Senator Investigating The Death Of HUMMER

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

HUMMER fans have a new champion in Illinois Senator Roland Burris, who has agreed to investigate GM’s shutdown of the SUV brand according to Hummerguy.net. Attempts to keep the HUMMER brand alive are being fielded by Capital & Labor International Coalition, a recently-founded fund management firm created by Thane Ritchie, founder of Ritchie Capital Management, as well as failed HUMMER bidder Raser Technologies and The Electric Motor Corporation. According to Hummerguy,

CLIC is hoping for an “acquisition by coalition,” which would involve cooperation with private capital and U.A.W. resources. Union representatives from both HUMMER production facilities were on hand to hear the plan and are running the idea up the chain of command to the International U.A.W..

Raser’s plan comes down to a single, laughable idea: that HUMMER can survive by selling extended-range electric versions of its H3, according to Fox News. The firm claims an EREV H3 could achieve 32 MPG on the highway, using “proven technology.” The long-rumored H5 compact off-roader also figures into the firm’s plans.

If recent history tells us anything, the combination of eco-friendly vaporware, union backing and a friendly Senator can be enough to make even as bad an idea as this one become reality. We’ll be watching this with interest…

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Toasty Toasty on Apr 14, 2010

    A gem from the cited FoxNews article: "GM says it will shut down the brand, rather than sell to Raser.GM did not respond to The Car Connection's request for more information, but last week it suggested to The Atlantic that it had concerns over Raser's ability to service warranty claims. No specifics on how Tengzhong, which has no experience in the American car market, would do the same, have been offered." Does anyone really believe an inability to service warranty claims is the sticking point with GM? If ever there was a time for a GM fire sale, this is it. I'd like to know what's really gumming up the works, because HUMMER needs to get out of my pocket.

    • See 3 previous
    • Rudiger Rudiger on Apr 14, 2010

      The only thing I can figure is that because Hummer is such a high-profit, low-volume niche brand (unlike, say, Saturn and Pontiac, which are low-profit, high-volume brands), GM figures they've still got a shot at retrieving the brand at a later date. They must still think the huge drop in inefficient SUV sales is cyclical and will eventually return to the point where crap like the Hummer will sell like gangbusters again. So it's worth it to them to keep on trying to find some schmucks to keep it alive until such time as GM can pick over the bones and re-purchase the brand for a song.

  • Runfromcheney Runfromcheney on Apr 14, 2010

    For god sakes, just let this useless brand die already! HUMMER is everything that is wrong with America and what was wrong with GM condensed into a four-wheeled transportation device. I WANT IT GONE ALREADY!!

  • Ian Williams Ian Williams on Apr 14, 2010

    He's Dead Jim.

  • GarbageMotorsCo. GarbageMotorsCo. on Apr 15, 2010

    Please just let it be. Please. The joke is over (thankfully) so there is no reason to drum up reasons to save it. Please, just let Hummer die and its band of compensating jackholes find another pointless schoolbus in the Government Motors stable to accessorize for urban warfare. The joke has played out.

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