Chinese Company Preparing to Buy Hummer

Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company has confirmed that it is the party in talks with GM to buy the Hummer brand. GM and Tengzhong have said the deal will keep in business the Hummer plant in Louisiana that makes the H3 and H3T, as well as an American dealer network and even the Hummer headquarters and operations.

We foresee a Chinese sale looming over the brand's image stateside, however, with a negative connotation among American buyers. There is no connection between GM's Hummer brand and the military Humvee vehicles built by AM General in Indiana.

It has been widely held that any company buying Hummer would not concentrate solely on the struggling American SUV market and instead focus on expanding into the Middle East, Asia and Russia. Currently, GM doesn't sell the Hummer brand in China, though it does sell Cadillacs and Buicks there.

The new owners have stressed the importance of growing the brand in China, where a growing upper-middle class is fueling a boom in car sales. This year, China could overtake the U.S. as the largest new-car market in the world.

What do you think? Does the nationality of the buyer matter in regard to a Hummer sale? Would it weigh on your decision to buy one?

Hummer Sale Pending: H3 to Continue

This morning, GM announced it had a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer brand and keep nearly 3,000 U.S. jobs in place, including at the dealership level. The buyer and the sale price weren’t disclosed, but GM did say it would work as a contract partner during the transition, as we've previously reported.

They also confirmed that the Hummer H3 and H3 SUT would continue production during this transitional period.

While Hummer has lost its luster in the U.S., GM stressed that the sale would expand the brand's global reach.

No New Saturns or Hummers after 2009

During GM’s announcement today that Pontiac would no longer exist after 2010, the company also said it would stop producing new Saturns after the 2009 model year and Hummers by the end of 2009.

Previously, GM had said it would build Saturn through 2011. The 2009 model year is currently being sold; GM generally switches over to the new model year during the summer. This means no new Saturns — and likely no new Hummers — will roll off assembly lines after this summer.

While the end of Pontiac may be seen as a sad day to automotive buffs, the same can’t be said for Saturn and Hummer. The two brands don’t have the cachet or fanbase of the 83-year-old Pontiac. However, this accelerated timeline caught the industry off guard.

If you’re thinking of buying a car or SUV from either brand, spokesmen from both companies say that they will be fully backed by GM’s warranty until either brand is sold. That same warranty is also backed by the U.S. government for any GM vehicle sold through May 31.

Both Saturn and Hummer are in the process of being sold to new owners. There are a number of scenarios for each brand, which we detail below.

GM Red Tag Sale: Cadillac, Hummer, Saab Deals

Our coverage of GM’s Red Tag Sale rolls on, and this time we’re taking a look at available deals on Cadillac, Saab and Hummer models for 2008 and 2009. Given the pricey nature of most of these vehicles, the percent-off calculations are slightly less impressive than, say, Chevrolet’s might be, but the cash back and Red Tag prices team to provide some interesting deals.

For example, the 2009 STS V6 1SC saves $5,719 off its original MSRP of $55,325. The 2008 Escalade SUV 2WD drops $10,183 off its original MSRP of $56,890, among others.

Saab and HUMMER have their fair share of deals as well. A 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero Sport sedan drops from $35,960 to $30,145 after the Red Tag sale and cash back, while the 2008 9-5 Aero Sport sedan drops all the way to $32,719 from $39,480. Most of the Hummer deals are what you’d expect — huge rebates and cash back on the company’s slow-selling models. There is one interesting outlier, though: The brand-new 2009 H3T has $1,500 cash back; with the Red Tag sale, it drops from $31,495 to $28,188.

A larger list of vehicle deals is below. As always, be sure to double-check your zip code on GM’s site to make sure deals apply in your area.

Hummer Employee Pricing: Get an H3 for CR-V Prices

GM’s Employee Pricing sale, which runs today through Sept. 2, includes some pretty good deals, but none of the rest will likely hold a candle to how much is being chopped off the price of a new 2008 Hummer. The once wildly popular H3 is now selling for bargain-basement prices. While its MSRP of $31,340 is right in line with competition from Ford and Nissan, it can now be had for more than $9,000 less than that, thanks to the employee pricing discount and $6,000 cash back. The new price of $22,278 is less than a Honda CR-V EX, which rings in at $23,620.

What if you’re looking for Hummer’s big SUV, the H2? The starting MSRP of $58,325 for either the SUV or SUT drops nearly $6,000 with the employee price, and there’s another $7,000 in cash back, bringing your total to $45,445. 

All prices include destination. For availability of the deals in your area, make sure to check GM’s Summersale website, though we’ve had problems using it all morning. We’ll have more updates on the rest of GM’s employee pricing deals throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Hummer Prices New H3T Truck

Not even a year ago, people were clamoring for a pickup truck version of Hummer’s smallest SUV to date, the H3. Now Hummer as a brand has a cloudy future as GM considers unloading it and its plummeting sales, which are down 40% so far this year with no sign of recovery. With that as the backdrop, we give you the starting price for the all-new 2009 Hummer H3T pickup: $30,750, not including $745 in destination charges. That’s almost $2,000 less than the starting price of the Hummer H3 SUV, which is currently enjoying a blockbuster $7,000 incentive.

Mileage figures aren’t official yet for the H3T, but we assume they’d be similar to the SUV’s 14/18 mpg city/highway. The H3T and Toyota Tacoma with a V-6 engine get roughly the same power, but the Tacoma gets roughly 3 mpg better fuel economy. The H3, however, has more offroad chops. The H3T Alpha with a V-8 engine is estimated at 13/16 mpg. Who thought we’d ever be talking fuel-efficiency and Hummer, but here we are.

The H3T comes out this September, assuming Hummer dealers’ doors are still open then.

$7,000 Cash Back on 2008 Hummer H3

If you want a new SUV, this is the best time we’ve ever witnessed to get a good deal. Automakers are offering huge discounts on most SUVs, and Hummer is no exception. Through June 30, buyers can get $7,000 cash back on a 2008 H3. Even if you finance it at 7% for 72 months, the total cost will be less than using GM’s new 0% financing offer we talked about earlier this week.

The H3 starts at $30,995 with a manual transmission and gets a combined 15 mpg. All-wheel drive is standard. Take that $7,000 cash back and you’re looking at $23,995. That’s less than all-wheel-drive versions of the Chevy Equinox, Dodge Journey, V-6 Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-7, Saturn Vue, Toyota FJ Cruiser, V-6 Toyota RAV4 and a few others. Many of those models may have their own rebates, of course, but seeing the H3 fall this far after a triumphant debut on the market a few years ago says a lot about the current state of the auto market.

Current Hummer owners are eligible for an additional $1,000 back, and qualifying owners of competing models are eligible for $500 in conquest cash on top of the $7,000. 

GM Puts $ 7,000+ Cash on the Hood of a $31,340 H3 (GM Inside News)
More Incentives News (KickingTires)

Video: 2009 Hummer H3T

Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays got to check out the all-new 2009 Hummer H3T pickup ahead of this year’s Chicago Auto Show, and in this video he gives us a tour of Hummer’s new truck. There are even a few shots of it driving through snow and ice in the wilderness. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to drive it — at least, not yet — through snowy Chicago streets, which would have been a real test of its offroad chops.

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Up Close: 2009 Hummer H3T

Hummer invited journalists today to check out the H3T before it’s officially introduced at the Chicago Auto Show. If assertive styling and offroad capability trump some of the more utilitarian aspects of owning a pickup for you, you might want to check it out.

The truck looks more impressive in person than it did in press photos. The doors cover the entire side of the crew cab — there’s no framing around them — and the roof has raised rails that run all the way between the cab and the bed. Most pickups leave an unsightly gap between the two. The H3T’s extended length nominally compromises its approach and departure angles — meaning your bumpers might take a few more hits negotiating that backwoods gulley — but Hummer assures us it will handle the same grueling trails as its H3 bedfellow.

2008 Chicago Auto Show: 2009 Hummer H3T

• Competes with: Chevy Avalanche, Honda Ridgeline
• Looks like: A Hummer truck
• Drivetrain: 242-hp, 3.7-liter five-cylinder with five-speed manual or automatic or 300-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 with four-speed automatic
• Hits dealerships: Late 2008

Hummer went out and did it — it’s made a pickup version of the H3 SUV. The truck you see here will go on sale this year and test the waters to see if there’s still a healthy market for Hummers.

When the H3 debuted it saw healthy sales, but they’ve stalled lately as gas prices have risen. We wonder if the H3T will add a spark or fall flat.

As a product, the H3T is pretty interesting. It’s a tad longer than the SUV to accommodate its five-foot bed, so it’s positioned above midsize trucks but below full-sizes. Hummer hopes its offroad capability will help sell it, with standard full-time four-wheel drive and 32-inch tires. Front and rear locking differentials and 33-inch tires will be optional.

The rear seats fold flat to create a level surface, but we prefer truck seats that fold up, exposing a flat floor. The bed itself has a standard bedliner, a rail system and built-in storage compartments.

The H3T Alpha will top the range with a 300-hp V-8 engine, while the base model gets the 242-hp five-cylinder in the current range. There are more photos of the Alpha version below. Let us know in the comments if you think this is a winner or not.