At one point there was believed to be a savior – Tengzhong. A Chinese automobile maker and truck producer. They wanted to share in the Chinese obsession with American made cars. And most importantly, they wanted to keep making Hummer vehicles – even newer models were proposed like the H4 and H5 concepts.

But as many instances in life you cannot predict what will come next: The turn of opinions, financial deals, especially with big business. Tengzhong’s deal fell threw, twice, and Hummer saw no rainbow at the end of their cloudy weather.

GM has yet to decide the fate of some 3600 Hummer employees throughout the Southern and Midwestern United States. As for the 2000 Hummer vehicles still available on dealership lots – you can get a sweet deal with up to $6000 off 2010 models. In the end, for Hummer, it’s like the song goes: “It’s over and done with…”

And really, has a bit of Americana died along with Hummer? Sure, people saw it as a symbol of excess, douche-baggery and what not. Nevertheless, a Hummer rolling down suburban streets stood for something that no other country had. It was full of pride, apple pie…lots and lots of apple pies (because they’re so big, get it?) – In a way, we lost a bit of what it means to be American when we dump a vehicle like Hummer. So to you I say good night, sweet prince. See you on the other side.

According to The LA Times: GM said it would now begin “the orderly wind-down of the Hummer operations.” The process is expected to take several months, and the automaker said it would consider any “viable” offers for all or part of the brand. GM went through a similar situation with its Swedish Saab division. After first saying it could not find buyers and that it would close the company, GM sold Saab to Dutch sports-car maker Spyker Cars last month.

The Hummer, with its outsized body and gas-guzzling engines, was a “hedonistic” symbol of a bygone era of U.S. automotive development and it’s “no surprise” that GM could not complete a sale, said Rebecca Lindland, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight.

“Realistically, I think this is the right thing to do. It was doubtful that the brand was going to be successful. This was a brand that had its day,” Lindland said. “Closing Hummer simultaneously improves the health of GM, China and the planet. Hummer should rest in pieces,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, a Washington advocacy group that wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

About 3,000 jobs in the U.S. are tied to building and selling Hummers. Under terms of the scuttled deal, assembly plants in Louisiana and Indiana would have continued to produce Hummers under contract for Tengzhong until June 2011, with an optional one-year extension.

And so ends the era of another military vehicle. Years ago, Jeep owned the landscape of any country we were saving/invading. In the late 80′s, Humvee was all over the Middle East. Well, we’re still in that region, but other vehicles will take over and leave Humvee Skeletons covered in sand.

Via Jalopnik

According to sources: “Effective January 19th, all Hummer production will stop, that includes the contract manufacturing at AM General for the Hummer H2 and the production at GM’s Shreveport, Louisiana plant where the Hummer H3 and H3T are built.”

Nick Richards, public relations representative for Hummer, stated that inventories for Hummers nationwide are up to hundreds of days on hand, after a run of 2010 models beginning in October. After a year when dealers have seen an 85% decline in sales year over year, GM’s decided to stop production until the sale to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corporation. But now, the deal has been cleared by United States regulators. Chinese agencies involved are taking their time completing its side of the process. Richards says Hummer is confident a deal will be reached, but was unable to provide a projected completion date.

via: Jalopnik

Hummer’s Chinese owners are planning to change the public’s perception through the launch of two new fuel-efficient models. Per the terms of the agreement, GM’s deal with Tengzhong gives the Chinese company access to the engineering work already done on Hummer’s H4 model, originally the HX concept.

And yes, another number, another model. According to Hummer, the H5 will retain Hummer’s off-road status but will place a heavy emphasis on fuel economy. In fact, Hummer is working on hybrid and even all-electric drivetrains.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Functional additions to the H3 Moab continue into the vehicle’s interior with the addition of custom all-weather flooring, HUMMER Genuine Accessory all-weather floor mats and cargo area mat. To aid in trail visibility, front- and rear-facing cameras have been integrated into the vehicle bumpers and display the terrain fore and aft on the navigation radio screen. Integrated into the rear cargo area of the vehicle is a Warn Air-Power SPI, ideal for airing-up tires for the trip home after a long weekend on the trail.

-via Hummer PR

The Chinese commerce ministry will be overseeing approval of the purchase – the deal is expected to close with a final price of $200 Million, less than half of what GM wanted. These days, guess you have to take what you can get.

(via: autoblog)

Both companies plan on closing a deal by September, and stated this “will allow Hummer to better meet demand for new products such as more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S.” There are talks about expanding the line up and even keeping the Shreveport, La., plant open and building Hummers for the new owner until at least 2010.

We have a few guesses as to who might have picked up Hummer – In the past, we’ve discussed several interested parties who wanted to take General Motor’s brand into the next decade. Everyone from Chinese Defense Contractors to electric car manufacturer Raser Tech wanted in. Hopefully one of them will produce the long awaited H4 EV Concept:

GM would not only keep quiet about the buyer’s identity, but also the price Hummer was sold at. One thing has been made public, the deal will close by the end of September. We can’t imagine the price was too high – as CNN Money reported that “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.” We are betting on Raser – and the fact that they are keeping their yaps shut may be thanks to the fact that their 100 MPG Hummer only got 33 MPG, and the obviously staged Washington DC reveal last month. Raser would also keep Hummer in America – and you can’t get more Apple Pie than a 2-Ton SUV.