GM's Hummer Brand To Be Sold To a Chinese Company

An anonymous reader writes in to note that GM will sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, a little-known industrial firm. For now, the deal will save 3,000 jobs in the US. (The military HumVees are made by a separate company and are not involved in this deal.) "As part of the deal, some GM plants will continue to build the Hummer brand for the new owner, at least for awhile. The company said its Shreveport, La., plant will keep building Hummers for the new owner until at least 2010. ... GM said it sold 5,013 Hummers worldwide in the first quarter, down 62% from the 13,050 that it sold in the same period the prior year." AP coverage has more details on GM's planned divestitures, including the shedding of Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab.

Comments

Heads aspode

[microcars]

at the gas station in Wisconsin where I got "told" by a guy bitching about my Toyota.

Despite the fact that my truck is built in Texas by Americans with 85% US content apparently the "profits" all go back to "Japan" SO THERE! (never mind Toyota being on the NYSE and the "profits" go to the shareholders...)
I can't imagine what this guy will do now when a new Hummer - built in Louisiana by Americans, but owned by the Chinese - pulls up to the pump!

I would love to be there when it happens though! ack ack ack....

Re:Heads aspode

[Locke2005]

Reminds me of the "Buy American" bumper sticker I saw on a Ford Courier... sort of makes you want to pull the driver over and explain to them that a Courier was just a Mazda B2000 with different badges and a higher price tag. Hondas are made in Marysville, Ohio with electrical parts from Stanley -- there is no such thing as a truly "American" or "Japanese" car anymore.

Re:Heads aspode

[value_added]

I wonder if it's just the "Buy American" bumper stickers that are laughable.

There was a spot on the news last night where a retired couple who invested their retirement savings in GM bonds were interviewed. The husband was a tool and die maker in the auto industry, and both the husband and wife considered it their patriotic duty to invest in America. And if the American flag seen waving in the background was any indication, advocate the same to others.

Needless to say their investments were wiped out.

The post-war industrial strength of America may have existed for their parents when they retired (and their parents before them), but an investment strategy that involves a troubled industry and a company that routinely posted huge losses is indicative more of nostalgic yearnings than common sense.

My own take is that the couple's situation could be considered laughable, as in "I invested in America and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.", but they didn't even get a T-shirt.

Re:Heads aspode

[moosesocks]

As another interesting statistic, it's important to point out the the US's GNP is still slightly higher than its GDP.

In other words, the value of goods produced in the US is roughly equal to the value of goods produced by US-owned companies and American citizens. For every foreign-owned factory in the US, there's another US-owned factory someplace else in the world.

(Of course, as with any economic statistic, it's not quite that simple. However, the fact that both figures are roughly equivalent is a good sign)

Re:Are they going to still be sold here?

[larry bagina]

The "bankruptcy" is really just a wealth (for lack of a better word) transfer. And by transfer, I mean theft. Contract law was ignored when deciding what secured debt holders deserved. Tim Geithner's hand is shoved up the banks, GM, and Chrysler like a ventriloquist dummy, so they can do nothing but nod their heads. Not that the banks mind too much -- the revolving door between treasury, federal reserve, and the investment banks looks like a bukake session with you and i in the middle.

Re:Yay

[TinBromide]

American Culture: Made in China

Re:So, who makes HumVees?

[Fulcrum of Evil]

even what American's fondly call beer.

I'll have you know, America produce quite a bit of very good beer. Show up in seattle and I'll introduce you to some.

Re:5,013?

[hairyfeet]

Yeah calling a Hummer an off roader is pretty funny. You would think here in AR, land of the redneck, there would be plenty of those fugly things, but the only ones you ever see are being driven by doctors who not only never go off road but would have a coronary if they even got them dirty. The off roaders and the rest of us just laugh at those things and make "sorry about your penis" jokes.

Here it is the F150, the Ram and the Ranger. The Vulcan V6 Rangers actually are very popular for the off roaders here. They are light enough they rarely get stuck and have plenty of power and the cast iron V6 is tough as hell. I know I wouldn't give up my Vulcan Ranger for one of those sissy new Hummers if you paid me. The new ones look like a soccer mom ride, not a mud slinger.

I say let the Chinese have the damned things. Those things just don't compare to a well built Ford or Dodge truck. The only Hummers I ever see are being driven by doctors and lawyers who are afraid of scratching the paint, about like those Lincoln Navigators being driven by their wives. Why anybody would want a vehicle that sucked that much gas and cost so much they were afraid to really get anything done in it more than carrying groceries is beyond me. Good riddance.

Re:5,013?

[Chris Burke]

Yeah calling a Hummer an off roader is pretty funny.

It's nothing more than a marketing trick based on association with the military HMMWV, which worked brilliantly. The humvee is a vehicle to make its predecessor jeep proud. It has an angled independent suspension that puts the gear box, drive shaft and other parts well off the ground for huge clearance. It's a great off-road vehicle, reliable and rugged.

Civilian versions are nothing like that, since they're based off completely different chassis. But hey, they look pretty similar if and if you never take them off the road you probably won't even notice. So it's kinda like you own military hardware! How bad-ass!