Hummer discontinued: The end of a gas-guzzling era

Hummer now will join the long list of victims of the recession. General Motors today announced that the symbol of tank-like power to its owners and a token of greed to its detractors will be discontinued after a plan to sell the brand to a Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd. in China failed.

For about a year, GM had offered the brand but faced resistance from officials in China as it courted the potential buyer. GM also tried to unload Saturn last year during a restructuring, but failed. “One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward.  We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," John Smith GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances said in a news release issued today. "GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."