Xinhua: Hummer is "an exaggerated and extreme example of a disregard for the environment"
General Motors' HUMMER division has long been the whipping boy of the environmental movement, and now even the Chinese government seems to be getting in on the act. Quoting Richard Wottrich, International Managing Director at investment banking firm Dresner Partners, the state-run Chinese media outlet Xinhua starts out a story on Tengzhong's bid to purchase the SUV maker from GM this way:
General Motors' HUMMER is considered as an exaggerated and extreme example of a disregard for the environment and there are significant brand negatives for the Chinese company Tengzhong to buy it. The vehicle is too big, uses too much gas, and is viewed as a toy for the rich. These are rather significant brand negatives for the Chinese company Tengzhong to consider. HUMMER is a difficult brand name to reconcile with current global conditions and political thought.Well, that doesn't sound too hot, does it? Wottrich goes on to give sound reasoning behind GM's decision to offload the brand and suggests that these same issues may be reason enough to give Tengzhong pause when considering its purchase. Before any deal can go through between Tenzhong and GM, the Chinese government must grant its seal of approval, and that's no sure thing.
[Source: Xinhua]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 9:57AM (6/09/2009)
The Chinese have no room to talk about the environment. They are probably the worst, and they should be keeping their dam mouths shut until they stop raping their environment..
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beam_me_up_snotty 10:20AM (6/09/2009)
jharln: Everyone that purchases cheap goods made in China are as much to blame for the environmental impacts. Everyone needs to understand that those cheap goods come at a great environmental cost and therefore are not truly cheap. We all live on the same planet and depend on finite resources.
harlanx6 10:28AM (6/09/2009)
We are increasingly aware that it's hard to find manufactured goods that the Chinese don't have a hand in. We need to rebuild our manufacturing base. We have the technology to do it.
TANKD0G 12:00PM (6/09/2009)
They have stricter emissions standard than you do. So what's that say about you?
guyledouche 12:11PM (6/09/2009)
HarlanX6,
Its not about the technology. Everyone has the technology to manufacture. The thing that gives China their advantage, similarly to India, is their labor cost.
I am in the manufacturing industry and let me tell you it is almost impossible to compete with them. One advantage at least for us is that we have proprietary technology that A. they cant produce, and B. Our customers wouldnt want made in China anyway.
Another factor that may start to tip the scales in our favor is the fact that dealing with Chinese CM's is a nightmere when you are dealing with large complex parts that occasionally require design changes. Between the language barrier, shipping costs, lack of quality and lack of quality control, we may start to gain back some of this industry.
Leviat 10:12AM (6/09/2009)
Honestly, it's sad to me that Hummer is going to be (likely) be leaving the US. It's a brand with strong recognition and with a little ingenuity it could be saved.
If anyone with a lot of money out there is reading this, buy Hummer and grab a handful of engineers. Imagine an H3 with four water-tight electric wheel-hub motors and a small efficient diesel generator + battery pack combo.
You would end up with a solid platform that gets around 30+ MPG and has true independent all-wheel drive. You just need enough batteries to handle temporary "high load" demand until the diesel generator catches up again which can keep costs down.
Market the 1st gen around $60k and I bet you every other person in Hollywood will (secretly) get one instead of an Escalade. Once you have enough equity design an H4 that is smaller and can compete with today's Grand Cherokee's and you can transform Hummer into the first "Green SUV" brand.
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Steve 11:16AM (6/09/2009)
Sounds like Wottrich is spot on with his analysis of what Hummer is, and its short comings.
Hummer has such strong brand recognition as a toy for spoilt rich kids that its hard to do anything else with it.
Attempting to recreate the brand as environmentally friendly would be extremely hard.
So you have to think that Tengzhong's interests lie elsewhere, like either getting a foot into the USA auto industry, or that GM has hidden some sweetener in the fine print.
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Marshall 11:37AM (6/09/2009)
The only real Hummer is the HUMVEE made by AM General. The rest are boxy, primative, poorly designed SUVs sitting on archaic truck frames. Perfect for sociopathic poseurs, but not much else. Hopefully the Chinese will have better taste than to save this silly company.
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Cellien 11:43AM (6/09/2009)
Lol, yeah ok. China has been selling H2s for years w/ far less emission control than the ones sold in the U.S.
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KM 11:53AM (6/09/2009)
Aren't Hummers "high-margin" vehicles like other SUVs? Surely the price can be reduced by a company less interested in maintaining brand exclusivity and more interested in technology transfer? And surely a clean, more efficient, diesel can be thrown in there?
Besides which I suspect the company wants to adapt Hummer tech to a degree to its existing industrial vehicles.
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downtoearth 12:52PM (6/09/2009)
It's ridiculous how this world is mostly about perception and opinion and not about merits and facts. Hummer an exaggerated disregard for the environment? Check the list below, all data come from EPA (fueleconomy.gov).
How many barrels of crude oil are needed and tons of CO2 emitted to drive a given car over 15.000 miles
(Note that diesel SUVs, advertised as environmentally friendly, are only a 0.7 barrel better than the V6 Hummer.)
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI................19.7 barrels | 10.6 tons of CO2 | "ECO" DIESEL SUV
Mercedes GL320 Bluetec. 20.7 barrels | 11.1 tons of CO2 | "ECO" DIESEL SUV
Hummer H3 4WD.............. 21.4 barrels | 11.4 tons of CO2 | V6 ENVIRO-KILLER
BMW X5 V8.......................21.4 barrels | 11.4 tons of CO2 | large SUV
Audi Q7 3.6.......................21.4 barrels | 11.4 tons of CO2 | large SUV
Mercedes C 63 AMG.........22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | powerful midsize
Audi Q7 4.2.......................22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | large SUV
Lexus GX470....................22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | midsize SUV
Audi R8.............................22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
Audi S8.............................22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | fast large car
Volkswagen Touareg V8...22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | midsize SUV
Aston Martin V8................22.8 barrels | 12.2 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
Hummer H3 V8..................24.5 barrels | 13.1 tons of CO2 | V8 ENVIRO-KILLER
Lexus LX570.....................24.5 barrels | 13.1 tons of CO2 | large SUV
Porsche Cayenne Turbo..24.5 barrels | 13.1 tons of CO2 | fast midsize SUV
BMW M5...........................26.3 barrels | 14.1 tons of CO2 | fast midsize
Ferrari F430.....................26.3 barrels | 14.1 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
Bentley Continental GT....26.3 barrels | 14.1 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
Mercedes S600................26.3 barrels | 14.1 tons of CO2 | fast large car
Mercedes ML 63 AMG......28.6 barrels | 15.2 tons of CO2 | fast midsize SUV
Bentley Brooklands..........31.1 barrels | 16.6 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
Lamborghini Murcielago...31.1 barrels | 16.6 tons of CO2 | celebrity car
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jake 1:54PM (6/09/2009)
The problem with Hummer is they only sell SUVs and according to your chart even their most efficient 5 cylinder midsized SUV is the efficiency of competitor's full size SUVs or mid sized V8 SUVs. The only other ones worst are a couple of rare supercars or performance cars/SUVs. And I bet the H2 isn't much better. So really Hummer does deserve it's image. It doesn't look like a good brand to buy right now. The only positive is perhaps gaining some engineering knowledge, but even that is limited.
downtoearth 3:32PM (6/09/2009)
Jake, you're absolutely right. My point was only that while the Hummer (and, inderectly the GM) gets most of media bashing, a lot even worse polluters and fossils wasters sneak past unnoticed.
Mercedes ML 320 BlueTEC is even advertised as "green"! It's just a tad more efficient than the Hummer!
I bet the key problem of the Hummer is its appeareance. Oversized everything makes it an easy target.
But it is always the case as soon as we deal with large publicity. Perception matters, not the merit.
Richard 3:55PM (6/09/2009)
As Jake pointed out, that chart also cleverly omits the Hummer H2, which is generally what people are talking about when they say "Hummer". The reason that it doesn't even show up there is because its heavy enough to qualify under a different set of reporting rules.
Chris M 9:43PM (6/09/2009)
The fact that this "warning" came through the official Xinhua newsagency makes it a sort of "unofficial" warning to Tenzhong that the Chinese Government doesn't think buying Hummer is a good idea, and is unofficially pressuring Tenzhong to call off the purchase.
Officially, of course, the Chinese Government isn't interfering in the business transaction.
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kballs 1:08AM (6/10/2009)
I don't think it would be that difficult to resurrect the brand... if a Hummer were built that could get 30-50MPG they would sell. Plenty of people still like the idea of a go anywhere vehicle, just now they want that with more efficiency and/or a greener image. Hummer already being a higher priced off-road brand, it would not be that difficult to build new light weight Hummers with advanced drivetrains (such as the series hybrid with torque vectoring 4WD that Leviat suggests, which would have amazing off-road capabilities) and still keep it within $50-80k purchase price... especially if it's built with cheap Chinese labor (though there are real and perceived quality issues with Chinese built vehicles so far).
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Dustin 6:50PM (6/18/2009)
The HX would be the perfect bridge to a new perception. but in a time where people hear a name and assume they know it all... Branding becomes more important than it wants to be.
Selling to the Chinese would just make me want the HX more, because I'm sure as hell not giving my money to Government Motors. I'd rather export the whole economy to the Chinese than leave it in the hands of the Feds....
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