GM's Hummer Brand To Be Sold To a Chinese Company 429
An anonymous reader writes in to note that GM will sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, a little-known industrial firm. For now, the deal will save 3,000 jobs in the US. (The military HumVees are made by a separate company and are not involved in this deal.) "As part of the deal, some GM plants will continue to build the Hummer brand for the new owner, at least for awhile. The company said its Shreveport, La., plant will keep building Hummers for the new owner until at least 2010. ... GM said it sold 5,013 Hummers worldwide in the first quarter, down 62% from the 13,050 that it sold in the same period the prior year." AP coverage has more details on GM's planned divestitures, including the shedding of Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab.
An excellent company name (Score:5, Funny)
Well if any company was to own the Hummer brand, it should have a name including "Heavy Industrial Machinery Co." in it.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Chummer?
Re: (Score:2)
Khan's la-o-tian you insensitive clod!
Re:An excellent company name (Score:4, Informative)
Because they aren't?
The original Hummer, HMMWV, is still produced by AM General. GM never produced Humvees for the military. The H1 version of the Hummer was produced by AM General as well, but marketed by GM, and was based off the Humvee design. The H2 and H3 were basically a Suburban chassis with an body that bastardized the HMMWV body design.
At least the H2 shares some similarities with the H1 model. The H3 model is just trash.
Yay (Score:5, Funny)
I love hummers, and I don't care if I get it from an American or a Chinese.
Re:Yay (Score:5, Funny)
Giggety!
Re:Yay (Score:5, Funny)
You love being able to watch Madagascar while driving and merge without looking?
Yeah!!! Rumsfeld!!!
Re:Yay (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
American Culture: _Manufactured_ in China
The missing part? (Score:5, Interesting)
The original post has
Before you worry about soldiers of US army and marines riding on Chinese made jeeps, you should also note that GM China has made recorded sales in China, despite of its parent's woe in the US. I personally did notice quite a lot more Buick's running in the city of Shenzhen than on the streets of California. When I was over there, I owned a Buick myself which was made in China but with US-made engines and transmissions; whereas i own a Japanese car here in California. Strange world.
Why is it edited away? Is / . censoring our post, because the news of american company doing well in China does not fit the site's editorial agenda?
Re:The missing part? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, compared to Japanase/Korean/European engines, the engines built in the US aren't particularly well-known for their sophistication or efficiency. Just for their cubic inches. Seeing that some European 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engines already churn out 275 bhp and 240 Nm, 350 bhp from a 4+ litre V8 isn't particularly impressive. Especially if you look at the mileage.
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Re:Yay (Score:5, Interesting)
The current Chinese boom is a result of draining America's coffers. Its only a matter of time before the Chinese economy becomes self sustaining and they won't need us anymore. I'm afraid of what will happen when China becomes the new superpower and America takes up France's position of Ex-Superpower Turned Whiney Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys...
Re:Yay (Score:4, Informative)
Before reading your comment, I didn't really know anything about the lend-lease act. It was one of those terms I had heard, but didn't know the specifics of. Your comment prompted me to do some reading (wikipedia). And I think I can say that without a doubt you don't know what you're talking about (assuming the information on Lend-Lease [wikipedia.org] is accurate at the time I read it).
From the article:
And further:
So, technically the lend-lease act was not in any way any sort of drain on British coffers (quite the reverse actually). Now, after the war the "... Anglo-American loan came about. Lend-lease items retained were sold to Britain at the knockdown price of about 10 cents on the dollar giving an initial value of £1,075 million. Payment was to be stretched out over 50 years at 2% interest." That hardly sounds like any sort of drain to me... I'd love to get a million dollar home for $100,000 and then only have to pay it back at 2% over 50 years. And in fact, at least one member of the House of Lords agrees with me (emphasis mine):
Re:Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
China becomes the new superpower and America takes up France's position of Ex-Superpower Turned Whiney Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys...
Uhh, I live in one of France's neighbouring countries and have to say that I rather have a bunch of cheese eating (especially since they have excellent cheese, but I digress) surrender monkeys then a congregation of war mongering torturers with dellusional tendencies as neighbors.
But your mileage may vary, of course.
Re:Yay (Score:5, Informative)
Lend-lease during WWII was free for the British.
Postwar reconstruction, however, was not. [bbc.co.uk]
Britain was nearly bankrupt for the next decade -- there was still rationing five years after the war. And the US made out extremely well -- the British even had to devalue their currency while they were borrowing money. They were less able to invest in infrastructure than the French and Germans, and the long term consequences for British industry (the world's most advanced from about 1850-1930) were severe.
The point stands -- international lending can be quite powerful.
Re:Yay (Score:4, Interesting)
The UK made its last repayment at the end of 2006. This is an article [bbc.co.uk] from the Beeb about it. Interestingly, there are still WW1 debts still outstanding, which "Adjusted by the Retail Price Index, a typical measure of inflation, £866m would equate to £40bn now, and if adjusted by the growth of GDP, to about £225bn."
You can compare this with 1805 when the Battle of Trafalgar occurred. British government debt then equated 30 times their annual revenue. By winning that battle though, Britain become the dominant power, and presumably paid of the debts of all the wars by plundering the rest of the world.
Quibble: it was the UK, not England, that received the loans from the US.
England == UK (Score:3, Informative)
Quibble: it was the UK, not England
Outside the UK, mostly everyone calls the UK, England.
Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales might as well not exist.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Huh? You are saying that I choose between what I am now, or lower class in China? Or are you saying that I choose between lower class in the US vs middle class in China? Having been over there a few times, I can tell you that the middle class there lives better than the poor here. If I had to choose between a job here or a job there of the same level and bot
Re:Yay (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry, could you specify whether you're referring to China, or the US. Hard to differentiate on those criteria. If you'd said "invades or bombs foreign countries on a whim", "kidnaps, imprisons and tortures nationals of any country without due process", I might have guessed.
Sorry, couldn't resist that straight line.
Re:Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
After all the Brazilians usuallly call themselves Brazilians and not Americans. The Canadians would agree they're technically Americans, but they'd rather avoid the term and stick to being called Canadians. Same goes for the other countries.
Who else in the world would call themselves Americans? The people of the USA that's who. The ones who would hold a "world series" where the rest of the world doesn't show up. Or have an International Code Council that's not actually international, that creates an "International Building Code" that isn't, etc.
At least they've stuck to calling themselves "Americans" - would be a bit confusing if they enlarged their claim.
Re:Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed, I propose we use the word "Fatty" instead since it's shorter and more descriptive.
Re:Yay (Score:5, Funny)
2011 Hummer will be 100% superglue-resistant plastic with lead paint and genuine imitation plastic leather. A fitting end for a gas-munching behemoth.
So it will actually evolve into the Canyenaro.
Re:Yay (Score:5, Funny)
So it will actually evolve into the Canyenaro.
That's CANYONERO!
Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five..
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!
Canyonero! (Yah!) Canyonero!
[Krusty:] Hey Hey
The Federal Highway comission has ruled the
Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving.
Canyonero!
12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
Canyonero! Canyonero! (Yah!)
She blinds everybody with her super high beams,
She's a squirrel crushing, deer smacking, driving machine!
Canyonero!-oh woah, Canyonero! (Yah!)
Drive Canyonero!
Woah Canyonero!
Woah!
Re:Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
My kayak and various camping gear, workstands, tools, etc, don't fit on my bike, sorry. Bikes don't work so well in the winter to get to the mountains to ride my board either. And hundreds of miles of hilly roads aren't exactly fun on the bike, and not possible for a weekend away from work anyway.
But, to you city dwellers, enjoy. Some of us have good reason to own a car, and perhaps even a truck. Enjoy your concrete jungle that is so well suited to the skinny high pressure tires.
Re:Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
My kayak and various camping gear, workstands, tools, etc, don't fit on my bike, sorry.
How often do you go camping? Once a year? Have you heard... you can "rent" a car :) (or truck or whatever suits your fancy)
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Put a 1955 Corvette next to any Corvette since 2000 to see what I mean. Remember, that '55 Vette cost about $2800 so you didn't have to be a partner in a law firm or a crooked derivatives trader to afford one.
Brilliant logic there, Holmes.
That $2800 in 1955 would have been a year's wages for a person with a good job, considering that minimum wage in 1955 was $0.75 an hour....
0.75 X 8hr/day X 5days/week = $30 / week, before tax.
It would take a minimum wage person in 1955 just under two years to be able to afford a Corvette, if they needed no money for _anything_ else, and paid no taxes.
MSRP for the base 2009 Corvette is $48,565. Current minimum wage is $7.25.
Same calculations:
7.25X8X5 = $290/week
Now, it would ta
5,013? (Score:3, Funny)
Who are these 5,013 douchebags still buying Hummers? =P
Re: (Score:2)
Because they can't get them for free.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:5,013? (Score:4, Informative)
A company close to where I work will rent you a stretched version, a bit like a limo.
The company that imported them into the UK has apparently stopped doing it, after one *fell apart* going over a bump. The normal chassis is barely up to the job, and splicing in an extra metre doesn't help.
Re:5,013? (Score:4, Informative)
Here in Mexico City, driving a Hummer is considered an admission of being a drug-dealer or a politician (or both, if you know what I mean...)
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Some people actually need a vehicle with more than 12 " ground clearance. Hopefully the H2 delivers this. The H3, OTOH, is a completely inappropriate tool for most anything. For status, get an Escalade. For function, get an H2. For panache, get a Caterpillar.
Mind you, my wife would buy an H1 if she could afford it. And she thinks a Core 2 Duo with a 20" monitor is excessive...
Re:5,013? (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:5,013? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah calling a Hummer an off roader is pretty funny.
It's nothing more than a marketing trick based on association with the military HMMWV, which worked brilliantly. The humvee is a vehicle to make its predecessor jeep proud. It has an angled independent suspension that puts the gear box, drive shaft and other parts well off the ground for huge clearance. It's a great off-road vehicle, reliable and rugged.
Civilian versions are nothing like that, since they're based off completely different chassis. But hey, they look pretty similar if and if you never take them off the road you probably won't even notice. So it's kinda like you own military hardware! How bad-ass!
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Civilian versions are nothing like that, since they're based off completely different chassis.
h2 and h3, yes. the "h1", which was just "hummer" prior to the introduction of the 2 and 3, is pretty much a real humvee minus the .50-cal that goes in the middle. i imagine it'd make an awesome off-roader, though i've never bothered looking up any stats.
So, who makes HumVees? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:5, Informative)
Military Humvees are made by AM General, who sold the rights to the civilian versions back in 99 to GM I believe. This won't affect the military production lines in Indiana.
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:5, Informative)
From what I'm told, AM General [amgeneral.com] makes the HumVee, which for the original Hummer, was sold to GM as-is (well, a stripped down version anyhow). GM then painted them, added luxuries and such and then sold them to the public. That's why the H2 and H3 were so different compared to the original H1 - GM does not own the design of the H1 at all - they merely resold the hardware after some modifications. The H2 and H3 were original GM designs.
So no, the Chinese are not getting military information out of it, other than perhaps how to add leather seats and cupholders to an existing H1.
Turns out (Score:2)
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Not with today's oil prices
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:5, Informative)
The H2 and H2 are HMMV-styled bodies on standard GMC truck frames and running gear.
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The H2 and H3 are HMMV-styled bodies on standard GMC truck frames and running gear.
Fixed it for you.
... truck frames."
But really, should we expect anything more from GM? As you say, "standard
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:5, Informative)
H2 = GMC Jimmy AKA Chevy Tahoe chassis
H3 = GMC Envoy AKA Chevy Trailblazer chassis
. . . Ricardo Montalban sells HumVees . . . (Score:2)
So no, the Chinese are not getting military information out of it, other than perhaps how to add leather seats and cupholders to an existing H1.
. . .and rich Corinthian Leather . . .
. . . if the Chinese get that technology, we're all toast . . .
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Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The military (humvee) units are manufactured by AM General in Indiana. They sold the brand name to GM, who's now reselling it. The vehicles are built in Louisiana (?) (for the US) and South Africa (worldwide exports). Those plants will continue manufacturing them for at least another year. Maybe not the US one... I think most people who would buy a hummer would refuse to buy a chi-com hummer.
Anyhow, it's basically a name and a grill design.
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:4, Informative)
The H1 was built by AM General, who makes the military HMMWV on which the H1 is based. Of the current models, the H2 is built by AM General under contract from GM (its a GM design, based on the same platform as the Yukon and Tahoe) in Indiana. The H3 (based on a different GM platform) is built in Louisiana and South Africa as you describe.
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No, the HumVees were the originals. A Hummer is just a big, heavy HumVee-style body on an SUV chassis. At least, that's what they are now. The H1 was closer to the military version. Hummer on Wikipedia [wikipedia.org].
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The Hummer H2 is a Chevy Tahoe with a lift, air lockers, and a nominal performance increase. The Hummer H3 is a newer, more lightweight vehicle, purpose-built or perhaps based on some other SUV, I'm not sure.
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:4, Informative)
Don't forget the other modifications from the Tahoe. You know, the extra weight, woeful aerodynamics and awful use of interior space. It's kind of like an inverse-Tardis, it's smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside.
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Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:4, Interesting)
Neither. The military versions are called HMMV, which people tend to sound as HumVee. The GM product is called H1/H2/H3 Hummer and is based upon the Chevy Suburban Platform. Mainly the entire division is a marketing drone's wet dream as the best Mileage I've seen listed for the Hummer was 12MPG on the highway. Simply put, what killed the division is the low mileage and fuel guzzler tax here in the states because the vehicles simply couldn't get any mileage at all unlike the Real HMMV, that avgs. 20+mpg and the engine is a true multi-fuel capable. Primary is diesel but it will run on damn near anything including gasoline, ethonal and even what American's fondly call beer.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
HMMWV, actually. High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
Re:So, who makes HumVees? (Score:5, Insightful)
even what American's fondly call beer.
I'll have you know, America produce quite a bit of very good beer. Show up in seattle and I'll introduce you to some.
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AM General licensed the manufacture of civilian version of the Hummer to GM. The Hummer you buy is actually a Suburban with a HMMWV shaped body on top. AM General High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle -M998 Truck has different design specs for the military vehicle. Here is some history about this:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/hmmwv-hummer.htm [globalsecurity.org]
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HumVees (HMMWVs) are made by AM General [amgeneral.com]. They sold the distribution rights of the civilian version, the H1 Hummer to GM. GM based the H2 and H3 Hummers on other civilian vehicle chassis. The H2/H3 vehicles share no mechanical systems or production facilities with the HMMWV.
Personnaly, I'd rather have a MegaCrusier [megacruiser.com] than any of these.
Maybe it's just me... (Score:3, Insightful)
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If you cry into a beer, at least you have a beer.
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If you want to see news for nerds, go to the firehose and vote up what you want to see.
I have a story in the firehose: .org now signed for dnssec
Re:Maybe it's just me... (Score:4, Funny)
I've never met a nerd who wasn't interested in Chinese hummers.
Swings and roundabouts . . . (Score:2, Insightful)
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Are they going to still be sold here? (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder if anyone will buy Saab now, it has had worse sales than Hummer for a long time.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/02/by-the-numbers-may-2009-gm-and-ford-surprise-edition/ [autoblog.com]
The above link has some sales data.
The real problem isn't that Hummer is sold, it is that the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler have both been shoved down the companies and investor's throats. So they will trot out that they saved 3,000 or so jobs. What about the 100,000 plus jobs lost when all the dealerships are being forced to close, even ones who make a profit? A considerable number, if not the majority, of dealerships being punted are profitable.
This is all about Wall Street and not Main Street. The people tasked with doing these close outs and sales are all Wall Street regulars. If Wall Street had been held to the same standards as Detroit the change might have been something I could believe in. Instead communities are going to face real problems when dealerships close. Yeah, 3000 jobs is nice but it is a nickle on a Cadillac in terms of loss/gain. In other words, who the flip cares?
Hummer. Funny thing is they will survive in the real world and not the alternate reality world the US has become.
Re:Are they going to still be sold here? (Score:4, Insightful)
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And the alternative is????
I mean seriously, who in their right freaken mind would ever buy any of the assets from GM? Oh gee, 1 used car manufacturing plant building outdated vehicles! Yeah that will work REALLY well.
While I agree that there is contract law it does not matter squat if thousands of people get unemployed, the economy collapses, etc. And as a matter of fact contract law was not ignored. What happened is that a majority of people agreed with the terms and a small minority disagreed! In fact I
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean seriously, who in their right freaken mind would ever buy any of the assets from GM?
Well, this Chinesse company, for one...
And anyone who can read a report on GM's actual assets. If Clinton had gotten first-world healthcare for the United States when he tried. GM would be as solid today as friggin' Microsoft. And if GM could have waved a magic wand and lost its retiree debt, we might have flying cars by now.
Suburban wives nonplussed (Score:2)
The demographic segment that characterizes their customer base is already accustomed to buying Chinese-made products from clothing to blow molded lawn ornaments.
In other news, somebody in China thinks the price of oil is headed down.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Great news! (Score:5, Funny)
Heads aspode (Score:5, Insightful)
Despite the fact that my truck is built in Texas by Americans with 85% US content apparently the "profits" all go back to "Japan" SO THERE! (never mind Toyota being on the NYSE and the "profits" go to the shareholders...)
I can't imagine what this guy will do now when a new Hummer - built in Louisiana by Americans, but owned by the Chinese - pulls up to the pump!
I would love to be there when it happens though! ack ack ack....
Re:Heads aspode (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Heads aspode (Score:5, Insightful)
I wonder if it's just the "Buy American" bumper stickers that are laughable.
There was a spot on the news last night where a retired couple who invested their retirement savings in GM bonds were interviewed. The husband was a tool and die maker in the auto industry, and both the husband and wife considered it their patriotic duty to invest in America. And if the American flag seen waving in the background was any indication, advocate the same to others.
Needless to say their investments were wiped out.
The post-war industrial strength of America may have existed for their parents when they retired (and their parents before them), but an investment strategy that involves a troubled industry and a company that routinely posted huge losses is indicative more of nostalgic yearnings than common sense.
My own take is that the couple's situation could be considered laughable, as in "I invested in America and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.", but they didn't even get a T-shirt.
Re:Heads aspode (Score:5, Informative)
Ya well people just want something to be stupid and patriotic about I guess. With the multi-national nature of the world these days, it gets rather silly to identify a company as a given nationality anyhow. Like Intel for example. It is an American company in that it is headquartered in the US and started there. Ok, but that isn't the only place its operations are. You can very well buy an Intel chip that was designed in the US, fabricated in Ireland, packaged in Costa Rica, and then sold in Canada. They've got various parts of their operation all over. While most of their fabs are in the US (one is in Ireland, two in Israel, 12 in the US) all their packaging and testing centres are outside the US. Likewise their R&D are in the US, but also Israel, China, Korea, Russia and so on.
So is Intel really an "American" company? They really seem more global.
They are not alone in this. That's how many major companies work. As you noted, the Japanese car makers are heavily producing in America these days. Makes a lot of sense, there are skilled workers, lots of land, good natural resources and a large consumer base. Why spend the money shipping the things over from Japan is they are mostly sold in the US? For that matter, some lines are completely produces in the US, even the ones sold in Japan.
While I understand the desire to protect American jobs, that doesn't mean the company has to be headquarted in America. There are American companies that produce nothing in the US, and their are foreign companies that produce lots in the US. Really they are all global companies and their country of origin is largely incidental.
Re:Heads aspode (Score:5, Insightful)
As another interesting statistic, it's important to point out the the US's GNP is still slightly higher than its GDP.
In other words, the value of goods produced in the US is roughly equal to the value of goods produced by US-owned companies and American citizens. For every foreign-owned factory in the US, there's another US-owned factory someplace else in the world.
(Of course, as with any economic statistic, it's not quite that simple. However, the fact that both figures are roughly equivalent is a good sign)
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I hope the "Buy American" guy with his Hummer never walks into a Walmart. He might have a coronary.
[Insert Small-Asian-Penis Joke Here] (Score:5, Funny)
Just kinda writes itself, really.
Goodriddance (Score:3, Funny)
That's about all I can say for the abomination that the Hummer became.
Aha! (Score:2)
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Indeed. We somehow managed convince a nation of one billion mostly intelligent people to not only give us valuable goods in exchange for worthless green paper, but also to accept even more worthless representations of pieces of worthless green paper made on the tiny magnetic domains of a cheap piece of rust-covered glass in an undisclosed location in lieu of actual worthless paper...
EV-1 (Score:2, Interesting)
Guess that decision to produce the Hummer over the EV-1 has come back to bite GM in the ASS big time!
Next... (Score:2)
Now when do you think Chevron and Exxon will start licensing the patents the own on electric vehicle technology? Looking at their oil profits these days, I'd say after half of the Caribbean is under water.
Re:EV-1 (Score:4, Insightful)
If they had been making the EV-1 instead of the Hummers all this time, they would have probably gone bankrupt ten years ago. So... no.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
We had electric cars 100 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car#1830s_to_1900s:_Early_history [wikipedia.org]
And there's been manufacturers that made them over the years since then, too. It's doubtful that they'd have had mass appeal if GM had started manufacturing the EV1 10 years ago, because 1) gas was still cheap, and 2) there were still some technological barriers in place. The combonation of those two factors is what prevented the electric car from being manufactured en masse, not GM's decision not to ke
Mil version H1 is good (Score:2, Informative)
There is irony that a Chinese company now owns the brand, but I am not going to back that up with how.
Shocking (Score:3, Insightful)
I never thought I would see the day that an iconic US American brand [thinkpad.com] being sold off to a Chinese company [lenovo.com].
This is truly unprecedented [apple.com].
Chummers (Score:4, Funny)
Maybe... (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe they'll start using H3s as a aphrodisiac instead of rhino horn and tiger penis? Oh, wait, they'll want something that actually works...
Summed up in five words (Score:3, Interesting)
... at least for a while.
That's really the most important part of the summary.
This is a warning to those other industries (Score:5, Interesting)
Keep plowing ahead ignoring your customers.
After all, they'll buy what you damn well want them to buy, right? Wrong. GM had piss-poor leadership, management with no vision. They kept making product that no one wanted to buy. The market handled GM alright.
Now, just think if GM had treated every potential customer that entered a dealership as a criminal.
Watch out RIAA/MPAA your industries are next. The market will handle you as well.
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They should have seen $4 gasoline coming, and even before the credit collapse they were losing massive amounts of money. GM's entire philosophy over the last fifteen years was to make large profits selling luxury trucks and SUV's, and they declined to invest in the future or diversify their products. Toyota and Honda spent that same period of time investing in hybrid technology and fuel
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Re:This is a warning to those other industries (Score:4, Insightful)
But that was my point. GM is not merely a side effect of a more general problem in the US. The financial crisis has finished off GM, but they were already losing money before the economy dropped off a cliff. They didn't go bankrupt because the economy collapsed, they went bankrupt because they were mismanaged. They couldn't afford to stay in business, even with the government giving them billions of dollars a month. Somehow Ford, the European automakers, and the Japanese automakers all managed to stay solvent in the same market.
Apparently, the Chinese still have a few ... (Score:3, Funny)
"If you try to swim in rough water, the first thing to do is _not_ to chain an iron ball to your ankle."
Why buy Hummer (Score:3, Insightful)
I doubt the Chinese are interested in building Hummers. However, they are very very interested in owning the intellectual property rights to certain components such as engines and transmissions. Once they are legally in the clear and have a good design, they will be able to build and sell a car for the US market.
Disclosure - I live in China.
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I'm not sure what they want, but they are getting the tech, the brand, the manufacturing plant and let's not forget the distribution network.
The buyer, Sichuan Tengzhong, looks like an interesting company. They manufacture heavy equipment, special-use vehicles, highway & bridge structural components, construction machinery and energy facilities. That's a varied mix, but I don't see passenger autos in there. They've been in business since 2005. They are a private company; I'm not sure where they get