Arabian Investors Express Interest in HUMMER
Why doesn't GM just go ahead and admit they're selling HUMMER? In spite of accusations of media "speculation" and assertions they "have not negotiated with any parties" by HUMMER GM Martin Walsh, GM just keeps moving steadily towards the auction block. In a phone interview, General Motors Middle East Managing Director Terry Johnson told Reuters: "There has been interest from various parties within the Gulf … there is a precedent in the cases of Aston Martin, Ferrari or Daimler and those kinds of solutions could be very realistic solutions." GM is getting their paperwork ducks in a row and "has initial expressions of interest from [two] potential buyers that it hopes to develop into formal sale talks." However, in keeping with the corporate party line, Johnson also stated that keeping HUMMER humming is still "a realistic option" and selling was not a "forgone conclusion." The sun rising tomorrow isn't a "foregone conclusion" either, but the smart money is still on it happening.
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From what I have seen in the media, with their govenment subsidized gasoline prices and high percapita incomes, Arabs in the "stable" middle east (UAE, Kuait, et. al.) are big HUMMER fans as it is. I think it would be better for GM and the USA if we cut off the supply of all gas guzzlers to the middle east so that they use less oil and have more to put on the world market. Putting more HUMMERS in the driveways residents of oil producing countries seems counter productive. With money flying out the door daily, GM would never consider something so long range and macro economic like that though.
npbheights, Kuwait has about 2.6 million people. The nation is about the size of some of West Texas' larger counties. It has a staggering 101 billion barrels of oil reserves. The US is over 500 times larger than Kuwait and only has less than a quarter of its oil reserves. Current production is 2.7 million barrels per day, most of that is exported. If GM should let the free market send some unsold H2's to Kuwait and other such nations, I doubt that they would be significantly stifling the global supply of oil. All figures are sourced from the CIA World Factbook
I thought this article was about GM selling the entire HUMMER division to Arab investors, not just not some unsold 2008 H2's that are laying around. The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates consume as much energy as China and they export little, unlike China who makes just about everthing we buy in America. The middle east as a whole (including the oppressive countries there) have increased their oil consumption by about 6% a year, every year since 2004. Enabling them to use more does not seem in the best interest of stable oil prices. Selling the HUMMER division for a couple of hundred million bucks may be good for GM today, but if it encourages another society to fall in love with gas guzzlers, (that someone else will profit from) and use more even oil, it can't be good for them in the long run... It's just a thought
"Why doesn't GM just go ahead and admit they're selling HUMMER?" Sarbox?