QOTD: Back From the Dead?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Steph brought us news on Friday about Hummer’s imminent return. In an about-face from the gas-guzzling image it cultivated fifteen years ago, earning it scorn and ridicule from the wheat-n-grain types, the name is going to be appended to an electric pickup.

Sure, it isn’t going to be a standalone brand, instead as part of the GMC fold and perhaps even as “Hummer by GMC”. The latter spawns images of “Chrysler TC by Maserati”, but nevertheless. Our question for you today is this: which of GM’s purged brands would you bring back, should RenCen suddenly hand you the levers of power?

Certainly, there had to be some wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth in certain corner offices at GM in the SUV-heavy decade that followed the binning of Hummer during the company’s stroll through bankruptcy. Can you imagine the profit center that a fleet of H2, H3, H3T, and the inevitable H4 would have created? They even had alphanumeric names before Johann showed up at Cadillac. The mind reels.

Attentive readers will likely predict my vote for Pontiac, a brand for those who wanted to be brash on a budget. It’s always dangerous to look at the ’90s through rose-colored glasses, but I dare you to look at this Grand Prix and tell me it’s not an attractive car, build quality be damned.

Now we know Hummer’s on the way back to America’s highways, what’s your pick from the dustbin of GM history?

[images: GM, Car Brochures]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Railroadjim Railroadjim on Jan 15, 2020

    I would definitely have to go with Pontiac as being a performance sub-brand, similar to what Bob Lutz had in mind with the entire brand. Seeing the aftermarket versions of the Trans-Am really make me wish that GM would do their own version. Then again, I am a Trans-Am and G8 owner, so I'm a bit biased....

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jan 15, 2020

    "Just make Chevy cars and truck so good and offer higher trims/luxury/performance, if not quality, that buyers won’t be as repelled by “Chevrolet” or the Bowtie, and or feel a vomit coming on at the thought." "Also tone down the damn Bowtie. You don’t need to see if from 50 car lengths, especially at the front. Two inches across would suffice, we know who makes it." Denver Mike I couldn't have said it better. GM in the past has made great vehicles that have become legends. Once a brand makes bad products it is much harder to get a reputation back. Bringing back old names such as Blazer, Malibu, Hummer, and etc. is not going to get customers back or grow the brand if the product is sub-par. The same thing goes for Ford and FCA.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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