Hummer brand sold to Indian company

So Hummer has been sold to a company in India.  It''s not tata, but another big company, I''m pretty sure it''s Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)

Anouncement comming soon.

So the 2 Indian companies can compete with each-other,..Hummer v.s. LandRover.

They''ve only said they''re ''mildly interested'' and haven''t even had serious talks.  Huge companies don''t buy huge companies overnight...here''s the latest on M&M and HUMMER:
 
http://www.hummerguy.net/hummer-news/india%e2%80%99s-mahindra-and-mahindra-possibly-interested-in-hummer
 
"In a somewhat confusing statement, Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra has expressed ‘mild interest’ in talking with General Motors about acquiring the HUMMER division. In the same statement, a spokesperson also added that the idea probably ‘doesn’t make any sense for us.’ Maybe I’m examining English semantics coming from an Indian company too closely, but if an idea doesn’t make any sense, why would there be any interest? We’ll take the two contradicting quotes to mean the company is interested purchasing HUMMER and is trying, albeit poorly, to maintain some bargaining leverage."

I live in Detroit though,..and was talking to some GM insiders this morning at a local car show.  The deal is recent.

Saw a new Caddy CTS-V there.  Very hot.  1/4 mile in 11.5 sec with the manual, and 11.6 with the auto.  Top speed so far is 198,..although another friend that works at the GM proving grounds says they may tweak it up to hit the majic 200 mark.

Love the CTS-V brakes.  Here''''s a pic of the fronts from this morning.  Car comes out in November.

quote:

ORIGINAL: duckstu

So Hummer has been sold to a company in India.  It''''s not tata, but another big company, I''''m pretty sure it''''s Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)

Anouncement comming soon.

So the 2 Indian companies can compete with each-other,..Hummer v.s. LandRover.

 
I hope you don''t mind me adding my 2 cents to this, only because I know more from having more contact with Mahindra. I know that they are very big in Asia. I know they specialize in diesel powered off road equipment. I also know that none of thier equipment is on a level playing field with Hummer. If Mahindra is buying Hummer just so that they can take the Mahindra label off of thier trucks and put a Hummer label on it and it will sell more, they''re crazy. Even the most insane person is going to believe that. The Mahindra truck looks like a throwback to the 70''s and definitely lacks the predator style of the Hummer. In fact nothing in the world has that style, except Hummer. If someone were to buy the brand, they would be buying it for that alone. Setting themselves in thier own brand.
 
This is as much as I know. Mahindra is trying to bring a line of diesel powered pickups to the US market. From what I understand, they are supposed to be pretty decent offroad and capable, but from what I understand the quality is seriously seriously lacking, like parts falling off the body while driving badly.
 
I know that Mahindra trucks are supposed to be biodiesel ready and even hybrids with 30-40mpg ratings. I have no idea of thier performance, but being a diesel, I can''t imagine it''s going to be a clock stopper. I would also imagine that an H3 with a lawnmower engine would probably out climb, out mud, and out dirt the baddest Mahindra truck out there.
 
The thing I understand is this. Mahindra is having a very very hard time breaking into the US auto market. The idea is that if they buy into an existing brand and tap into a dealer network already in place they can sell thier vehicle side by side with other name brands. That''s why Tata bought Land Rover and Jaguar, for the dealers. I know Mahindra floated last year selling thier trucks at thier tractor dealerships. I can''t imagine many people going to a farm equipment dealer though to buy luxury SUV, but maybe a low cost diesel pickup.
 
All things considered, I am in a race with my money. If Mahindra puts a truck in front of me, I would buy it. I can buy a 7 foot bed, 4 cylinder mitsuibishi turbo diesel for less than $25K. That''s only $5k more than I paid for my Silverado in 2001. I can afford 2 at that price. If GM puts the H3T in front of me first, I will buy that. If they both come on the scene at the same time, then I will try them both out. My guess is the Hummer will blow the doors (probably literally) off the Mahindra. The Mahindra will blow the doors off the Hummer at the gas pump.
 
And just so everyone will know, Mahindra trucks are made in a plant in Ohio, they are not shipped over from India. So it''s a wash to buy a GM vs a Mahindra truck. Mahindra is famous for buying parts from all over the world and assembling them at thier final destination. My Mahindra tractor is made in Japan by Mitsuibishi and assembled in Texas at Mahindra''s US headquarters. All of Mahindra attachments, my front end loader and backhoe are made entirely in the US. That''s how these guys do business.
 
If I could say only one good thing about Mahindra buying Hummer it would that if there were ever a company that could put a turbo charged diesel engine in a H2 and get 30mpg and yet keep the brands offroad heritage, these guys could do it. If on the other hand, Mahindra is buying it so they can slap Hummer labels on everything, then they have underestimated the intellingence of truck buying Americans. They''d better wrap thier Mahindra Hummers in American flags with a lifetime supply of hot dogs and apple pies before people will buy them. That is unless they could care less and only want to sell them to greenies and low income citizens, in which case, the brand is worthless from day 1 of the sale.
 
Personally I don''t know how Hummer could be unravelled from GM. I wish they would stick with it and keep the brand going. Instead of mass marketing, sell and build them like the corvette, less numbers and better quality. That is after all what Hummer is all about and what it''s supposed to be about. I am just peeved that the guys at the top Waggoner spends his time only examining shareholder value instead of the real value of GM products. That to me is the shame. That guy should be fired with extreme prejuidice. Just my 2 cents.
 
 
 

My guess is GM sees the writing on the wall for Hummer.  Sales have fallen off the charts.  Instead of a few a day,...some Hummer dealers are selling a couple a month.  (Sales fell 36% in the first 5 months of this year,..and another 40% just in June,......so now this June is off 59.5% from June of last year).  As gas prices continue to rise,...Hummer has simply become a massive liability.  GM probably figures that it''s time to sell while they can still get something for it.
 
I''d love to see GM keep the H3,...shave 1,000 lbs out of it and install a 4 cyl turbo deisel.  230 hp and 300 ft lbs of torque would be just fine.  30 mpg would be easilly doable.
 
But heavy, antique body-on-frame relics are cheaper to build,...and some people still buy daily drivers based on towing capacity or whatever.  So instead of thriving,...it has to go.

quote:

ORIGINAL: duckstu

My guess is GM sees the writing on the wall for Hummer.  Sales have fallen off the charts.  Instead of a few a day,...some Hummer dealers are selling a couple a month.  (Sales fell 36% in the first 5 months of this year,..and another 40% just in June,......so now this June is off 59.5% from June of last year).  As gas prices continue to rise,...Hummer has simply become a massive liability.  GM probably figures that it''''s time to sell while they can still get something for it.

I''''d love to see GM keep the H3,...shave 1,000 lbs out of it and install a 4 cyl turbo deisel.  230 hp and 300 ft lbs of torque would be just fine.  30 mpg would be easilly doable.

But heavy, antique body-on-frame relics are cheaper to build,...and some people still buy daily drivers based on towing capacity or whatever.  So instead of thriving,...it has to go.

So to continue with your logic GM should also sell off the Chevy brand as well since sales are down on the side too.  Besides who needs a pickup truck the seats four and only gets 10 mpg.?!? 
If GM does sell the Hummer Brand they are going to face a huge lawsuit from every dealer that was forced to build a Hummer Showroom and/or a Hummer Test Track.  Each building costs around $600,000 to $800,000 to build and the test track comes in around another $800,000.

If GM could install a hybrid Hummer, electic, turbo-diesel or hydrodgen powered and all the technology came together right in their lineup, it would be one of the best selling brands. Unfortunately the ideas are way to futuristic for the technology out there. I don''t see GM killing the Hummer brand just yet. There is a large stake here and just selling it wouldn''t make much sense here. They have to see opportunity before soom and gloom.

quote:

ORIGINAL: duckstu

My guess is GM sees the writing on the wall for Hummer.  Sales have fallen off the charts.  Instead of a few a day,...some Hummer dealers are selling a couple a month.  (Sales fell 36% in the first 5 months of this year,..and another 40% just in June,......so now this June is off 59.5% from June of last year).  As gas prices continue to rise,...Hummer has simply become a massive liability.  GM probably figures that it''''s time to sell while they can still get something for it.

I''''d love to see GM keep the H3,...shave 1,000 lbs out of it and install a 4 cyl turbo deisel.  230 hp and 300 ft lbs of torque would be just fine.  30 mpg would be easilly doable.

But heavy, antique body-on-frame relics are cheaper to build,...and some people still buy daily drivers based on towing capacity or whatever.  So instead of thriving,...it has to go.

 
Let''s see the economy is in the toilet. I just read an ad in my local paper that the foreclosure rate has reached a record high. The days of cheap credit are gone. When I went to go buy my Hummer earlier this year I had to prove my income, something I have never had to do before, and I realistically take home more than the guy who owns the dealership. So now we see the era of cheap, easy credit and living on the edge come to an end. Gone will be the days when people with $40K incomes could buy a $80K car with a $500/month lease. In short the market is collapsing to a realistic size. Hummer also became the poster child for the anti-war movement. Everytime CNN played a clip over and over of some humvee blowing up in Iraq, people started pointing fingers.
 
GM is used to building cars for mass consumption. Now they have to rethink this position. It''s not just gas, it''s thier own image, and Hummer alone did not paint it. Now they are out peddling electric cars, something that comes out of the closet every few years and goes absolutely nowhere. Oh well, might as well sell it before the Saudis buy it anyways.
 
 

quote:

ORIGINAL: duckstu

I live in Detroit though,..and was talking to some GM insiders this morning at a local car show.  The deal is recent.

I think they probably are just hearing rumblings...since those folks at a high enough level to know about any kind of done deal probably aren''t being vocal about it with the public at a car show.  But you never know...

Agreed. The guy at the car show would be the last to know.

quote:


This is as much as I know. Mahindra is trying to bring a line of diesel powered pickups to the US market. From what I understand, they are supposed to be pretty decent offroad and capable, but from what I understand the quality is seriously seriously lacking, like parts falling off the body while driving badly

 

Hmmmm, I''m not sure you meant to say it this way.  However, I could be wrong.  I would never use the words "pretty decent" and "parts falling off the body" in the same sentence.

Okay....Lots of writing and I''M LAZY!!!!!
 
Did HUMMER get sold?? Yes/NO???

quote:

ORIGINAL: Trey124
So to continue with your logic GM should also sell off the Chevy brand as well since sales are down on the side too.  Besides who needs a pickup truck the seats four and only gets 10 mpg.?!? 
If GM does sell the Hummer Brand they are going to face a huge lawsuit from every dealer that was forced to build a Hummer Showroom and/or a Hummer Test Track.  Each building costs around $600,000 to $800,000 to build and the test track comes in around another $800,000.

I didn''''t know that Chevy is in the toilet.  Malibu sales are up 72 - 73%% and Cobalt sales are up almost 22%.  What''s not selling are trucks.

And I''d imagine Hummers will continue to be sold at Hummer dealers.  I doubt whoever bought it intends to kill the brand.  And at least for now,..most all Hummers are sold here. My guess is that if it is indeed Mahindra,..they''''ll introduce the H3T and offer a turbo deisel in everything. And quite possibly sell the Mahindra truck in the Hummer dealers in a display over on the side (and sell a ton of them).

A very good friend of mine works for Arvin Meritor (which does brakes, suspension, axles etc for the big 3 and others).  They are working on suspension for some Renaults now (and the 2012 Porsche twin-turbo).  One of the Renaults has a 2.7L turbo deisel in it.  250 hp and 420 ft lbs of torque.  Awsome gas mileage too.  An engine like that is exactly what the H3 needs.

By the way,...the guy at the car show was a designer for GM.  It''s normal here to see prototypes on the street a year before they come out.  I had a G8 in my driveway last year.  It drove very nicely, I was impressed.  It was only the V6 auto version,..but step on it and it smokes ''em for a block.  Based on the new Camaro platform but with 4 doors.

Amen to what NEFirewood said. The H3 needs a 4 banger diesel and needs it BAD. If it takes Mahindra to do it then more power to ''em.

Every time gas prices go up, people panic and all the sudden sales are down, companies are selling their divisions but the bigger issue is not just gas prices, it''s the fact that people just don''t have the money to buy ANY cars these days.  I really hope Hummer does not fade into oblivion.  It would be a damn shame.  They need to work on the drivetrain a bit as some of you stated.  Get rid of the extra bulk, optimize the engine and maybe you''ll be able to save them.
 
If somebody buys Hummer and turns it around somehow, GM will be kicking themselves for a long time saying "Why didn''t WE think of that?"  There are SO many things they could do to make the trucks more efficient, but they aren''t doing them.  I hope they survive, but we won''t know for certain until it comes out of GM''s own mouth.

In the next 90 days GM will sell off either Saab of Saturn.  My source thinks it is more likely to be Saab.

They may as well sell of Saab. They''re done ruining that mark. I used to be a real fan of Saabs; the old 99 & 900, pre-GM models. Oh well.....

quote:

ORIGINAL: duckstu

In the next 90 days GM will sell off either Saab of Saturn.  My source thinks it is more likely to be Saab.

So we''ve gotta wait 90 day to call B.S.?  I hate waiting...

But wait - is this a real sale your source is predicting?  Or will it be another ''secret'' sale like the ''done deal'' Hummer sale you''ve already claimed...

The sale of Saturn and/or Saab is no secret.  My wife saw it on the news yesterday afternoon.  That would lead me to believe that whoever is leaking info to duskstu is leaking it to the press.

Just my personal opinion, but European cars should be owned by European companies.  I think Ford and GM need to go old school and get back to focusing on their own brands.  I think Ford has done well with Mazda.  Volvo seems to do well also (and I just bought one). 

I''''ve been getting alot of crap lately about thinking about selling my H3 in the spring, but it has nothing to do with gas prices.  We are planning on having kids in the next few years and the way the economy is, I want to save every penny I can for their future and in case the economy gets worse, have money saved for emergencies.  Some people just have genuine reasons for wanting to sell their trucks, but I think GM is making a big mistake thinking about selling, IF that is in-fact what they are doing.

They''''ve invested so much time and money into building the name, and after what, more then 3 or 4 years, they are going to let the last few months erase what they have done for years? Everybody knows that Hummers are one of their most profitable lines.  They need to stick it out for a while if they can financially afford to do so and work on improving their reputation via the media, commercials, public involvement, etc instead of just running away from it.  To me, whoever is running the show over there needs to go back to school and take some marketting classes.  Their commercials care more about focusing on the trucks and not about improving their tarnished image.

Here''''s an idea; how about you make some commercials about the benefits of having a Hummer, and not some cliche''''d video of a Hummer driving through mud.  I mean, give me a break.  How many years have we watched commercials of Hummers driving through mud?  Are you freakin'''' kidding me? The NEW commercials show that.

I''''m sorry but if you don''''t know by now that a Hummer can drive down a dirt trail, try driving in a normal car, because most of the dirt roads they show Hummers driving down can be driving with a normal vehicle.

How about you create commercials disproving the stereotype about them being bad for the environment, focus more on safety for your family, more on how the H3 gets better mileage then MOST comparable SUV''''s out there, etc.?

Come ON GM.  It doesn''''t take a marketting genious to figure this out.  Any die-hard Hummer owner as ourselves that are involved in the REAL Hummer community can tell you how to save the brand.

Maybe it''''s time for a change in management or staffing.  Maybe they need some, oh, ya know, CREATIVITY?

I''''ll stop now before I get even more pissed at ignorant management   People need to come into the real world and get their heads out of their book theory.

But remember it''s now a World Market.  It''s no longer local to the USA. Practically everything in your Hummer is outsourced to other companies, many of which are off-shore.  Just like my American Dell computer.  Open it up and many of the parts are made in Mylasia!!  My Cadillac CTS had a French transmission and a German rear differential.

It''s NOT sold yet!  But if it does sell I have a Big Red Dot for the center of my windshield!

It may be a world market, but the rest of the world isn''t seeing our marketing campaign, if that is what they want to call it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: RealJeep

It''''s NOT sold yet!  But if it does sell I have a Big Red Dot for the center of my windshield!

LMFAO!  Now that''''s hysterical.

H34me

quote:

ORIGINAL: HummerGuy

The sale of Saturn and/or Saab is no secret.  My wife saw it on the news yesterday afternoon.  That would lead me to believe that whoever is leaking info to duskstu is leaking it to the press.

 
Speculation of which brands has been swirling around for a year or more nothing new there especially among the smaller brands (Hummer, SAAB, Saturn).  The consideration of downsizing in brands has to be a topic of discussion of GM execs, which is what the news is reporting.  To say that one of the brands is getting the ax in less than 90 days is a little absurd, almost as absurd that Hummer has already been sold and that its a done deal.
 
It takes a lot longer than a few weeks, or even months, to complete a deal involving hundreds of millions of dollars, broken dealer agreements, decisions about multiple factories, reorganization of GM, etc.
 
 

Yup, especially if it''s an international deal.  That''s even more complex.