Defunct Brand Owners Shun GM and Ford

There are some three million former Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer customers in the United States, all of whom will unlikely ever have the pleasure of buying a newer model of their current make again. These are some of America’s defunct brands, all gone the same way as Plymouth, DeSoto, Packard and many others. These latest additions were culled following General Motors bankruptcy reorganisation in 2009. And Mercury owners are in the same boat.

Now, Ford and GM are desperately trying to hold onto these “brand-less” customers. Accoriding to a report from the Wall Street Journal, in this year alone, 70% Pontiac owners, 71% of Saturn owners and 65% of Mercury owners who traded in their vehicles left with something other than a Ford or GM product.

Read more »

The end of Hummer

BCP6BN34436B



As reported in The Times, the attempt by General Motors to flog its ailing Hummer brand to the Chinese has failed.



Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, with no experience of vehicle manufacture, had agreed to buy Hummer for $150 million. However, the deal needed approval from the Chinese government. They, in the end, weren’t too keen because it didn’t fit in with their nascent green policies.

The chance of finding another buyer appears slim. Of course this is awful news for those working for Hummer and its dealers, but the unfortunate reality is that it’s the free market at work.



Economic meltdown and rising fuel costs have severely affected many people’s wish to buy an SUV. The current need for SUV drivers to withstand the withering looks and snide comments, freely offered by those of an environmentalist bent, hasn’t helped either.

Hummer was hit especially badly, and sales in 2009 fell a massive 67% to around 9,000 units. Its products had become largely irrelevant. Hardly anyone needed the range’s off road ability, and one of the few unconvincing concessions to improved fuel consumption was the availability of a 3.7 litre five cylinder engine for the H3 (instead of the usual 5.3 litre V8). Petrol-powered, of course - no diesels here.



The vehicle that started it all, the military-spec Humvee, is unaffected by the demise of Hummer and will continue to be built by AM General.

Hummer H3 2009 Full Specs

An April 2009 Engadget column reported that Raser Technologies and FEV had built a prototype plug-in hybrid H3 that could achieve 100 MPG given enough mains power.This vehicle, known later as the Electric Hummer H3, was then showcased by California State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a press conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento as part of a campaign to promote greener vehicles.Hummer

Hummer H3 2009 Full Specs

An April 2009 Engadget column reported that Raser Technologies and FEV had built a prototype plug-in hybrid H3 that could achieve 100 MPG given enough mains power.This vehicle, known later as the Electric Hummer H3, was then showcased by California State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a press conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento as part of a campaign to promote greener vehicles.Hummer