As GM made its way through bankruptcy, Hummer was one of the brands that was deemed to not have a role in the new company. Along with Saab and Saturn, Hummer was put up for sale to any and all interested parties. It was also the first wind-down brand to score a bite. Unfortunately, nothing came of the offer. When the Chinese government pulled the plug on GM’s Hummer sale to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., it killed the brand’s best chance of seeing the 2012 model year and beyond. And though reports by sources such as CNN and the Wall Street Journal about Hummer having other bidders were true, none of these suitors were capable of purchasing or operating the brand.

“We had lots of phone calls, and lots of letters and lots of meetings with guys alleging they had the financial where-with-all to purchase Hummer…buyers would come in and we would ask: ‘do you have a billion dollars?’, that would stop them pretty quick. That process and the people involved that thought they could just buy it have really no idea what it takes to buy and run a car company,” explained Taylor.

He also described just how crazy some of the interested parties were in the Hummer brand by saying:

“we had, like, hand written notes from some guys in a cabin saying ‘I wanna buy Hummer, and I have a lot of money’… yeah, sure. “

That whole money thing aside, there was also another factor that played a key role on the deal, and was probably an even bigger reason on why a deal never happened after Sichuan Tengzhong left the table. That factor was time.

“GM was in a big hurry. There was a lot of impatience to get [the deal] done. And when you look at the Saab-Spyker deal, that was really lucky. Those guys were just able to move so fast to close a deal… so what it came down to was the ability to move super fast with somebody super rich but we didn’t get lucky enough to find that combination, unfortunately.”

Unfortunate, indeed. We could have seen the best lineup from Hummer yet: a more compact, utilitarian lineup for the off-road-venturing crowd was in order, and not so much the purposely overweight, space-inefficient extreme of an SUV that has given the brand such a negative perception in many circles. In fact, Mr. Taylor was fixing the brand to focus directly at Jeep and its lone dominance in the affordable off-road SUV market with an entirely new product plan.

“We had a whole product plan to lure in buyers. We had an H4 that would have been a lot smaller [than current models] and was to be the new focus for our relaunch… we wanted to take a bite out of Jeep and their segment.”

2008 Hummer HX Concept. Could this have been the H4?

For those picturing the awesome-looking Hummer Hx Concept that made its debut a few years ago, you’re in the right ballpark. Hopefully, something such as the Hx has a future somewhere else, maybe as a GMC in the coming years (but that’s just this writer’s fantasy). So, what’s Mr. Taylor up to these days? He seems to be enjoying his time off:

“This industry beats you up pretty good and when you’re boiled in it for so long, it takes a while to dry out from all the speed, and stress and everything. So I have taken a couple of months off to fix everything in my house that’s been neglected for the past five years.”

If we were in his shoes, we would probably do the same.

• Chevrolet sales up 32.5 percent
• Buick sales up 52.7 percent
• Cadillac sales up 39.1 percent
• GMC sales up 45 percent

Without further ado, here are the sales charts you’ve been waiting for!

2010 - July - USA - Chevrolet

2010 - July - USA - Buick

2010 - July - USA - Cadillac

2010 - July - USA - GMC

2010 - July - USA - Other Brands

2010 - July - USA - GM Total

According to Hummer spokesperson Nick Richards, the problem lies with a component of the hood called the hood louver. The louver was used to cool the engine on older Hummer models by allowing air to enter the engine compartment, thereby cooling the engine and preventing overheating. On the H3, however, the louver is non-functional and is used for decorational purposes only.

In recall documents filed with the NHTSA, General Motors describes a scenario whereby tabs holding the louver in place could fracture, causing them to rattle against the hood. This could result in the hood louvre detaching from the hood and hitting either the H3 and/or surrounding vehicles, all of which could result in an accident.

The fix comes in the form of applying an adhesive to refasten the louver to the hood. GM has already sent a bulletin to dealers outlining the fix, with owners of affected H3 models receiving letters notifying them of the recall this week.

The recall is a result of two complaints originating from the United States and three from Japan. It’s been reported that Japanese transportation officials notified GM of the problem in January.

This news comes to us as the Hummer brand is close to being wound down as part of GM’s post-bankruptcy brand strategy.

[Source: The Detroit News]

GM says that it would still consider “viable alternatives” to acquire all or part of the brand after the collapse of the sale of Sichuan Tenzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. in late February.

If a party is interested in buying the go-anywhere brand from GM (rescuing it in the process), they would have to show that they have the financial resources to back it up. The last thing GM wants is to sell Hummer and commit to manufacturing vehicles for the new owner, only to later have the venture flop and idle manufacturing plants.  A few firms have expressed interest but none have successfully negotiated a deal with The General.

“Anyone who buys it needs cash to make it work,” Jim Hall, principal of consulting firm 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Michigan, said of Hummer. “That’s why GM has been turning buyers away left, right and center.”

It’s worth noting that General Motors took the same approach during its divestiture of Saab earlier in the year, declining offers it deemed unsuitable for the long term.

GM is expected to announce the details of Hummer’s shutdown in a conference call today at 10:00 am EST. According to Hummer spokesman Nick Richards, Hummer’s CEO Jim Taylor has decided to retire.

Richards also said that GM is open to selling tooling and equipment used to manufacture the Hummer H3 SUV and H3T pickup at Hummer’s Shreveport, Louisiana factory. The plant is slated to close no later than 2012.

Richards also said that many of Hummer’s 3,000 employees will be transferred to other units within GM and work on the development of models under other brands. He wasn’t specific in giving a particular number.

Hummer sales fell by 72 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to 855 units.

On a trivia note, GM licensed the Hummer brand from the South Bend, Indiana-based AM General, which produced the Humvee military vehicle, in 1999. General Motors’ first Hummer vehicle was the H1 taht sold for $140,000 and weighed 7,600 pounds (3,400 kilograms). GM added the H2 SUV, weighing 6,600-pounds (2,990 kilograms) in 2002 and the 4,700-pound (2,130-kilogram) H3 in 2005. General Motors produced the H3 at its Shreveport, LA plant while AM General built the H1 and H2 for GM.

The GM Authority Take

While the entire GM Authority team is sad to see Hummer go, an complete about-face of the current situation remains a possibility. Just think back to the Saab Sales Saga and you’ll see exactly what we mean!

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Production of the two vehicles will resume for individual reasons. The General produced 1,037 Outlooks in February at its Lansing, Michigan plant where the Lambda platform vehicles (Enclave, Acadia, and Traverse, in addition to the discontinued Outlook) are produced. The Outlook will end production in coming weeks once Saturn-specific materials are used up.

The Hummer H3, on the other hand, is being temporarily produced to fulfill demand for a fleet order. Production will be reinstated on April 12 at GM’s Shreveport, Louisiana plant, and the order should be filled by the middle of May. After this, Shreveport will continue production of the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado although, as GM Authority has previously reported, the future is uncertain for these two vehicles as well, leaving us wondering about the future of the Shreveport facility.

The recent fall-through of the Hummer sale to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong, in no small part thanks to the Chinese Government, presents quite the mountain to climb (even for a Hummer). And though the future of the uber-SUV brand remains uncertain at best, this writer still has a few ideas on how Hummer could become an off-road juggernaut over Jeep and Land Rover once again.

[Source: Hummer Guy via Autoblog]

Citing a person familiar with the situation, the WSJ reports that GM is said to be giving these bidders a fresh look even after picking Sichuan Tengzhong.

It’s very easy to remember the whole Saab Sales Saga when looking at this situation. Though we at GM Authority hope for an eventual sale of Hummer, we don’t wish for such a roller coaster that ultimately became the sale of Saab. Hopefully the go-anywhere SUV brand does not go the way of Saturn (or Pontiac), although it looks like it has already purchased its one-way ticket.

Trust GM Authority to keep you posted as the story develops!

[Source: WSJ]

One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed. GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.

As we learned with the Saab Sales Saga, this may not mean anything in particular, as a last-minute buyer may swoop in to save the company from the automotive graveyard, where Saturn and Pontiac shamefully lie. Nevertheless, GM will continue to honor Hummer warranties as well as providing service support and spare parts to current owners around the world.

Stay tuned as it happens…

The approval was the last hurdle for the deal to go through, which would transfer ownership of the legendary American SUV brand to the privately-owned Chinese maker of special-use vehicles, structural components for highways, bridges, and construction equipment for only $150 million. This amount is nearly 70 percent less than GM originally valued the brand in bankruptcy court in the summer of 2009.

In the beginning of 2010, GM extended the deadline for the sale until the end of February.

Only Normal…

“It’s only normal for the Chinese government not to approve the deal,” said Lin Huaibin, a Shanghai-based analyst for IHS Global Insight. “To allow this type of vehicle on a large scale isn’t in line with government policy.” What government policy, exactly? In an effort to reduce oil imports and pollution, China has been encouraging automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars such as hybrids.

Jobs

If approved, the deal was expected to secure nearly 3,000 Hummer manufacturing and sales jobs in the U.S. As of now, these jobs – including som at the Shreveport, LA plant – are in limbo.

Plans For Hummer

What’s interesting here is that both parties have agreed to the deal and want it to go through. Tengzhong has previously stated that its plans include bringing Hummer into markets outside the U.S., which currently makes up more than two-thirds of the brand’s sales. Tengzhong also planned to develop more fuel-efficient SUVs, according to CEO Yang Yi.

But Not All Is Lost…

The deal may still come to fruition even without approval from the Chinese government. This may happen by taking advantage of a few international loopholes. For what it’s worth,  reports of China’s government having blocked Tengzhong’s bid are “not accurate,” according to Wang Chao, assistant commerce minister. Apparently, China’s Ministry of Commerce has not yet received an application for the acquisition, Chao said.

Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into the Saab Sales Saga, round two.

[Source: BusinessWeek]