Motoring News: A World Without A Hummer, What A Bummer
February 26th, 2010 by Alex Jeffery
With the focus on electric and hybrid cars, there really isn’t space for the big brand of sport utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler”. Grist.org reports that “GM thought its plans to sell Hummer to a Chinese company had the green light, but instead got run off the road by the Chinese Government”.
NYTimes.com has reported that GM “had been trying to sell Hummer for nearly two years, and struck a preliminary deal with Tengzhong in June. The two companies had planned to complete the $150m deal by the end of January, then delayed the deadline by a month in the hope of receiving approval from China”. However the deal reportedly collapsed because of “problems convincing the Chinese Government that Hummer’s range could be made sufficiently friendly”.
Although the brand Hummer will slowly disappear, GM have said they will continue to honour existing Hummer warranties – and or course the 4×4 legacy will live on. PistonHeads.com reports that discussions between GM and Tengzhong had led John Smith, Vice President of GM to say “we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed but GM will still work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner” – meaning existing customers will still receive a high level of service and support.
Over the years the Hummer name has achieved a powerful status, with celebrities endorsing the brand by being chauffeured around in one of these hefty 4×4 vehicles. However more recently the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger (who once owned ma fleet of Hummers), described the brand as “prime evidence of the Detroit automakers’ failings”.
Danny Hill, the general sales manager of the Texas Classic Hummer branch commented on this end of an era saying that Hummer “had a great concept and it’s a real shame that it’s going away, because the people who own Hummers just love them”.
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