Hummer Guy Hummer News and Opinion from an experienced off-road instructor
In a press conference Friday, General Motors’ COO Fritz Henderson announced that more information on the HUMMER brand would be coming sometime in the first quarter of 2009.
Henderson said that talks continue with “interested parties,” and that early next year GM will know “if there is a deal here or if we need to go down a different path.” Though GM has not disclosed any of the interested parties, there have been rumors about interested companies and individuals all over the world:
India: Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata
Russia: Oleg Deripaska of Russian Machines
Middle East: Two Gulf Arab Investors
China & United States: Changfeng Motors with AM General
If you’ve been keeping up, everyone besides the Gulf Arab Investors have denied any interest in purchasing the HUMMER brand, and they weren’t even identified by name. AM General’s denial was the most recent.
Some say that the right time to make a purchase from General Motors will be in a couple months rather than right now. After receiving $13 billion in government loans, GM says it’s accelerating their restructuring plan. The increased pressure on GM could drive down the price of the HUMMER brand as their three month transformation deadline draws nearer. This could work in the favor of potential buyers, since no company out there needs the HUMMER brand to survive, but GM needs the boost in liquidity and brand reduction to make good with the U.S. Government.
The only semi-viable option on the table is the ChangFeng / AM General. To sell an american iconic brand to the russians / middle east / india / China solo is a disgraceful act by GM. I sure as hell won’t buy GM ever again in my lifetime if it’s sold to one of these entities, and i’m still in my 20s.