Used car market analysts in Canada performed a double take on their research earlier this year when they found the Hummer H2 had retained 71 percent of its original value, more than any other car included in the study. From this you could conclude the market is yearning for Hummer’s revival, and according to Automotive News, they aren’t the only ones who want to see their products back in showrooms.
Joe Serra, owner of the Serra Automotive group of dealerships, says he lost about 1,000 customers a year when General Motors phased out Hummer. He was able to draw a portion of them back by purchasing a Jeep dealership, which offers a rugged image similar to the H2’s or H3’s, but some GM dealers still feel a bit left in the dark.
Serra says Jeep “has it going on right now,” because they fill a niche in the market. The brand has more than doubled its sales since 2009 and has already broken its all-time sales record so far this year. GMC chief Duncan Aldred recently expressed interest in an “active all-road, Wrangler-esque type of vehicle” to compete with Jeep, which could fill the space that Hummer left.
Hummer was axed in 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high and then GM CEO Rick Wagoner predicted they’d never go back down. Some felt Hummer represented American excess, and it was also GM’s least profitable truck line. Analysts say it would have taken a “sizable investment” to keep Hummer afloat, which would have been a major gamble six years ago.
Now, Chevrolet is the top brand for migrating Hummer owners, according to IHS data, with other owners buying Ford, Toyota, GMC and Cadillac offerings. John Bergstrom, who formerly owned four Hummer dealerships, says GM could retain more orphaned Hummer owners by offering an outdoor-minded SUV with more refinement than a Wrangler, but more capability than a standard crossover SUV.
“I don’t think I’d try to refloat the Hummer name — it could be a Chevrolet or a GMC — but you need a vehicle for that niche,” Bergstrom said. “GM has this built-in knowledge base from what they learned from Hummer. They know that market.”
GM doesn’t regret putting Hummer to rest, especially when you take into account the strength of its current truck and SUV lineup. However that doesn’t mean it should abandon the distinctly American off-road market, which Jeep has been left to occupy almost all on its own.
Comments
They could bring back a single Hummer model under GMC and name it the GMC Hummer
And with Denali being a sub brand of GMC, a GMC Hummer Denali has a nice ring to it
I agree with David. But they could also bring back the h2 and h3. Put diesels in both and give them part time 4 wheel drive.
Well Bob Lutz in his book accounted for some of his mistakes at GM and one of his greatest regrets is that he made Hummer a division vs. making it a model under GMC. He said it would have been much easier and cheaper to have managed the market changes if they had just made it a GMC.
Now bringing it back is not all popsicle and sunshine. The name I am sorry is a blessing and a curse but the idea and execution of a similar model as a GMC with a new name would not be difficult.
If you note as Hummer died GMC took on the things Hummer carried. Large boxy grilles with large fender flairs. Just look at the first model to carry these styling trends the Terrain and it has the Hummer Low looking top and fender flairs with a GMC personality.
This is being taken to the trucks and I expect a smaller Wrangler challenger is closer than we think. I think if GMC started on the opposite end and start with a smaller Wrangler/Hummer like GMC they could build on that and carry that theme to the entire line and not bring the wrath of the media and tree huggers world wide.
The crap GM also took from the eviromental [Yes I spelled it like I see it] people was just over the top. The H2 was just a Tahoe under the skin and the H3 was a six cylinder in most models and a Trailblazer under the skin. They were no worse MPG wise than most full size SUV models. Yet GM failed to defend them due to the lack of marketing and that they did not want people to know they were based on the standard SUV platform.
The issue with the eviromental people and the history of the Hummer name going down would make it best to keep the new model GMC with a good dose of Hummer DNA.
This also would give GMC the ability to be more independent of Chevy and GMC could ask a higher price on these models as they could compete in a higher class with some packages.
I am sure there is a western territory or mountain range they can take the name of and apply it to these models.
The key here is you need to be smart about this. You just can just reproduce the past models and expect them to work this many years later. But if you take the best of Hummer and use the strength of GMC there is a opening for a lot of high profit models of all sizes here.
These models could compete with not just Jeep but the upper levels could compete with Land Rover and even the G wagon if built and optioned right.
But the key is to start with the small low end model first to build this line. The Jeep beater could do a lot. While Jeep has the benefit of heritage it also is boxed in to it’s past. GMC has a clean sheet of paper and does not have to make it look like anything but what they want. They can take very good advantage of this. Lets face it Jeep has to remain looking like a Jeep for the most part. It is the same box Mini and other retro vehicles get trapped into.
Hummer should be a niche sub-brand of GMC. Pontiac should be a niche sub-brand of Buick.
Recall mania has really hurt this effort and I hope that GM will have the mental clarity to execute after it clears up.
Chris the problem is GM already is having a challenge coming up with the new Opel, Buick models. That is all they need to have tossed on them is to add more cars and have to make them Pontiac’s on top of Buick.
First lets worry about fixing Buick before you try to bring Pontiac back from the dead.
It is not like Pontiac was in all that good of health for the last 10 years of its life. Trust me I know as I bet I have owned more Pontiacs than you have over the years and still have one yet today so I have been watching.
I hated to see them go but they were like a lame dog at the end with only two relevant models at best and one of them was dying at the time in the Solstice and it’s stagnate sales.
As for Hummer it could be a model at GMC but I would not hold my breath on the name. To kill a name and bring it back it most difficult even with the best of cars.
If you make a GMC Hummer like they will buy it no matter what the name.
Pontiac would sell like crazy in China and the USA as a two-car brand. Specialize in what works – G8 and Solstice to take on FCA’s non-luxury RWD offerings.
China especially would benefit from a specialized non-luxury sub-brand of Buick, focused on performance over luxury. Ride the coattails of Buick and offer Chinese affordable RWD sport cars. Alpha-based G8’s and Solstices would do wonders for both region’s product portfolios.
And don’t think Dodge won’t be taking a stab at the collaborated Miata work. GM can be afraid of Solstice cannibalizing Corvette all day long, meanwhile Dodge can drop a 320 hp engine inside a Miata and sell it like crazy. And they probably will.
Charger, Baracuda/RWD-Avenger and Demon won’t have any answers at GM and it will leave many evangelizers defecting… including myself if things don’t change.
I much agree with Christopher Price. Bring back Hummer and the much missed Pontiac as sub brands within the current GM layout. Come on GM, it’s time to go ALL OUT to win back customers. And in Europe we need a new RWD executive sedan either from Opel/Vauxhall or Cadilac.
Hummer and Pontiac would take away valuable resources from GM’s core brands/divisions and in turn offer little different than what’s already on offer.
I Know that’s right.
if maybach is bought back as a sub brand then so can pontiac and hummer.
If GM returns the Hummer as a new off-road vehicle, it should have the Voltec drive train as an option. Electric all-wheel drive is much better than a pure gas engine drive, because you have the most torque at low speeds with a simpler transmission.
If GM bring back the Hummers i think it should be a plug in hybrid like the mitsubishi outlander phev but a with GM’s Voltec drive train part time 4 wheel drive and active rear wheel steering as standard on the H2 models so they will be a lot more maneuverability and a smaller truing radios and the 6.6l duramax diesel engine and a Allison transmission as an option that way the petrol (gasoline) versions mpg would be close to the mitsubishi outlander phev mpg plus simaler running costs and diesel version mpg could be between 20-30 mpg this should please all-some everyone due to the low CO 2 emissions and good mpg of the standard model and loads of toque with the diesel version
The only thing the H2 needed was Diesel option and the thing would of outsold Jeeps 2 to 1. Lose a little weight in the body, and put a diesel in it. Keep it class 3, it’ll be king.
And make it a little more H1 like inside. It doesn’t need to be pretty, it needs to be able to handle getting water inside. It needs the drain holes the H1 has, it needs that ability. Just put large rubber floor mats. The idea of trying to make it luxury was stupid. It’s not what people want.
We wanted a civilian version of the H1. The body was perfect, the inside needed to be a lot more H1 like.