand into a PR disaster. I could write and entire essay on that. Killing off the H1 was a big mistake. In the GM transition... many of the original, enthusiastic dealerships of the brand got pushed out and replaced by the existing GM dealership network (who, in many cases didn't even know what an H1 was).

    All the H1 sales/knowledge was lost except for the very few original dealerships that stuck around [aka Lynch Hummer] All the new dealers wanted to do is push H2's and H3's and market it as urban/suburban transports rather than off road utility vehicles. They doubled the price of the H1, pushed it out of advertising and showrooms and killed it. [AM General still builds H1's as fleet vehicles via special order, but you have to have a large order].

    GM should have kept the H1 as a limited production run/special order vehicle and started with a wrangler sized product first.

    The mileage aspect is hype. A V8 powered, full time four wheel drive truck that is shaped like a hat box gets truck like mileage? That's a shock.

    My H1 gets better mileage than my old Jeep Cherokee [13/15 mpg vs 8/10 mpg]

    As for the military side, the MRAP is not an ideal HMMWV replacement, too heavy, and expensive. You're not going to replace a $35,000-200,000 HMMWV with a fleet of $500,000-700,000 MRAP's. They are two vehicles built for different roles. The replacement truck was the FTTS but even that is in danger of being cut. The HMMWV line has been extended with newer chassis design and better armor. You have the ECV II with a more powerful engine, better cooling, 16,000 lb GVW frame, triple A/C system and plenty of electrical power and increased headroom. The upcoming HMMWV revisions will have a more modular engine design, allowing a 6.5 optimizer swap in 2-3 minutes. There are also V-hulled versions for better blast protection [HMMWV Cobra].

    Navistar shelved their military light truck platform and is working with AM General with future HMMWV variants. The military has implemented a HMMWV repower contract, for a new powerplant for the HMMWV, so future trucks may take many forms from a navistar or cummins powered truck to a electric/diesel hybrid.

    The HMMWV in some form will still be around for years to come [I'm told at least 1-2 decades].

    And again, the heart of Hummer is AM general, they are not sold. They are a privately held American company.

    With that in mind, I have no issues with Chinese investment into the truck line, word is already coming down that we are to expect more development towards off road and utility vehicles, such as pickups and diesel engined suvs/trucks.

    When the HX/H4 concept comes out in production form [the wrangler sized hummer], if it has lockers, good off road capability and a nice engine with lot's of torque [a nice small turbo diesel], I'll buy one and park it next to my H1.

    God that was a lot of words. I'm having a slow day here... :)
     
  16. Pantera

    Pantera F1 Rookie

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    LOL!. I'm not shocked at all.
     
  17. pacacu

    pacacu Karting

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    Hummer being sold to Chinese interests is logical in view of the size of the China domestic market, the emergence of a middle class and plenty of open road still under-development. By buying into technology already proven to work, imagine the saving in R&D. By learning from the retail side of the biz while keeping the existing dealer network, we have a classic B school case study at a very affordable/entry price/investment. GM been proven to be wrong in many aspects or otherwise it would not be where it is today. RW should have been replaced years ago. Really to build a company based on Camaros, Corvettes and Cadillacs is not the way to go. If he was replaced years ago, GM may have stood a better chance to weather the storm. Other factors such as dealer network, UAW would have been resolved then. The irony is to fire dealers when they are independent businesses and supported GM in the past is the worst move they could do. Without dealer support, new products would wither. No smart businessmen would invest in a dealership knowing full well what could happen again in a few years if business/products are not runing around.My first GM car is a '70 Malibu and last a '84 Olds Cutlass.
     

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