Who wants to buy Hummer? Hot rumor at presstime is that India's Mahindra & Mahindra is looking at General Motors' militaristic SUV division. No doubt, GM chairman Rick Wagoner is thinking about private equity or well-heeled and well-oiled investors like Aston Martin's current owners as possible buyers. In announcing that GM is conducting a "strategic review of the Hummer brand," Wagoner says it could include "a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand."
Wagoner deserves credit for making a decision to do something about this albatross, which GM established about a decade ago under the shortsighted leadership of Ron Zarrella, who more recently has been blamed for running Bausch & Lomb into the ground.
Three questions facing GM right now are: (1) How can it revamp Hummer into a lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles? (2) If it is sold, do the new owners get the GM-based platforms and U.S. production facilities as well (AM General builds the H2 for Hummer in Indiana)? (3) Can GM get out of Hummer without a dealer revolt?
The good news is, while GM also is closing four truck/SUV factories in North America in the next two years, it's bringing production of its new line of four-cylinder engines, called Family Zero, to Flint, Michigan. Family Zero will include the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine for the 2011 Chevy Compact (Cobalt replacement), and a naturally aspirated version for the 2011 Volt, and the Aveo replacement, which switches to the new Gamma platform designed to carry new-generation Daewoo and Opel subcompacts.
The Flint Family Zero factory will build engines ranging from 1.0 to 1.4 liters, Wagoner has announced. That means Flint will also build engines for GM's new microsegment car based on the Chevy Beat concept, which is not planned for sale in the U.S. and Canada. GM finally seems able to shift production reasonably quickly to reflect new marketing demands, now possible largely thanks to last autumn's United Auto Workers contract.