Will GM find a buyer for Hummer, or end up shuttering the division?

Chris Paukert

Pink and chrome Hummer

In recent days, it has been reported that Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra has officially declared that they are not interested in relieving General Motors of its Hummer division. With Russion tycoon Oleg Deripaska and Chinese automaker Changfeng having already done the same, will The General find a bidder for Hummer, or will it be forced to simply shut the division down and engage in another costly round of write-offs?

Ducati Minor

Not with that picture.

I don't want to see the Hummer go the way of the Edsel and the Eagle. There's potential in this brand of light truck. Instead of trying to make it a high-volume brand, why not slash the production and mold it into a small division of pure-blooded off-road sport-utes?

That may not be a good selling point, but I am a dreamer. The H3, especially the SUT, has a lot of promise if worked right. I've said it before: a mid-range diesel V-6, or a turbo-diesel inline-four, could work wonders with improved mileage and high torque. Find that highly unlikely to happen.

Fri, 08/22/2008 - 03:59
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Reilly Brennan

From a zero-to-almost 100% penetration (in terms of brand awareness), Hummer is an amazing story. Even though we think of it today as purely a gas-guzzling brand, I hope someone (maybe not GM?) can transform it into a more balanced brand that has off roading at its core. Hard to do, but not impossible with the right company.

Fri, 08/22/2008 - 08:36
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JWBrothers

Business Week reports that they believe Hummer was an ego driven decision by GM. If that's the general thinking of investors, GM has to demonstrate real shareholder value in order to save the brand. In order to continue Hummer must be able to bring things to the table that no one else does. Those things must appeal to a great number of people. This means that you must stake Hummer's future on more than off road performance. There are several things that need fixed. Here are a few suggestions.

FIX THE WEIGHT - Hummers are way too heavy. The H2 weighs 6614 lbs and the H3 weighs 4700 lbs. The H2 needs to lose 2600 lbs and the H3 needs to lose 1200 lbs. Hummers get from 10 to 14 MPG on the highway. These trucks need to get from 20 to 30 MPG on the highway in order to be competitive. They will never get there without a LOT of weight loss.

FIX THE ENGINES - Hummers should come standard with diesels. GM makes them in 4, 5, 6 or 8 cylinders. They are perceived as tough, premium, torque monster engines, exactly what GM and American cars are famous for. If you put these same engines in any other brand, call them Hummer engines. For years, Ford used to label any high performance engine in any Ford a Thunderbird engine. It would work with Hummer.

KEEP THE HD - Hummers are supposed to be heavy duty. Never downgrade materials. Get the reputation for being over engineered.

KEEP THE PRICE - Hummers are premium trucks. You will sell less by making them cheaper, not more. Just ask Buick if you don't believe me.

TAKE THINGS TO THEIR LOGICAL CONCLUSION - A standard Hummer H2 can pull an 8200 lb trailer. Design an H2 SUT specifically to pull a big camper trailer or cabin cruiser. Hummers are some of the best off road vehicles ever made. Design an H3 specifically for desert off roading and race it in the Paris-Dakar Rally. Then design another specifically for really tough winter driving; kind of a Super Subaru wagon. Then raise the roof with a vista roof, add front and back sun-roofs. Extend the side windows down 3 or 4 inches to open the cabin for site seeing and make it the worlds best vacation/road trip car. Anyway, the idea is to take something that the Hummer does well and take it to it's logical conclusion. You can get more $s for these special designs too.

Hummer H1