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The Hummer H3 is an interesting vehicle to drive in light of our nation’s fuel crisis. Off-road enthusiasts and Hummer loyalists appreciate the H3’s off-road capability and style, but the H3 is becoming tougher and tougher to see to new consumers and the automotive press alike. Our test car’s sticker price is just a notch below the $40,000 mark, and while that might seem like a bargain to some, we’d search elsewhere for our SUV needs.

(Click through the post to read our editors’ full notes on the H3.)

Already perhaps at the top of the world’s regions in which Hummer ownership can make a sort of sense, new reports this morning have pinned several investors in the Gulf Arab region as being interested in purchasing the off-road brand. General Motors is on record as saying that all options are on the table for free-falling Hummer, which has been suffering massive sales declines in the U.S. thanks to rising fuel prices.

GM Middle East Managing Director Terry Johnsson said in an interview that, “For sure, there has been interest from various parties within the Gulf.” While not naming any one person or group in particular in relationship with these revelations, GM is said to be readying sales documents for the Hummer brand in hopes that the initial interest expressed may turn into something a bit more formal.

Johnsson made a point to emphasize that selling Hummer is still not a “foregone conclusion” for GM, saying that keeping the brand in the company portfolio is still very much and option.
 
+ Automotive News: GM receives Gulf Arab interest in Hummer buy

General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced a series of steps this morning that will attempt to get the world’s largest auto manufacturer back to its old self again. Chief among the moves is the suspension of GM’s dividend payouts to stockholders, salaried worker cuts of 20%, and the plan to sell assets—with a reminder that Hummer is officially, officially, officially under review for a sale. All in, GM hopes to create up to $15,000,000,000 in liquidity to weather the storm ahead.

Listeners to the press conference likely noticed a marked change in GM’s tone: this isn’t a temporary dip in the market—it’s a permanent change. Specifically, GM’s ability to generate profits from trucks and utility vehicles isn’t playing in today’s market (and hasn’t for a period of time). The straight talk came with a set of assumptions that GM will use for planning purposes, although Chairman Wagoner voiced that the following isn’t their projection for the industry, just a set of numbers it feels it can be confident in as it goes about its business: U.S. total vehicle sales for 2008 and 2009 will be only 14 million units (GM capturing 21% of that number) and oil will remain between $130 and $150 per barrel.

"We are responding aggressively to the challenges of today's U.S. auto market," said GM Chairman and CEO, Rick Wagoner. "We will continue to take the steps necessary to align our business structure with the lower vehicle sales volumes and shifts in sales mix. We remain committed to bringing to market great products that target changing consumer preferences for more fuel-efficient vehicles."

Although specific talk of selling brands was limited to the notion that “a strategic analysis of Hummer is underway,” the company did say it is undertaking a “broad, global assessment” of all of its assets.

Today’s announcement will allow GM to have enough cash on hand for operations through the end of next year and, for Wall Street’s sake, likely show that the company is getting serious (more serious, perhaps, than other manufacturers who are in similar situations) about the changing marketplace. It might also cast aside any bankruptcy talk—a thread that’s been swirling around Wagoner’s team for a number of weeks with increasing voracity.

The folks at Hummer have officially announced pricing for the 2009 H3T sport-utility truck which will go on sale this fall. Pricing will start at $31,495 (including a $745 destination charge) for the five-passenger pickup based off of the Hummer H3.

“The H3T carves out a new segment in the midsize truck market, providing an outstanding combination of functionality and capability,” said Martin Walsh, Hummer general manager. "This will be the ideal truck for the buyer who need a truck’s functionality for his or her lifestyle pursuits, but is looking for an alternative to the full-size truck.” The Hummer H3T is the only mid-size truck to offer full-time four-wheel-drive, thirty-two-inch tires, and functional skid shields.

The Hummer H3T is scheduled to arrive in dealerships this September.

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General Motors President Fritz Henderson took his first official trip to China last week, and fueled buzz about GM offloading Hummer to interested Chinese automakers. He is quoted saying that such a possibility “will certainly an option for us to look at,” and went on to concede, “We need to be open to all ideas.”

Last week we brought you Consumer Reports’ Top Picks of 2008. Now, we’re letting you in on the worst 11. Chrysler takes a huge hit from Consumer Reports with four out of the bottom 11 belonging to the struggling automaker.

UK Mountain Rescue is a volunteer-driven organization that provides emergency assistance for those who have become lost or injured in the mountains, or other hinterlands of England.

As a way of saying “thank you

We greeted the morning today with an hour-long debate whether the Hummer was a tool or a toy. See, General Motors is trying to refocus its marketing strategy to sway the mindset that the Hummer is merely a gas-guzzling SUV purchased as a vanity "lifestyle" item. GM contends that it’s a “purpose-built

General Motors wants consumers to rethink their idea of Hummer. A survey by J.D. Power and Associates last year said SUV buyers avoid the Hummer brand because they believe its gas-guzzler image, according to the USA Today.

Cards, chocolates, roses, let’s face it; the women of the world have seen them all before. And though many wives, girlfriends, and lovers will put on a stock smile, and give you a warm embrace for such baubles, eBay Motors is the home of what they’re really looking for.