The Auto Writer

Hummers Will Be Built In The US

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.

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