Following a report from Jalopnik, Autonews reports that GM is trying to unload Hummer-fast. Autonews quotes GM COO Fritz Henderson, during a visit to India, that he hopes for a sale by the end of this year, or early 2009. Claiming that there are several companies interested in Hummer, Henderson declined to mention any by name.

This news should hardly come as a surprise. Hummer’s downward spiral in sales has been well documented, and rumors have been flying that GM hoped to unload the brand. I concur with Jalopnik here; why the news broke from India is not quite clear.

I am no Hummer expert, but some research on Wikipedia shows some interesting facts-Hummer has 300 dealers, but just 174 in the US. Hummers are also produced in South Africa and Russia. My guess is that Hummer will likely be sold, but I am very skeptical that the buyer will be an American company. I would not hold it past GM to halt production altogether while it waits for a better offer if one does not come sooner than later.

Though few will disagree that Hummer ownership was, and is, the equivalent of sticking your middle finger to Mother Earth, even the most brazen product planner in the division had to wonder just how far the brand could be taken. The H1, a thinly disguised military HUMVEE for public consumption established AM General, and GM bought the rights to market and sell it as a Hummer. A toy for the wealthy, GM brought the brutish appeal of the H1 to a slightly more usable product in the H2. 
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As we headed towards Mosport for the vintage festival last week, it seemed fitting that we were cruising in Chevy’s retro styled HHR. Fortunately, this was no plain Jane grocery getter either. We were headed for some twisties where the turbocharged 2008 HHR SS could get it’s boogie on. With pie wagon styling, substantial chrome wheels and pumping out 260 ponies this machine was just perfect for a dragging the cooler and cameras up for a day at the track, not to mention a few dance steps along the way.

Over the past years, we haven’t owned a car with overly sporting intentions. Reason? Kids. A herd of them. There hasn’t been too many vehicles conceived over the years that are capable of hauling a family of 5 and a bunch of their junk that can do double duty as a weekend warrior. The two jobs have distinctly different needs. Lately though, several automakers have managed to combine the needs of a parental taxi with the wants of an autocrosser.
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Every now and then, manufacturers will hold a ride and drive event for fleet customers to come out and sample their vehicles. It is a convenient way for all the buyers to come out and get a taste of what a manufacturer has on offer. Any time there is a parking lot full of vehicles waiting to be driven, you’ll find the auto scribes aren’t too far away and today was no exception.

General Motors invited a bunch of local journalists out for the day to sample a good chunk of the GM stable. They were nice enough to invite us out a bit earlier than the buyers, so we had a chance to blast through as many cars as possible in a few hours. We were able to spend a bit of time with Chevy’s Cobalt SS, HHR SS, Tahoe 2 mode hybrid and….oh wait. It seems we spent more time talking than driving and only drove the three. That’s ok, as we got some great photos and will have some impressions of these pretty neat cars as the week goes on.

Lose a billion or so, garner a Motor Trend Car of the Year award. It’s been that kind of an upside down year for the General. But 2008 might get off to a positive bang with odds in the favor of GM to win the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

In what is shaping up as a really strong ‘08 model year for GM, the automaker has already won several significant awards for the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS.
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Here in The Garage, we are taking a couple of weeks vacation. But this isn’t your regular vacation, as we are really doing next to nothing for a change. We have been hanging around the house, saw a movie and are doing the usual holiday season stuff. Beyond that, we are taking the odd day trip here and there. Today we visited Toronto’s Black Creek Pioneer Village, which has been preserving heritage buildings and lifestyle since the middle of the last century. The village is similar in concept if not scale to the Henry Ford Museum at Greenfield Village neat Detroit except that the setting is in the mid 1800’s, well before the automobile took over from the horseless carriage.

So why do readers of The Garage care? Well, it is a pretty cool place to take the kids, but garage like activities played a bit part of life in those early days of Canadian life. You might even see some clues of what was to come. The Dominion Carriage Works that you see above may have indeed played a part in the early days of General Motors. It seems that W.C. Durant may have owned shares in DCW at some point. This carriage works stayed in operation until 1972 on a limited basis and was moved to Black Creek in 1973 along with all the tools and original carriage patterns.
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Toyota says it is ready to beat the tar out of GM for world dominance, but the Detroit automakers looks like it is winning the hearts and minds of the Chinese.

General Motors said it has become the first overseas car maker to sell one million units on the Chinese mainland this year.

Cadillac SLS China

GM didn’t give specific sales figure for the whole year. Last year, it sold 876,747 units on the mainland, a jump of 32 percent from 2005 and outpaced the growth of the entire auto industry of 25 percent.
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We become slightly oblivious when car makers announce billion dollar losses. It seems almost the norm.

But GM’s announcement of a close to $39 billion loss sent shockwaves throughout the industry.
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It could be argued it was fate that I would lead me to write about the automotive industry: my first word was Volkswagen…at least that’s what my mother claims. Dad claims it was “automobile,” but you see the general direction my life was headed in at an early age.

Like most people who grow up in and around Detroit, my parents worked in the auto industry. My dad retired from Ford after 33 years and my grandfather spent 20 years with the Blue Oval. I’ve written about the auto industry for nearly 15 years. I’ve covered everything from monthly sales figures to auto shows around the world to asking celebrities what kind of cars they like.

I’ve done all that for newspapers, magazines, web site and I’ve even help author a book about the history of General Motors.

I find the business of the auto industry to be fascinating mix of politics, business and art. Few things in this world capture and hold the attention of folks as much as the auto industry and I’m glad to have a window to watch how the industry is changing.

While GM struggles to retain it’s market share, they may have just pulled a big furry bunny out of a hat. Learning from Hyundai, The General has completely revamped their warranty coverage for all 2007 models.

The new plan includes 5 year/100,000 mile (that’s 160,000 km up here in canada) powertrain coverage that is fully transferable. They’ve also extended the roadside service and even included a courtesy car program. This will apply to all vehicles GM builds under all 8 brands.

This is a good plan, provided their quality is good enough to keep them from going broke. One thing is for certain, that courtesy car program is going to open some eyes among the Traditional Imports. Many of the Traditional Imports only cover a replacement car if the consumer has bought an extended warranty. Good call on that one Mr. Wagoner.

GM press release after the break.

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We took so many pics at AutoFest that I think we’ll post them by make. It only seems fitting that we should start with some of The General’s own. Fortunately there was tons of quality local iron to offset the missing Camaro. That said, it seemed like every Chevelle in Southern Ontario was there. I never really liked the car and it still doesn’t turn my crank, so you won’t find many pics of them but don’t worry, there’s lots more mullety goodness after the break!

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