It was little more than half-a-century ago the armies of Rome, Berlin and Tokyo were defeated by Detroit's "Arsenal of Democracy" equipped by American carmakers. Yet to hear it lately from conservatives and leaders in the Republican Party, American automakers are what's wrong with this country, should be boycotted, and go bankrupt.

Senator John McCain told reporters that we should have never bailed out Chrysler and GM and let them go under.

"No, I don't think we ever should have bailed out Chrysler and General Motors," McCain told The Detroit News. "We should have let them go into bankruptcy, emerge and become viable corporations again."

This, of course, while he was out drumming up support for his 2010 Senate run while serving as the grand marshal of a NASCAR event where the very good ol' boys he was drumming up support from were watching Chrysler and GM products race. And, as The Detroit News points out, we did let them go into bankruptcy. We're still waiting to find out whether they'll emerge as stronger companies.

Confusingly, McCain seems to be channeling John Kerry in being for the bailout before he was against it. Now, of course, he's going so far as to refer to it as "Socialism."

And just this weekend RNC Chairman Michael Steele responded to the news of GM going further in debt by pointing out this statement:

"Today's release of General Motors' financial results is further proof that President Obama's economic experiments are wrong for America."

Of course, GM lost $4.2 billion in the third-quarter last year so this is actually an improvement, of sorts. And GM also announced they'd be repaying loans ahead of schedule.

So who do the Republicans like? At last year's Detroit Auto Show we had a conversation with Senator Bob Corker, the Republican who lead the charge against the bailout, and he talked about the Volkswagens he loves. Not a surprise given VW is joining Nissan in building a huge plant in his state.

In fact, there have been a number of foreign car companies moving better-than-minimum-wage assembly plants into states represented by Republican senators, including BMW in South Carolina, Toyota in Texas, Nissan/VW in Tennessee, and Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai in Alabama. Of course, we can't blame the Chrysler-Fiat "Global Strategic Alliance" alliance on the Republican party.

So when the far right goes to Boycott GM they're doing so for the benefit of companies like Volkswagen and Toyota, who have both surpassed GM as the world's largest automaker in the last year.

Ironically, this is the same Republican party upset about the Chinese purchase of Hummer. As Republican Representative Duncan Hunter told the Wall Street Journal: "Any money that is going to China or to Chinese companies is contributing in some way to China's military buildup."

So supporting American car companies is socialism and supporting every other country's investments in production capacity is capitalism and therefore good for America.

But hey, the Germans, Japanese, Chinese and Italians are our friends so who says we need any domestic car production or car companies? Of course, we're probably just paranoid. Maybe the real reason the Republicans hate GM and Chrysler is just that they really like Ford.

Photo Credit: DiggerHistory

Hummer brand CEO Jim Taylor, speaking with Automotive News, discussed Hummer's rather hazy future. Though the sale has not yet been finalized, the agreements are in place to sell the brand to Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery for $150 million, while that doesn't include any kind of manufacturing capacity, it does have a good deal of intellectual property in the transaction. GM will be providing contract manufacturing of the current Hummer brand products until the negotiated contract ends, but it's up to Tengzhong, Hummer, and Jim Taylor to work out a plan after that.

Currently Hummer is working with Austrian consulting firm AVL to determine a future path for brand and product lineup. The idea is to continue pushing the brand smaller, lighter, and more environmentally friendly. That includes the introduction of the smaller-than-the-H3 Hummer H4 and after that an apparently microscopic Hummer H5. The H4 will be based on the HX concept car and may include a hybrid drive system to push fuel economy up to respectable levels.

More daunting than working out Hummer's product plan is laying out a production system including manufacturing and engineering capacities, supply chains and the like. Essentially, once GM production ceases on the current H2 and H3, Hummer will be starting with a seven bar grille and a name synonymous with gas-guzzling behemoths. Tengzhong has promised to spend big on Hummer with increased production and a wad of advertising cash to re-tool the brand's image, but still, it'll be an uphill battle. Best of luck with all that, Mr. Taylor. [AutoNews (sub req.) via Hummer Guy]

If you think you can do better than these eight, drop the names/images into the comments as if they were your drawers.

8.) Vehicle: Nissan Homy Super Long
What It Suggests: Being well-equipped for any journey.
Use It In A Sentence: Women go crazy for a Homy Super Long man.

7.) Vehicle: Dodge Ram
What It Suggests: Forceful love making.
Use It In A Sentence: He put the tailgate down and gave me the full Ram.

6.) Vehicle: Audi TT-S
What It Suggests: Only Ze Germans could make a breast reference more efficient.
Use It In A Sentence: He was pleasantly surprised by the size of her TT-S.

5.) Vehicle: Ford Escort
What It Suggests: You're guaranteed to have a good time with an Escort, but you'll pay for it.
Use It In A Sentence: That Escort gave me crabs.

4.) Vehicle: Mazda Scrum Wagon
What It Suggests: A cleaning device used at a strip bar.
Use It In A Sentence: Cleaning out the Scrum Wagon is totally Charley work.

3.) Vehicle: Hummer
What It Suggests: To quote the poet: a handy would certainly be dandy, but if you want to know me then....
Use It In A Sentence: Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big proponent of the Hummer in the 1990s.

2.) Vehicle: Dodge Magnum
What It Suggests: It's the BIGGEST of the LX-platform vehicles.
Use It In A Sentence: I'm not sure if his Magnum will fit in my parking space.

1.) Vehicle: Ford Probe
What It Suggests: We come in peace, but we still want to know what's going on in there.
Use It In A Sentence: Spend all day with a Probe and your back will fall asleep as well.

We've picked out four of the five fav's over at Inhabitat, you'll have to go peak at their list to find out the last, cheeky entry, but we've dropped in the basics on each so click "Next" to learn more. [Inhabitat]

The Solar Black Bear" is an EV project at the University of Maine and plugs into the wall for a complete charge but also uses a rack-mounted solar array to extend its range out to about 100 miles.

VW Bugs and Earth friendliness would seem to go hand-in-hand, but the original bug wasn't exactly catalyzed and clean. This particular example on the other hand is emissions free and runs on a 12V electrical system, it even retains a four speed manual transmission. The best part? It's owned by Manitou High School in Colorado Springs, and is used for driver's ed training.

The stretched H1 limo gets its green cred by operating on a combination of biodiesel, electric power generated by a solarvoltaic array on the roof and a solid waste gassifier. Probably needs to be stretched just to fit all the equipment on board.

The '65 Impala Super Sport is an interesting case of modern engine meets awesome ride. Unbelievably, car was built by MTV's Pimp My Ride and got a Chevy Durmax diesel tuned run on biodiesel and snorting out 800 HP and 1200 lb-ft of torque. It'll go 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and gets double the fuel economy it used to. Unfortunately, they also reworked the interior.

Earlier reports were Tengzhong wanted Hummer to eventually have a manufacturing plant in China and a dedicated dealer network there, which Hummer doesn't have today. But, Hummer is expected to keep its headquarters and current manufacturing in the U.S., as well as its current management and engineering teams.

For those fearing the rapidly expanding industrial might of China transforming into building our own military vehicles for us, keep in mind the transaction won't include Hummer-related military technology or military truck production currently managed by Mishawaka, Ind.-based AM General. Good luck crushing those fears in the mind of every red-blooded 'merican male who bought a Hummer from GM since they bought the rights to sell civvie-versions a decade ago and who's now seeing the company sell the brand to a company that they think is named after a type of Chinese food. [PickupTrucks]

Photo Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images News

The leaked memo was translated from Chinese by 163.com and offers part of the details behind the deal currently working behind the scenes.

1. Tengzhong will buy the intellectual property rights, including the trademark, patent right and other contents of Hummer;
2. Tengzhong will take over the sales network of Hummer;
3. After the acquisition, Tengzhong will operate the Hummer's business via an offshore company;
4. Before 2012, Hummer vehicles will continue to be manufactured by GM, who will also provide all-around technical services;
5. Before 2012, Tengzhong will launch the new H3 and new H4 (CUV models);
6. The [Hummer] marketing maintenance and R&D (research and development) will not be stopped.

In this version of the conditions, should the sale be approved Tengzhong will take control of all intellectual property, marketing and R&D resources, the dealer network, and most interestingly will produce the next versions of the Hummer H3 and a new product, the H4 CUV by 2012. The H4 CUV is expected to be the production version of the HX Concept, which the Hummer off-roading community has been begging for since its unveiling. [Hummer Guy]

It's almost like rule 34 of the internet, if a marketing hobo imagines a clever thing, someone, somewhere will replicate it in real life. Such is the case here with the Happy Jack Hummer, or, as the builder/owner would like for it to be know as, the "Dummer", it's built on 90's-era Chevy S10 chassis and uses all the finest in plywood veneer's to attain that popular Hummer look. But be careful potential buyer, this creation comes with some pitfalls, such as the infamous "ran when parked" status, which could mean anything from mint condition to rat-eaten wiring with petrified bearing grease, good luck with that. It's supposedly an "off-road vehicle," but it's more like a parade vehicle for your goofy old neighbor down the street.

Here's the original "Happy Jack" ad, just in case you forgot. (Hat tip to Chad!)

[eBay]

The Ethicist asks "instead of selling this massive, ecologically destructive gas guzzler, should G.M. have it sent to the scrap heap?" Hmm, it must be nice to be making such arguments working for a company that prints things on ecologically destructive paper. [Ethicist]

Photo Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images

The fine folks at China Car Times hit the Chinese autoweb, the only place you're likely to hear honest and unfiltered opinions from average Chinese citizens, to gauge reaction to the purchase of Hummer by Sichuan Tengzhong.

Some of the opinions sound fairly similar to what many in the American auto-verse are saying about the value of the brand for a company no one has ever heard of:

— "This deal will most certainly loose(sic) money"
— "Hummer branding maybe worth 1 billion, but can it be made it back?"
— "What does China lack the most? Its not technology, its branding. Technology needs one generation, craftwork takes three generations, but branding takes generations of history to build."

Others take a different approach, mirroring typical American views of Chinese involvement in the U.S. economy:

— "So we've sent more money to the USA?"
— "Oh! Really sad! Why are other countries brands worth so much? Why do Chinese people like to buy in foreign goods? Look at history, which Chinese brands were successful?"

Our favorite reaction, though, comes from people who like to make fun of people from Sichuan and their spending habits:

— "What are you doing buying rubbish? Sichuan people have too much money."

Sichuan is considered the "province of abundance" with the rest of China viewing the province in the same way people in the rest of greater L.A. view Beverly Hills.

For more reactions check out China Car Times.

The NYT source is a person familiar with the Chinese government approval process who claims the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., based in Chengdu, concluded the agreement with G.M.

Sichuan Tengzhong is a privately owned company, but Tuesday's deal required preliminary vetting by Beijing officials, who retain the right to veto any attempt at an overseas acquisition by a Chinese company and who give special attention to deals over $100 million.

Well, at least we now know it's probably a deal worth over $100 million.

We also expected it was probably a foreign company looking to buy Hummer, considering the news our friends at PickupTrucks.com reported earlier today that the deal prohibits the export of military technology of any sort with the buyer. So don't worry, your secret non-military but vital for Big Gulp cupholder technology won't compromise our national security.

But our biggest question is this — remember when we were on The Colbert Report last year? Remember the Hummer fans they visited? We wonder how many of them will be interested in buying a Hummer from a Chinese-owned company or will be slapping a "Better Red Than Dead" bumper sticker to the back of their current HumVee look-a-like? Probably not so many. [via NYT]

General Motors Announces Preliminary Agreement To Sell HUMMER

Deal could secure more than 3,000 jobs in the United States; preserves HUMMER as global off-road brand

DETROIT, June 2, 2009 – General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a buyer for HUMMER, its premium off-road brand. This transaction is the result of GM's strategic review of the HUMMER brand and the company's ongoing restructuring efforts.

The sale is expected to close by the end of third quarter of this year and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

The deal is expected to secure more than 3,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, engineering and at HUMMER dealerships around the country. The transaction also includes plans by the investor to aggressively fund future HUMMER product programs. Under terms of the MoU, the identity of the purchaser and proposed financial terms of the agreement are not being released at this time.

"HUMMER is a strong brand," said Troy Clarke, President of GM North America. "I'm confident that HUMMER will thrive globally under its new ownership. And for GM, this sale continues to accelerate the reinvention of GM into a leaner, more focused, and more cost-competitive automaker."

As part of the proposed transaction, HUMMER will continue to contract vehicle manufacturing and business services from GM during a defined transitional time period. For example, under the proposed agreement, GM's Shreveport Assembly plant would continue to contract assemble the H3 and H3T through at least 2010.

"GM has developed HUMMER into a globally recognized off-road brand," said James Taylor, HUMMER chief executive officer. "The proposed agreement will enable us to continue that growth and maximize the brand's potential through new, innovative off-road vehicles with improved efficiency and alternative fuel powertrains. Today's announcement is great news for HUMMER's current and future customers, dealers, suppliers and employees around the globe."

Other terms and conditions specific to the sale are not being disclosed at this time. Citi acted as financial advisor to General Motors Corporation.

About GM - General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world's largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements - In this press release and in related comments by our management, our use of the words "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "ensure," "promote," "believe," "improve," "intend," "enable," "continue," "will," "may," "would," "could," "should," "project," "positioned" or similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements that represent our current judgment about possible future events. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results, and our actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors. Among other items, such factors might include: our ability to comply with the requirements of our credit agreement with the U.S. Treasury; our ability to execute the restructuring plans that we have disclosed, our ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources and an appropriate level of debt; the ability of our foreign subsidiaries to restructure and receive financial support from their local governments or other sources; our ability to restore consumers' confidence in our viability and to continue to attract customers, particularly for our new products; our ability to sell, spin-off or phase out some of our brands, to manage the distribution channels for our products, and to complete other planned asset sales; and the overall strength and stability of general economic conditions and of the automotive industry, both in the U.S. and globally.

We've only ever seen this level of insane skill before in the basement-built Lamborghini Countach of Ken Imhoff, but craftsmanship and the mid-level insanity of the builders is all these vehicles share. This H1 isn't some surplus rebuild or fiberglass kit, it's all-steel, hand fabricated to a near-military spec level of quality. The frame comes from a rough 1987 F150 4x4, the rear axle was pulled out of a E250 van, the engine is a monster 7.3 liter Powerstroke diesel from a shuttle van, and pretty much everything else is the result of a press-brake and and whole lot of welding. The result has been dubbed the Hummer H150.

We were a little worried, about half-way through the 48 pages of forum details on FullSizeBronco.com where he admitted his wife would be given the choice of paint scheme and she picked out a two tone white and grey with a tribal line in the middle. Thankfully she came to her senses and a lovely orange was chosen instead. Though the truck isn't quite done yet, a whole lot of the major work is through. The body electronics just got the test and transmission has been sourced, so after buttoning up the powertrain it'll be ready for a maiden run. This build has taken some five years thus far, but considering how far this guy has come the last few steps are practically child's play.

There aren't many vehicles manlier than the original Hummer H1, but building your own from scratch puts you in rare company on the testosterone scale. We can't wait to see how the Hummer H150 turns out. Hat tip to Mike! [Full Size Bronco Forums]

Deuce-And-A-Half
Capable of towing over 7,000 pounds while simultaneously transporting a dozen NATO troops, the M35 "deuce-and-a-half" is one mean machine. There are numerous varieties of this vehicle, but they typically include a small cab, large covered bed and some form of turbocharged multi-fuel engine. And by multi-fuel we mean you can put just about anything in the tank and it'll run, including but not limited to: diesel, gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel and vodka.
Photo Credit: B&B

Sherman Tank
The most successful American tank of WWII, the M4 Sherman was a powerful, quick, and reliable military machine capable of going toe-to-toe with most German armaments. Fitted with a variety of guns and engines, the M4 wasn't always the best tank, but the ability to produce and field them cheaply and quickly was good enough to overwhelm the enemy. USA! USA! USA!
Photo Credit: FourFold

DPV Fast Attack Vehicle
Like it sounds, the DPV Fast Attack Vehicle is capable of speeds over 80 MPH on desert terrain, launching a grenade, and traveling over 1,000 miles. Powered by a 200 HP VW engine, the vehicles have found use primarily by special forces and were a major part of the Desert Storm operations.

Bradley Fighting Vehicle
The M2 Bradley is a fast armored fighting vehicle quick enough to keep up with the M1 Abrams tank and, equipped with a 25 mm chain gun and a pair of TOW missiles, surprisingly deadly given its smaller armaments. The platform is so capable and easy-to-produce it's been modified into an amphibious vehicle, fire support vehicle, and air defense vehicle.
Photo Credit: LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images

HUMVEE
Despite being developed in the late 1970s, the Humvee is the go-to vehicle for nearly every job the military has. Humvee is short for HMMWV which stands for high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle. With four-wheel drive, disc brakes, and an independent suspension the Hummer is worlds better than the Jeep. More than any other vehicle, it's the mechanical representation of the modern U.S. military. Photo Credit: OCINE ZAOURAR/AFP/Getty Images

Willys MB Jeep
With WWII around the corner, and the U.S. lacking anything better than a Model T or a bunch of horses, a vehicle was needed for European warfare. There were three versions of the original Jeep produced by different companies, but the Willys MB variant would prove to be the most enduring. The distinctive slotted-steel grille with embedded headlights is a design still used on Jeeps today.

M1 Abrams
Powered by a 1,500 HP gas-turbine engine and pure superiority, the M1 Abrams is more than 60 tons of badass rolling up to 45 MPH through wherever it wants. Equipped with composite armor and a 120 mm gun that can fire multiple times while in motion, the Abrams is a fearsome weapon in any theater.
Photo Credit: LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images

DUKW
Though relegated primarily to tourist boat duty, the DUKW or "duck," amphibious six-wheel truck was part GMC truck and part yacht, capable of speeds up to 55 MPH on land and 7 MPH in the water. The story of its commissioning involves being considered too risky for military service before saving a group of stranded Coast Guardsman. Both because of its practicality and its strange look, we love the "truck that can swim."

Dodge M37 Power Wagon
The Dodge Power Wagon, a four-wheel drive 3/4-ton truck, is the basis for the modern four-wheel drive pickup. But before it found its way into the hearts of civilian truck owners, the Power Wagon was the marine truck of choice for most jobs during the Korean War. Whether carrying troops, wounded, or weapons, the M37 was a rock solid truck for Americans fighting on less-than-solid turf.

M60A1 Armored Vehicle Launched BridgeThe M60A1 armored vehicle launched bridge (ALVB) is exactly what it sounds like: a mobile, armored bridge. There's not always time to wait around for engineers to erect a crossing, so the AVLB carries on its back a 60-foot bridge strong enough and wide enough to support just about every land vehicle in the arsenal — including itself.

We're sitting here in stunned disbelief at the shameless bloviation from from the senior Utah Senator, and here's why.

Yesterday, Raser Technologies went to Washington, DC with their "100 MPG Hummer H3", a plug-in hybrid which actually gets 33 MPG when operating in a steady state. They set up the photo-op with the Senator (who only drove about 300 feet) and everyone jumped on their respective soapboxes to browbeat GM, thump their chests against the danger from Chinese competition and take jabs at the opposition's fuel economy and energy politics.

On his short drive Senator Hatch displayed a remarkable inability to drive the not-really-100 MPG Raser Technologies Hummer H3, which he immediately declared "nothing short of revolutionary," "nothing less than miraculous," and "one heck of a car."
going on to say "It's one heck of a car, it was a gas guzzler until they made it a plug-in hybrid."

Keep Hatch's praise in mind as you read the exchange between Hatch and the Raser's execs during the drive:

"How do you start this baby?" Hatch asked of the executives who built the 100-mile-per-gallon SUV.

"It's started," an official told Hatch.

"It's already on?" Hatch asked, surprised. "Heh, heh."

"Put your foot on the brake, then put it in drive," the official said. Nothing happened. "Is your foot on the brake? You have to have your foot on the brake."

"I think I've got it on," the senator replied.

"Nope," the executive said, pointing out the brake pedal. "There we go."

"No wonder," Hatch said. "I had it on the gas."

Oh, dear.

With a whine and a lurch, the Hummer began to accelerate, and for a few terrifying moments, Hatch was in control of the bright-red 5,000-pound truck. Well, not entirely in control. "All I've got to do is smash that car, I'll tell ya," he said of a vehicle in his path. The questions he asked were unsettling: "Squeeze that button? . . . Do I park it this way? . . . I'm going to miss the curb? . . . Is there a reverse?"

Spotting a Capitol Police car, he speculated, "They're probably looking at me." Eyeing some photographers near the car, Hatch allowed that he was "a little bit concerned" for their safety. When one got too close, Hatch muttered: "That guy's really got some guts to stand there."

Sounds to us Hatch couldn't tell a good vehicle from a good horse. So, the proclamation of a "remarkable" vehicle is laid down by an elected official who just happens to be from the same state as the company and who doesn't seem to ever have driven a motor vehicle, at least not anytime in the past century.

But wait, there's more. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Raser isn't just in Washington for their health. They're apparently attempting to acquire government subsidies to bolster their position in a bid attempt for the purchase of the Hummer brand, which they'll retool the brand for their own usage. And now the final piece of the story; Senator Hatch has written a letter to President Obama, imploring him to insure brands like Hummer aren't sold to companies in China, saying we as a nation are at the "cusp of this major national victory" on fuel economy, and "we have learned that the General Motors restructuring plan would sell off the Hummer brand to China. One thing we're fighting is to not lose it to China, because if this goes to China, so does the technology, and China is a very aggressive country."

Huh. How does selling Hummer to "China" effect anything Raser does with their hybrid technology, which, to be honest looks like a beta version of the GM Voltec system? It doesn't, but the Republican Senator seems either terrified of the prospect of free-market competition from those dangerous Red Chinese (who own a ton of our debt), or he's very interested at getting taxpayer dollars to help grease the wheels in landing a juicy piece of GM for constituents in his home state. [Washington Post, Salt Lake Tribune, HummerGuy.net]

The VORTEX2 Project's built themselves a rig out of a Hummer H3T in order to gather data for tornado research, which will ultimately lay the ground work for a new tornado warning system. Think of it as a real-life version of Bill Paxton's character's Dodge Ram pickup and the "Dorothy" sensor pod package from the movie Twister.

According to radar expert and long-time tornado researcher, Dr. Joshua Wurman; "Nobody really knows for certain yet what happens inside a tornado, the best way to learn is to measure conditions with sensors in pods and stick pods." The sensor pods that have been developed for reading a tornado's strength will need a heavy duty vehicle that can get them close enough to the action and in the storm chaser's mind, there's no better vehicle choice than the recently released Hummer H3T.

They've chosen to use the H3T for a number of reasons. First, the vehicle's almost vertical-oriented windshield and small side glass makes it less susceptible to large hail, dust and debris thrown around by a tornado. Second, the high ground clearance, front/rear locking hubs and four-wheel-drive system allows the truck to ford a 24-inch flood as well as navigate debris ridden back roads; a necessity when chasing a large storm.

The VORTEX2 team built a commercial marine-grade plywood covered, 1.75-inch square steel tube frame into the bed of the H3T to house the tornado sensor pods with a DiamondBack bed cover to help protect it all from severe weather. They've also outfitted the H3T with an advanced communications system featuring a radio tracking system, three GPS receivers, two cellular transmitters and serial cables connected to the pod box which allow meteorologists to download all of the data recovered from a chase via two laptops located in the interior of the truck.

This sounds like a pretty serious rig and we're looking forward to finding out how the data acquired will be used. And to think, Hummer might be dead in a matter of months. [via Hummer Storm Chaser]

It's hard not to laugh at the Weather Channel's brash use of Hummer in its "Green is Universal" banner. Likewise, it's amusing Hummer, a company with absolutely no green-cred, is trying to get in on the phony-baloney eco-action. We're assuming after this week is over, NBC Universal will return to powering its transmitters and servers with baby seal squeezins and Hummer will go back to crushing small woodland critters. [Weather.com]

GM currently has eight brands to contend with: Hummer, Chevy, GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, Saturn and Saab. We're curious to hear what you think about these brands so we won't eliminate any four of them for you. But let's just say we're not betting on Saab making the cut. Help us design the new GM. What brands make the cut? [BusinessWeek]

As we expected, the Raser Electric Hummer H3 is a plug-in, extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) utilizing a 200 kW motor to drive the wheels and a turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder to power a 100 kW generator to charge the batteries and run the e-motor.

If you're good at math you immediately see the problem here. For the first sixty miles the Raser Hummer runs in all EV mode and from there it will run on a constantly operating generator, resulting in an asymptotic decline in average fuel economy. It does get the dramatic 100 MPG fuel economy the company claims — as long as you don't go further than 60 miles in a day. The actual, long-range economy is a less headline-grabbing 33 MPG. Much better than a standard H3 for sure, but Raser has not quite yet managed to defy the laws of physics.

We'd have more details for you, but Arnie strode into the middle of the press conference with his phalanx of security guards and turned it into a media feeding frenzy.

The vehicle is designed, first and foremost, as a pure electric vehicle, with a 268 HP electric motor hooked directly to the transmission, which is still connected to the all-wheel-drive system. A stand-alone four-cylinder gasoline engine replaces the previous V6 or V8 and drives a generator making electricity after about 40 miles of driving when the lithium ion batteries are spent.

The Raser Tech electric Hummer H3 can be charged via 120V or 220V electricity via a plug-in port, which is of course hiding behind the fuel filler. Where exactly you put the fuel, we don't know. All of this sounds pretty much like the Volt, doesn't it? The tall claims will have to be backed by road tests but we'll just have to wait and see if Raser Tech can out-do the General on this one. The company plans on unveiling the finished product next weekend at the SAE World Congress in Detroit and we'll be ready to bring you all the details. [Raser Tech]

Ali al-Hilli and his brother began importing H3s about a year ago. Though sales were slow at first, the two started driving them around as a way to advertise the non-Humvee Hummer product.

"We couldn't go a block without people stopping us to ask, 'What is it?' " Mr. Hilli said. "We looked like astronauts from outer space." Since then they've sold approximately 20 H3s at a cost of $50 to $60K, compared to the $34K MSRP. Fire engine red and p***y magnet yellow are, not surprisingly, the most popular colors.

Instead of buying Hummers, maybe Iraq should just buy Hummer.

[New York Times]

The Chinese may deny their athletes are really 12 but there's no denying our love of Chinese Hummer clones, whether they be the BAW B60 or the Xiao Long Auto 2060L, and this just seals it. Seriously, when the country falls apart after a succession of natural disasters this wannabe-Humvee will be there to not cover it.

[Auto.Sohu via The Tycho]

This is the first such fee in the nation on the state level. Here's what the The Boston Globe says Gov. Patrick has to say about his plan:

Patrick said today that his administration is looking at the Registry of Motor Vehicles fee structure to create "differential fees based on the efficiency of the vehicle or the emissions of the vehicle."

"Big gas guzzlers will pay more for their registration," he added. "Plug-in hybrids would pay less and you'd have a range, that kind of thing."

Patrick's office declined to elaborate on the proposal or say whether it would appear as part of his overall transportation plan. RMV spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said state transportation officials have been discussing a gas guzzler fee program, "but I think they're still trying to flesh that out now."

Patrick said today that he was continuing to look at raising the state gas tax, but did not commit to it. When asked about it during the Chamber event, he threw the question back to the audience, asking by a show of hands whether the crowd favored a gas tax increase or a toll hike. The crowd chose the gas tax, which has generally been a more popular proposal in the business community.

We wonder where diesels and hybrid SUVs and pickup trucks will fit into this plan. Maybe we'll call up his press secretary today and ask, but our guess is he may not have thought about that question yet. [Boston.com]

Dongfeng's Brave Soldier has been widely regarded as THE Chinese Hummer counterfeit, but it now has a little friendly competition in the form of Xiao Long Auto's aptly-named 2060L. At 2250mm (88.5 inches) wide, the 2060L certainly is a big boy, dwarfing the already lane-width Hummer H1's 2197mm (86.5 inches) by 2 inches and the Dongfeng Brave Soldier's 1950mm (76.7 inches) by 11 inches. Overall length and height is rated at 5038mm (198 inches) and 1950mm (76.7 inches) respectively. Xiao Long Auto definitely knows how to play ball when it comes to sizing this beast, but can it play in the devil's playground too?

We don't have any numbers referring to the overall approach/departure angles, but we're sure it can't out-handle the 'Merican Hummer H1. We're also sure it can't ford the 30 inches of water that the Hummer can deal with, but we're still searching for an epic YouTube video showing one making the attempt.

The 2060L brings 214 horsepower to the table from its Steyr-sourced 3.2 liter diesel (likely V6) engine, but Xiao Long Auto makes no mention of the torque numbers that it provides - our guess is it's equally unimpressive. If you want to go real low on the totem poll you can opt for the 181 horsepower version, but we don't expect you'll even be able to pull this 7,936-pound hog out of the mud with that poor-excuse-for-an-offroading engine. Xiao Long Auto also employs a Cummins turbodiesel in their other trucks, but this is the same engine used in Dongfeng's Brave Soldier and coincidentally is not offered in the 2060L.

What the Xiao Long Auto 2060L fails miserably at in the power game, it makes up for with its $87,000 - $146,000 price range, besting the Brave Soldier by as much as $132,000. We'll never see the 2060L in America, but if these things have the same depreciation values as an H1, we might have to look into picking one up for a LeMons race or two.

[thetycho via Xiao Long Auto]

The annual nationwide study of 1.7 million vehicles receiving traffic code violations by ISO Quality Planning in California, reveals Hummer H2s and H3s sit atop the list of most ticketed vehicles. Below, the full list of the top ten most and least ticketed vehicles.

Here's the San Francisco-based company's methodology:

Traffic code violations data for a one-year period from 2007 and 2008 were used for the study. Vehicles that were discontinued for more than 10 years were not included in the analysis. Violations were standardized based on the number of violations per 100,000 miles driven for each model. That standardization accounts for the differences in average annual miles driven by different models. Each vehicle model’s violation count per 100,000 miles was compared with the average across all the models to identify the 10 models with the highest and lowest violations, as compared to the average. For example, Hummer drivers were 4.63 times more likely to get a ticket, as compared to the average.

The study found these are the ten most ticketed vehicles, in order from most ticketed to least along with the percentage above the average:
Oh Hummer, why must you consume our pocketbooks? We love you when you run over things, play in the water or transform into a mysterious quasi-governmental robot. With the price of gas coming down, things between us have been more livable, but we still can't afford your ravenous addiction to gasoline. Maybe this is why GM is trying to off you.

Now for the other side of the ticketing coin. The ten least ticketed vehicles in the country, this time from least ticketed to most, along with the percentages less they receive tickets from the average are:

Buicks, Olds and big Chevys? Shocker. An interesting side note: Chevy Tahoes and Hummer H2s are basically the same vehicle mechanically — why the huge difference? Our guess may be it has something to do with the mind-set of the people who drive them. Remember, sometimes stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason — at least when it comes to the type of people who purchase certain vehicles.

[Newsday via Motive Forums, ISO Quality Planning]

Photo Credit: Flickr

According to a report today from Automotive News, “GM has found no interested buyers for Saab.”

Saab sold just 21,368 cars in the US during 2008, down from an all-time best of 48,181 set three years before GM purchased half the company in 1989. GM later acquired the whole shebang in 1999.

Despite what many in the industry feel are overly ambitious price tags, Automotive News goes on to suggest that, due to the falling value of the Dollar against the Euro, most of the brand’s cars are now sold at net loss to GM.

Compared to the 50.9% drop in sales at Hummer, which also can’t find a buyer, Saab’s year-to-year 2008 sales were down only 34.7% compared to 2007. While Sweden’s government has promised both Volvo and Saab $3.19 billion in loans and credit guarantees, this hasn’t been enough to make the company appealing to any potential buyers.

Saab’s “strategic review” is part of GM’s long-term viability plan which it had to submit to Congress last month. Saturn is also being reviewed strategically, but it’s not currently known if GM is actively pursuing its sale. [source: Automotive News]

In case you aren't familiar with the Piaggio MP3, it's an Italian-built three-wheeled motor scooter that can lean through a corner but maintains rock solid stability not available with a motorcycle. The brilliantly engineered but goofy looking scooter has been available in a large part of the rest of the world as the Gilera Fuoco for years but just recently went on sale in the United States.

In any case, this Hummer H2-branded example was spotted this morning on the mean streets of New York City on 32nd between 6th and 7th. The dress up is applied to the MP3 500 model, this biggest, brawniest version of the scooter (sort of like being the coolest kid at the Mathlympics) and consists of a "Hummer H2" sticker over the cowl badge, chipping "Piaggio" off the nameplate, and applying a Hummer decal to the top box at the back. The funny thing is, with all the tough-guy stuff on the MP3 500 like a grille guard, flat black color scheme and headlight guards, a branding partnership between Piaggio and Hummer seems like it might make sense. (Hat tip to Steven!)

This baby was spotted during our holiday travels somewhere in northern Indiana, so we're hoping the owner of this bad boy is actually a factory worker (or was) at the Hummer plant. If not there's something not quite right with this person.

Those paranoid about China's ability to beat us in a war are going to go insane when they find out a Chinese company may team up with a defense contractor to buy Hummer as part of the Carpocalypse.

Zhengchu Chen, General Manager of China's Chengfeng Motors, told reporters the company was in talks with AM General, the original manufacturer of the Hummer brand and a major provider of vehicles for the US military (think HumVees, which AM General still builds for the U.S. military), over acquiring the brand. It is no secret Hummer is for sale, though we'd heard Chinese automaker Chengfeng was no longer interested. Apparently, Chengfeng didn't want to do it alone and the combination of Chinese capital with AM General production capacity is a win-win for the two companies. But who loses?

The idea of a Chinese company buying the exceptionally Amerigasmic brand Hummer is likely to ruffle a nationalistic feather or two, but Chinese currency buying up American property is something that's been going on for some time. The idea of the Chinese hooking up with the same company better known for producing military Humvees and trucks may drive some nuts.

Of course, the Hummer is no longer considered the military vehicle of the future and AM General already signed a contract to build boxy Taxis, an area the Chinese already own. Since the two would more than likely form a joint venture rather than merging, it isn't as if the Chinese would be responsible for making US military vehicles. At least not yet.

Still, this is something to think about when people claim it is better for the US auto industry to fail. What are we going to do when we go to war with China? Ask them to build us our tanks? All we know is we imagine John Milius is probably freaking out by now. Hat tip to Brian!

[Gasgoo via Hummer Guy]

GM Announces $5 billion in Additional Liquidity Enhancement Initiatives

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) today announced it is taking further actions to improve liquidity and reduce structural cost in response to deteriorating global economic conditions, tight credit market conditions and a rapid retraction of sales in the auto industry.

“Volatility in the world’s financial markets, tightening of consumer and business credit and historically-low consumer confidence has created a very challenging environment ,” said Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive officer. “Given the current lack of credit availability we must take further difficult ‘self-help’ actions .”

Over the past several years, GM has been taking major actions to restructure its business and position it for long-term growth, making dramatic reductions in structural cost, revitalizing its product portfolio with award-winning vehicles, growing aggressively in emerging markets around the world and making demonstrable strides in advanced technology leadership (link to release).

As part of its ongoing restructuring, on July 15, 2008 GM outlined a number of initiatives aimed at improving liquidity by an estimated $15 billion through 2009. Those initiatives included internal operating actions within the company’s control that are estimated at $10 billion, asset sales estimated at $2-4 billion and capital market activities targeted at $2-3 billion (link to release).

To date, the $10 billion in internal operating actions have either been completed or are on track for full execution by the end of 2009.

GM’s assets currently being assessed for potential sale include the Hummer vehicle business and brand and its ACDelco all-makes aftermarket parts business, which has distribution channels in more than 100 countries. GM is also evaluating strategic options for its technical and manufacturing center in Strasbourg, France. GM is also analyzing other potential asset sales.

Despite the seizing up of the credit markets, GM completed some capital market transactions (link to release) in September to improve the company’s liquidity by $500 million by year-end 2009. While GM has unencumbered assets of more than $20 billion that it could potentially use as collateral for a secured debt offering, the U.S. credit markets remain inaccessible, and the contagion effect on other financial markets around the world provides limited alternatives. Accordingly, t he timing of the $2-3 billion of capital market financing GM initially targeted remains uncertain.

In light of the further deterioration in the U.S. auto market and continued turmoil in the global financial markets, GM is making downward revisions to its liquidity planning assumptions. For planning purposes, GM is assuming U.S. light industry sales volumes of 11.7 million units in 2009, and 12.7 million units in 2010. GM is also revising its average oil price estimates to range between $60-80 per barrel in 2009, and $100-$120 per barrel in 2010.

In addition to its previously announced liquidity and capacity actions, GM is taking further actions to improve liquidity by an incremental $5 billion by the end of 2009.

GM is reducing its capital spending for the calendar year 2009 from approximately $7.2 billion to $4.8 billion. The reductions will be achieved by retiming select vehicle programs in North America and Europe by three to 12 months, and deferring capacity expansion projects. Every automaker is having to adjust portfolios and spending plans to some degree, due to the rapidly changing business conditions and increasing challenging regulatory requirements. Lengthening product lifecycles is a common response to these pressures.

Although the timing of several vehicle programs will be revised, key product and technology programs remain on track. GM has a robust pipeline of competitive new vehicles over the next two years. In GM’s largest markets, U.S., China and Europe, 22 new vehicles will be launched in 2009, and 19 in 2010. In the U.S. alone, GM will launch 15 new vehicles through year-end 2010, 14 of which will be fuel-efficient cars or crossovers, including the Cadillac CTS wagon and SRX crossover, Chevrolet Camaro Coupe and Equinox crossover in 2009, and Saab 9-4x crossover, Chevrolet Cruze small car in 2010. Spending levels for the extended range electric Chevrolet Volt and other fuel-economy improvement initiatives to meet increasingly aggressive global fuel economy standards have been increased.

GM is also taking steps to reduce structural cost by an additional $1.5 billion. Actions being employed to achieve the savings include further reductions in sales promotion spending, further reductions in support of dealer network activities and channel consolidations, and further revisions to production scheduling reflective of depressed industry conditions. In response to declining demand, GM will re-rate operations at a number of operations in North America to scale back production, beginning in the first quarter of 2009.

GM also expects to make further reductions in engineering expense due to the aforementioned delays in capital spending. In addition, various types of discretionary spending, such as travel, use of consulting resources, and non-scheduled overtime for hourly and salaried employees, will also be restricted.

A number of working capital improvements, totaling approximately $500 million, are also being taken, including additional inventory reductions, with an emphasis on further cuts in components, buffer stocks and finished goods.

Measures are also being taken to further reduce salaried employment costs in the U.S. and Canada. The cost reduction target has been increased to approximately 30 percent, up from approximately 20 percent as announced on July 15. The reductions will be achieved with further contract and salaried headcount reductions by the recent over-achievement of the salaried window retirement goal, mutual separation programs, and if necessary, involuntary separations. Employment cash cost savings will also be achieved in Western Europe in 2009 as part of its necessary, broad-based labor cost reduction initiatives.

Salaried employees will not receive enhanced variable pay (incentive compensation) in 2009 for the 2008 performance period. GM had previously announced there would be no discretionary cash bonuses for 2008 for the company’s executive employees.

In addition, GM suspended the company match for the stock savings (401k) plan in the U.S., effective November 1, 2008, and matching contributions for tuition assistance and other reimbursement programs are being suspended effective January 1, 2009.

Even if GM implements the planned operating actions that are substantially within its control, GM's estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business. Looking into the first two quarters of 2009, even with its planned actions, the company's estimated liquidity will fall significantly short of that amount unless economic and automotive industry conditions significantly improve, it receives substantial proceeds from asset sales, takes more aggressive working capital initiatives, gains access to capital markets and other private sources of funding, receives government funding under one or more current or future programs, or some combination of the foregoing. The success of GM's plans necessarily depends on other factors, including global economic conditions and the level of automotive sales, particularly in the United States and Western Europe.

Further detail on the additional liquidity actions and GM’s current liquidity position and outlook will be disclosed in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange (SEC) later today.

GM has taken a host of aggressive “self help” actions to improve its business, but additional support from the U.S. government to aid the auto industry during this industry downturn is essential. The company has engaged in discussions with various U.S. federal government agencies and Congressional leaders about the important role that the domestic automotive industry plays in the U.S. economy, and the need for immediate government funding support given the economic and credit crisis and its impact on the industry, including consumers, dealers, suppliers and manufacturers. Many in the government have acknowledged the important role of the industry in the national economy and the discussions are ongoing; and at this point, their outcome cannot be predicated with certainty.

“These tough actions, though very difficult to make, demonstrate our commitment and determination to weather this economic downturn and emerge a stronger and more competitive company,” said Wagoner. “We remain focused on retaining our focus on product excellence and our commitment to advanced propulsion technology leadership and returning the business to profitability despite the current market conditions.”

Finally, GM has recently explored the possibility of a strategic acquisition that it believed would generate significant cost reduction synergies and substantially strengthen GM’s financial position in the medium and long term, while being neutral or modestly positive to cash flow even in the near term. While the acquisition could potentially have provided significant benefits, the company has concluded that it is more important at the present time to focus on its immediate liquidity challenges and, accordingly, considerations of such a transaction as a near-term priority have been set aside.

[Source: GM]