Parts Bin

It seems that GM has some spare parts for these two brands lying around, enough on hand to continue producing the Saturn Outlook and Hummer H3, at least for a bit longer. Turns out that GM also had some customer orders to fill and, by golly, they also have the parts available to restart production.

According to Automobile magazine, GM ceased Saturn production in October 2009 when its plan to sell the brand to the Penske Automotive Group fell apart.  In February, GM resumed production of its Outlook crossover, cranking out 1037 units to use up excess parts.

The Saturn Outlook sits on the Lambda platform, the same one powering the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. However, certain parts–most likely fascia and other exterior treatments–are unique to the vehicle which means GM wants to put these parts to good use. Thus the build order.

Hummer Order

Hummer production is slated to resume on April 12 and will fill an order of 847 H3s placed by a commercial customer. Once that production has been completed on May 13, Hummer will most likely cease production forever, the brand disbanded.

Then again, if Hummer is able to pull a “Saab” and find a last minute buyer, production may resume again down the line.  Don’t hold your breath though–Hummer is the toughest sell of all, a brand that would have likely been doomed sooner or later.

Gas prices are going up and the Hummer is too big and too thirsty. No hybrid model was in the wings either, making the prospects of Hummer mattering long term virtually nil.

Now if we can get someone in Australia to crank out a few more Pontiac G8s….

Hummer....back from the undead?!

I enjoy following the follies and foibles of General Motors. If there is a corporation given to unabashed drama that would be GM. Even when the automaker was hemorrhaging at a clip of a billion dollars every three weeks in 2008, GM was spending millions on advertisers and wooing social media pros as if they had cash to spare and burn.

Cash2Burn

And burn cash they did! By the time the Obama administration took office GM was theoretically bankrupt, holding on to the promise of additional government assistance down the road. When that time came, the US and Canadian governments, province of Ontario, and taxpayers north and south of the US-Canadian border pitched in with some $50 billion in fresh money.

Like it or not, some 344 million North Americans now had a stake in what was once the largest automaker in the world.

I’m not going to completely recap the past year, but it has been fun to watch and speculate how things might unfold for the new GM. Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Chevrolet are now the four core (North American) brands while Pontiac and Saturn are toast. Saab has been sold while Hummer, likely dead, may actually be undead.

un-R.I.P. Saab

Saab’s death was prematurely announced when Koenigsegg decided that it didn’t want to have anything to do with its Swedish brother. Dutch exotic car builder Spyker made a play for Saab, but that deal collapsed and died before it was eventually revived, finalized and completed earlier this week.

We learned on Wednesday that GM’s plan to sell Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Company of China collapsed with The New York Times reporting that the $150 million deal “cannot be completed.” No other reason was given although speculation has it that the government of China was none to keen on Tengzhong buying Hummer. A maker of heavy equipment, the Chinese company has no experience with cars.

Vauxhalling Opel

Opel’s story is a bit different as that brand was never dead. But it was as good as gone to GM at least in the eyes of European regulators and the companies bidding for the brand. The moment GM management realized that the entire corporation wasn’t going to die in bankruptcy reorganization, Opel (and Vauxhall) were yanked from the bidding floor and put squarely back in the middle of GM’s plans.

Angela Merkel, European unions and certain bidders from Canada and Russia were torqued.

Zombie Edification

Naturally, I was amused when I heard yesterday that GM was revisiting Hummer, promising to take a look at two previous offers for the brand. Like Saab which was pulled from the junkyard heap and sold to Spyker, me thinks that a similar fate awaits Hummer.

That isn’t good news for a certain group of greenies who think that the back of resistance to the notion of climate change has been broken with Hummer’s demise. Little do they know that someone, somewhere is planning to strike back by taking their hulking, creaking H2 and running it straight over their diminutive fortwo.

I can’t wait to see how this one shakes out. There has got to be a buyer somewhere for Hummer!

Photo Credit: Takis Kolokotronis

Dubbed the Hummer HX, this concept vehicle was introduced at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient than any Hummer to date, the HX just may represent the direction that Hummer's new Chinese owners will take the brand.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. (say that three times) or Tengzhong, a private Chinese industrial business, apparently has agreed to purchase the Hummer brand from General Motors. The deal, if concluded as expected, would give GM about $500 million and keep the brand alive. The move would also save about three thousand manufacturing and dealership jobs in the US although going forward the brand will need some fuel efficient models in order to survive long term.

For Sale Since June 2008

GM first offered Hummer for sale in June 2008 as it became apparent that the automaker could no longer support the brand nor did it want Hummer’s bulky image to define the automaker. During the 1990s, GM overextended itself by building more sport/utility vehicles and trucks than cars, a move that would later come back to bite them.

When the markets suddenly switched in early 2008 as gas prices surged upwards, GM was top heavy in big vehicles  and lacking the fuel efficient models customers wanted. Critics have long cited the Hummer as representing all that was bad about GM.

Overview of the Hummer HX

The Hummer HX is an interesting concept vehicle and could, along with the H3, define the direction of the brand for the foreseeable future. The concept was designed to operate with a V-6 engine and is geared toward younger drivers who could snap on parts to customize their ride.

Shortly after the concept’s introduction, I interviewed David Rojas the lead designer for a team of three young people who developed the concept; no word yet what their role will be in the company, if any.

While Tengzhong will get the rights to the Hummer name, two factories in the US and everything related to the brand, the military version of the brand — Humvee — will still be under the control of AM General, the company who sold the rights to Hummer to GM in 1998. AM General continued to build the H1 for General Motors, but subsequent models including the H2, H3, H2SUT and H3T were designed and built by General Motors.

Photo Credit: GM Corp.

See Also — OnStar, GM Press Conference, & Exec Interviews

At the same time, the industry is going through a deep cleansing, one that will rid it of excess capacity, inefficient operations and see several brands disappear. I believe that Ford will replace GM as the largest producer of cars in the US followed by Toyota. Hyundai and Kia will continue to gain market share while Chrysler’s future is hinged on its relationship with Fiat, a very precarious one at that.

GM Faces A Deep Challenge

Looking closer at General Motors, I now see its US operations pared to the point where only three brands will survive. Despite President Obama’s optimism, it’ll take years to settle GM’s debt as both bondholders and union members hold firm. Now that the president has signaled that he won’t let GM die, what do these parties have to lose? A lot if they don’t hold their ground.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In keeping with the tradition of Sergio Leone, I offer to you the following categories to define GM’s future, particularly as it relates to its critical North American base:

The Good — Chevrolet comprises a full 60% of GM sales, therefore the Chevy brand is the face of the new GM. If this brand isn’t healthy enough to compete against Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen then the company will die.

Cadillac is the premium bookend for GM, a luxury division that needs additional assets. The CTS franchise is a success, the SRX a worthy model, but the replacement for the STS/DTS is a mystery. As for the Escalade, it will probably soldier on as a car based crossover at some point. Lincoln wasn’t much of a threat for the past decade, but now Ford’s luxury division is fighting back, positioning itself to leapfrog Cadillac.

The lifespan of Buick depends on how well the company emerges from restructuring, bankruptcy or not. Its Chinese base is upholding the brand, but in order to be a good middleground brand for GM, it needs some product loving. And quick.

The Bad — The Pontiac G8 is a knock out car, but not enough to keep the brand alive.  Cash strapped GM cannot afford to keep Pontiac alive, so may it rest in peace. The G8 could find its way over to Chevrolet…let’s hope so!

The GMC brand can now die, allowing GM to consolidate Chevrolet trucks with GMC. They’ll be a big battle with Buick-Pontiac-GMC franchised dealers, with some likely to gain a Chevy Trucks franchise in their settlement.

The Ugly — No longer relevant and a big embarrassment, Hummer will probably cease to exist unless a foreign, niche manufacturer buys the brand, its dies and assembles Hummer elsewhere.

There isn’t much that can be said about Saab unless the pending new owner of Volvo makes a pitch for the brand to create Scandinavian Motors. Nope, I don’t see that happening at all.

Pity, poor Saturn — it was once a decent idea that should have been dismissed long before a plant in Spring Hill, TN was built for “a different kind of car company.” Okay, I’m biased: I leased a 2001 Saturn L-Series and actually liked the car, body panel gaps and all.  But, Saturn held Chevrolet back and was always a tremendous financial drain on the automaker. I would hate to see it become a supply house for a Chinese or Indian automaker. Peugeot? Maybe.

Ups & Downs With GM

Life at GM will never be the same, a company whose heritage is a mixture of lousy production methods (pre-1980s), cool technology (OnStar) and stiff competition (Toyota, et al).

If the company does survive, it may eventually have to hook up with another automaker to stay in business. Perhaps Carlos Ghosn would be interested in an automotive troika provided that GM comes to the party without financial baggage.

Related Reading –Brain Drain: GM Whacks Engineers

Chrysler will be meeting with Canadian Auto Worker representatives to hash out a revised labor agreement. Will the CAW relent? If not, will Chrysler shut down its Canadian operations completely?

Chrysler Has Little To Lose In Union Negotiations

If you think that the United Auto Workers can be a tough force to reckon with, then you aren’t all that familiar with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

The CAW typically takes a hard line when negotiating with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, insisting on all the perks received by their American brethren and then some. Indeed, the CAW was at one time part of the UAW but split over pay, healthcare and other benefits.

GM Strikes A Deal With The CAW

General Motors recently came to terms with the CAW in a bid to win concessions from its Canadian workforce.  That deal, which received 87% approval from rank and file members, freezes pay for several years. However, it is contingent on GM receiving provincial (Ontario) and federal bridge loans to help keep GM in business.

As part of its own restructuring effort, Chrysler will be holding negotiations with the CAW too. In advance of their discussions, Chrysler says that the deal GM set up with the Canadian union doesn’t go far enough. In fact, if Chrysler isn’t able to get what they want, they’ll consider shutting down Canadian production. Permanently.

Chrysler Looks Beyond Canada For Help

With very little to lose — America’s number three automaker will most certainly R.I.P. if it cannot gain federal support for its proposed alliance with Fiat — Chrysler could make good on shutting down its Canadian factories.

Chrysler has asked Canada for US$2.3 billion in loans  and wants to close the labor cost gap with Toyota and Honda. Chrysler says that its Canadian workforce carries a $20/hour premium over comparable Canadian workers at Toyota and Honda plants and is looking for concessions that will shrink that difference.

In a talk before a committee of the Canadian House of Commons, Chrysler LLC president Tom Lasorda said that the company, “…cannot afford to manufacture products in a jurisdiction that is uncompetitive, relative to other jurisdictions. Currently Chrysler CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) are not competitive.”

Chrysler Canada is headquartered in Windsor, directly across from Detroit in Ontario. One assembly plant is located in that city and builds the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan and Volkswagen Routan minivans.  A second plant is Brampton which is tasked with building the Dodge Challenger and Charger, and all Chrysler 300 models. A third plant, Etobicoke, is scheduled to be closed in 2011 and for die casting of engine and transmission parts.

Edgy and sporty, the HX alone could set the tone for a new Hummer, one featuring smaller but still very capable off-road vehicles that might appeal to a whole new generation of Hummer fans.

Well, as we all know gasoline prices have just about sunk Hummer with July sales down by almost 62% over July 2007. Clearly lacking a single model even remotely fuel efficient, Hummer seems like a throw back to the big barges of the 1960s and 1970s. GM knows this and has put the company up for sale.

When GM first hinted a few months ago that Hummer might be sold, many wondered just who would buy the brand and why. Overseas, Hummer has sold rather well as it is just the type of vehicle some people need for where roads are virtually non-existent or where vast stretches of open land beckon. A Jeep or Land Rover might do, but then nothing matches the Hummer’s high road (or trail) clearance, an advantage that serves some buyers just right. Truly, the brand’s “like nothing else” motto is appropriate especially for what Hummer can do off-road.

Until recently, GM has been mum on who might purchase Hummer if a buyer could be found in the first place. With sales way down and gas prices likely to stay high, the brand’s long term appeal would seem minimal especially in America. But, we now know that there has been some interest expressed by a pair of Gulf Arab investors, the names of whom GM isn’t revealing. Hummer is considered to be a status symbol in some countries and is remembered as the close cousin of the Humvee, the star of the first Gulf War.

Besides its status appeal, Hummer could thrive in places where gas prices are low as it is in some Arabic nations. Then again, with billions of oil money to burn, Hummer might survive to serve those for whom gas prices aren’t a concern.

Will people miss Hummer? Some might, but I see the brand as an experiment that lost its appeal when gas prices surged. I doubt that GM will fetch anywhere near a decent offer for the brand, but simply unloading Hummer for a rock bottom price is a lot cheaper than buying out dealers as the company learned with Oldsmobile.

One-Stop Luxury Superstores

More than a decade ago, the general began to consolidate Buick, GMC, and Pontiac dealerships under one roof and a plan is in place to do the same with Cadillac, Saab and Hummer. These one-stop luxury superstores will be the the way that the top-tier brands will be retailed in the US, with GM helping dealers buy the other brands that they may not be currently selling in order to have everything under one roof.

One problem with the new arrangement is that there are 1400 Cadillac dealerships across the US, 238 dealers selling Saabs, and just 170 selling Hummers.

No Dealers Being Forced To Close

GM isn’t forcing any dealers out of business, but they are helping with some of the financing which can bring about consolidation. Some analysts question the move to sell three very different brands together as the only thing that they have in common is price. Getting three very different groups of people into one expanded showroom could be a bit of a challenge.

Chevrolet, Saturn Go It Alone

GM will continue to let Saturn and Chevrolet operate as stand alone dealerships as it works to help Buick-GMC-Pontiac and now Cadillac-Saab-Hummer dealerships consolidate.

Further Reading

Automakers pushing to consolidate dealerships

Dealership Overload

(Source: Motor Trend)

Clinton Portis, Denver Bronco, struts his stuff alongside the HUMMER H2 SUT at the General Motors Denver Date Drive which paired Denver's hottest singles with GM's coolest cars to raise more than $47,775 for charities.

History of Hummer
By William Berg

All the Hummer cars originate from a military vehicle – the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). Since HMMWV is quite of a hassle to pronounce, the soldiers began to call their vehicles Humvee’s. When AM General began to produce similar cars for the civilian market, they used the name Hummer. Today, Hummer is a protected name owned by General Motors. AM General sold the name to General Motors in 1999, but continued to manufacture the Hummer, while General Motors became responsible for selling the vehicles on the market.

The military M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles were developed to replace jeeps and lighter trucks. As early as the 1970s, the jeeps and lighter trucks had begun to show signs of inadequacy during military missions in rough terrain and a new and improved type of vehicle was much sought after. In 1979, the U.S. Military lay out the requirements for a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, and in 1980 the first prototype was finished. The prototype was called M998 and had been produced by AM General. The U.S. Military liked the prototype and AM General begun to produce a series of different High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle prototypes. Eventually, the U.S. Military ordered 55,000 HMMWV’s from AM General. Today, you will find more than 15 different types of Humvees in the United States armed forces. They are used a cargo carriers, troop carriers, ambulances, automatic weapons platforms, missile carriers, surface-to-air missile platforms and much more. Fording 0.762 meters is possible with a standard Humvee, and with a deep-water fording kit you can ford up to 1.5 meters.

The first civilian High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, the Hummer, entered the market in 1991 and soon grew immensely popular. It was initially promoted by a race in 1990 where two Hummers traversed the rough terrain between London, UK and Beijing, China. A majority of the trip took place on the coarse roads of central Soviet Union. The drive was broadcasted in the United States, and the Hummer received a lot of publicity before even being launched. One of the first civilian owners of a Hummer was Arnold Schwarzenegger, which naturally also gave the vehicle additional publicity. What made the Humvee’s really famous was however the 1991 Operation: Desert Storm in the Middle East. During this war, soldiers driving the various Humvee’s were frequently seen on the news in America.

In 2003, the Hummer H2 – a smaller version of the Hummer H1 – entered the market. Even though it is not as big as a Hummer H1, it still has room for five passengers. It is considered a capable multipurpose vehicle and the Hummer H2 is used in large cities as well as in off-road conditions. The Hummer H2 Sport Utility Truck (SUT) is a pick-up truck variety of the standard Hummer H2. In 2005, the next Hummer was released. The Hummer H3 is even smaller than the Hummer H2 and marketed as a midsized SUV. It weighs no more than 8500 lb. Hummers are also available in limousine versions. The Hummer limousine is a popular party vehicle since it can comfortably fit a large group of people and has an exclusive interior.

2008 Hummer H3 Alpha

Read more about Hummer limousine or the latest Hummer model is the family friendly Hummer 3.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Berg

Photos Copyright GM Corp.