Hummer Hangs On - for a Little Bit - as GM Allows Two Months to Find New Buyer

Hummer Hangs On - for a Little Bit - as GM Allows Two Months to Find New Buyer

By John O'Dell February 26, 2010

The Terminator was just about impossible to kill off. His favorite vehicle might be as well.

Just two days after General Motors said it was going to wind down the Hummer brand after a deal with China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. fell through, the company has decided to extend agreements with 153 Hummer franchises.

The dealers are being given until May 1 so Hummer executives have time to seek a new buyer for the brand.

Hummer Chief Executive Officer Jim Taylor told the trade journal Automotive News that he was advised by GM CEO Ed Whitacre to "move fast" because the automaker isn't gong to wait very long for something to happen.

Taylor said that GM has wind-down agreements ready for Hummer dealers, similar to those it had with Pontiac and Saturn dealers, but hasn't put them into effect.

GM last year decided to cut Hummer loose after a couple years of gas-price-induced sales declines so it could concentrate on efforts to stem huge losses by narrowing its brands to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

In case you've been living without media for a few decades, the Terminator reference was to muscle-builder, actor and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose most famous role was that of "the terminator" in the movie of the same name.

"Arnold," as Californians like to call their top elected official, at one time owned four Hummers and pitched the brand - before he became sort of a greenie and proponent of hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric cars- as one that epitomized America.

Danny King, Contributor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.