motor

Mattk · 02-19-2009, 03:14 AM

I don't quite think the aulity/capabilty or viability of any product is based on whether or not it is the subject of ridicule in Australia...

I never said it was. Regardless of how good it is, people don't seem to be buying them in high numbers. Why else would they sell the brand? Low sales all round is the prime motivator for Rick Wagoner to sell off Hummer and Saab and meanwhile restructure Buick and Pontiac.

Any time these "brands" get sold and relocated, its a stupid decision, because without the supply chain and intellectual assets, the brand is worth nought.

I agree, but the audacity of reality has proved logic wrong, seeing as the Indian Mahindra company was immediately interested the moment Wagoner announced this last year, and GM themselves say they are considering a number of offers. It is clearly worth something to a lot of people, as odd as that seems.

And enemy government or not, China has everything to lose if they start hostilities against America and the West, because they'll have no one left to rip off. If they do attack, China has nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The fact that they have Hummers isn't going to be the problem.

Even if Sichuan Auto Industry Group gets Hummer, and the Chinese government get all their automotive patents because the have control over major industries, what additional military capabilities will they get? Better vehicles, perhaps. The US military is in the process of phasing out the HMMWV, so there will still be a significant technology gap. Besides, given the lack of respect Chinese producers pay to competition law, I'm sure they've managed to buy a Hummer and clone it. Oh wait, it's happened already via Dongfeng Motors: http://www.chinacartimes.com/2007/05...ket-next-year/. And here's another one (which I actually didn't know about until now): http://harshpaul.instablogs.com/entr...n-china-again/.

In any case, this seems to be much ado about nothing. The chances of a minor Chinese manufacturer in a non-existent Hummer market getting the brand are very slim.