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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.
Well if any company was to own the Hummer brand, it should have a name including "Heavy Industrial Machinery Co." in it.
I love hummers, and I don't care if I get it from an American or a Chinese.
Who are these 5,013 douchebags still buying Hummers? =P
Are they simply licensing the brand and making completely different vehicles to Military Specs?
"When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
... but news for nerds? I'm not seeing it.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
Save Jobs, Fuck The Planet! The motto of the new depression. Roll up, Roll up, get your tickets here for the latest 'End of the World' show!
I wonder if anyone will buy Saab now, it has had worse sales than Hummer for a long time.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/02/by-the-numbers-may-2009-gm-and-ford-surprise-edition/
The above link has some sales data.
The real problem isn't that Hummer is sold, it is that the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler have both been shoved down the companies and investor's throats. So they will trot out that they saved 3,000 or so jobs. What about the 100,000 plus jobs lost when all the dealerships are being forced to close, even ones who make a profit? A considerable number, if not the majority, of dealerships being punted are profitable.
This is all about Wall Street and not Main Street. The people tasked with doing these close outs and sales are all Wall Street regulars. If Wall Street had been held to the same standards as Detroit the change might have been something I could believe in. Instead communities are going to face real problems when dealerships close. Yeah, 3000 jobs is nice but it is a nickle on a Cadillac in terms of loss/gain. In other words, who the flip cares?
Hummer. Funny thing is they will survive in the real world and not the alternate reality world the US has become.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
News flash...most of the products purchased by people who don't own Hummers are also made in China.
My goal of getting a hummer from a cute Asian girl is that much closer to completion!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
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....
I like microcars
Just kinda writes itself, really.
That's about all I can say for the abomination that the Hummer became.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
I'm not sure what they want, but they are getting the tech, the brand, the manufacturing plant and let's not forget the distribution network.
The buyer, Sichuan Tengzhong, looks like an interesting company. They manufacture heavy equipment, special-use vehicles, highway & bridge structural components, construction machinery and energy facilities. That's a varied mix, but I don't see passenger autos in there. They've been in business since 2005. They are a private company; I'm not sure where they get their funding or their origins.
http://www.mahalo.com/Sichuan_Tengzhong#guide_note-Official-1
Guess that decision to produce the Hummer over the EV-1 has come back to bite GM in the ASS big time!
"I bow to no man" - Riddick
There is irony that a Chinese company now owns the brand, but I am not going to back that up with how.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
I never thought I would see the day that an iconic US American brand being sold off to a Chinese company.
This is truly unprecedented.
China goes chumming for American brands. Who's next, ChitiBank?
The original post has
Before you worry about soldiers of US army and marines riding on Chinese made jeeps, you should also note that GM China has made recorded sales in China, despite of its parent's woe in the US. I personally did notice quite a lot more Buick's running in the city of Shenzhen than on the streets of California. When I was over there, I owned a Buick myself which was made in China but with US-made engines and transmissions; whereas i own a Japanese car here in California. Strange world.
Why is it edited away? Is / . censoring our post, because the news of american company doing well in China does not fit the site's editorial agenda?
Maybe they'll start using H3s as a aphrodisiac instead of rhino horn and tiger penis? Oh, wait, they'll want something that actually works...
[End Of Line]
... at least for a while.
That's really the most important part of the summary.
Moderators: Before moderating a comment Insightful/Informative, check to see if a child post has already refuted it.
Keep plowing ahead ignoring your customers.
After all, they'll buy what you damn well want them to buy, right? Wrong. GM had piss-poor leadership, management with no vision. They kept making product that no one wanted to buy. The market handled GM alright.
Now, just think if GM had treated every potential customer that entered a dealership as a criminal.
Watch out RIAA/MPAA your industries are next. The market will handle you as well.
They're using their grammar skills there.
"If you try to swim in rough water, the first thing to do is _not_ to chain an iron ball to your ankle."
I doubt the Chinese are interested in building Hummers. However, they are very very interested in owning the intellectual property rights to certain components such as engines and transmissions. Once they are legally in the clear and have a good design, they will be able to build and sell a car for the US market.
Disclosure - I live in China.
Quibble: it was the UK, not England
Outside the UK, mostly everyone calls the UK, England.
Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales might as well not exist.
Deleted