Just a day after announcing the successful sale of Saab, General Motors today announced that a deal to sell its Hummer unit of SUVs has fallen through. GM has been negotiating with Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd., but today announced in a statement that the Chinese heavy machinery maker was, “unable to complete the acquisition of Hummer.”

GM agreed to try and find a buyer for its Hummer brand upon exiting bankruptcy last year. GM decided to refocus on just four brands (Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac). Since then it announced the shut-down of the historic Pontiac brand and also the wind-down of Saturn after a deal to sell it to Penske fell through. Just yesterday GM completed the sale of Saab to Dutch automaker Spyker.

GM has said it will honor Hummer warranties and provide service support and parts to owners worldwide.

Official release after the jump:

Frederick “Fritz” Henderson has resigned as General Motors chief executive officer.

Henderson (left, in the photo above) was appointed CEO on March 29, replacing Rick Waggoner who shown the door by the Obama administration. Over the last eight months, Henderson worked at reorganizing the company. GM announced that Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. (right, in the photo) will take over as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

“Fritz has done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change,” said Whitacre. “While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made. To this end, I have taken over the role of Chairman and CEO while an international search for a new president and CEO begins immediately. With these new duties, I will begin working in the Renaissance Center headquarters on a daily basis. The leadership team – many who are with me today – are united and committed to the task at hand.”

During Henderson’s tenure, GM filed for Chapter 11 protection and, 40 days later, emerged from protection with help from the government. On Nov. 16, Henderson announced GM would begin paying back the government’s $6.7 billion loan.

As part of the company’s recovery efforts, GM scaled back to four key brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac is shutting down and GM found a Chinese buyer for Hummer. GM also came close to finding new owners for Saturn and Saab. A deal with Roger Penske for Saturn fell apart, while a deal for Saab with Koenigsegg also fell through. GM also announced today it has “has received expressions of interest in Saab” and will evaluate potential bids before the end of December.

[Source: MSNBC and Associated Press]

Toyota was all ready to create a little positive marketing for itself by entering its new 2010 4Runner in the grueling Baja 1000 race. The only problem is, Hummer also signed up and decided to spoil all the fun.

Both the 4Runner, piloted by a host of drivers, including Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, a 22-time Baja winner and member of the Off-Road Motorsorts Hall of Fame; and the Hummer H3 driven by 20-time winner Rod Hall (and others), were entered in the Stock Mini class, meaning that they received only minor modifications.

The Hummer proved victorious, but it was close with the H3 only overtaking the 4Runner in the last 30 miles of the 673-mile race. The win now gives Rod Hall a total of 21 class victories, and solidifies Hall’s claim to being the only driver to have competed in all 42 Baja 1000 races.

“These production trucks are the right size. They’re fun, take a lot of abuse and just keep running and running,” said Rod Hall. “You’d be surprised at how much abuse the H3 can take.”

For the record, there were only three vehicles entered in the Stock Mini class, however, just finishing the race is its own little victory, as this year only 185 of 328 total vehicles (just 56.4 percent) of the vehicles entered made it to he checkered flag.

The Hummer H3 Alpha driven by Chad Hall of Rod Hall Racing also managed a victory in the Stock Full Class.

“Off-road motorsports is an integral part of Hummer’s vehicle development process and a cornerstone of the brand’s DNA,” said Hummer CEO James Taylor. “We’re extremely proud of the team’s resilience to earn these stock class victories and congratulate the Rod Hall Racing program on another successful Baja 1000. Race after race, they continue to prove the rugged nature of Hummer vehicles.”

The overall Baja 1000 winners were Andy and Scott McMillin, who covered all 673 miles in just 14-hours, 19-minutes and 50-seconds in their Trophy Truck Class Chevy Silverado.

[Source: SCORE and Hummer]

Under new ownership by Chinese heavy machinery maker Sichuan Tengzhong, Hummer will move forward with plans to introduce a smaller and more efficient H4 model. Previewed in concept form as the HX (above), the H4 would be lighter and more fuel-conscious, but wouldn’t give up on the brand’s hard-core attitude. It would be designed as a rival to the Jeep Wrangler in rugged off-road performance.

According to brand CEO Jim Taylor, the H4 would come to market in about three years, followed a year or two later by an even smaller and even more fuel-efficient H5 model.

The sale of Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd. is expected to be finalized by December 1st, although judging by the fact that GM still hasn’t managed to sell Saab or Saturn, that date might be pushed back – or the sale might not happen at all.

[Source: Autmotive News via LeftLaneNews]

As a brand, Hummer’s time in the spotlight is pretty much over, although if there is something that can save the brand it might be a core group of enthusiasts and a strong motorsports background. While Hummers are best known for being excessive street machines, unlike a lot of SUVs, they are actually incredibly capable off-roaders.

And so despite the brand’s near disappearance for the marketplace over the past year, Hummer was in attendance at the 2009 SEMA Show displaying two special edition street machines and two off-road racing trucks – including the incredible Robby Gordon Off-Road Dakar Hummer.

Gordon has raced a Hummer in off-road events since 2008, and last year places third overall in the grueling Dakar Rally. This year, the Hummer team and Gordon have their sights set on first and it looks like they have the truck to do it.

Hummer claims the race-truck is based on an H3, but with what appears to be an entirely carbon fiber vehicle, we’re not sure there’s much of the factory car left. It’s a tube-chassis vehicle and while it is built for serious off-roading, Gordon will be comfortable inside thanks to a fully enclosed cockpit with air conditioning. As for the engine, Hummer will only say that it is based on a production GM V8.

The 2010 Dakar Rally starts January 1st and we’ll be sure to check in on how Gordon and his crazy carbon Hummer are doing.

GALLERY: Robby Gordon Off-Road Dakar Hummer

Official release after the jump:

General Motors has sold its Hummer brand of SUVs to Chinese heavy industrial machinery builder Sichuan Tengzhon. No details have been released but the sale was reportedly made for a sum of just $150 million.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson had estimated in documents filed during GM’s bankruptcy proceedings that the brand could be worth as much as $500 million.

The once glamorous brand of massive and massively expensive SUVs began to suffer when the price of fuel spiked last year, but the recession hurt the company far more as it has recorded a 64 percent decline in sales so far in 2009. That drop is the largest sales decline recorded by any automobile brand this year.

Tengzhong will take over Hummer’s brand network as well as it’s manufacturing processes, however, GM will continue to build the H2, H3 and H3T on contract until June 2011. Brand CEO Jim Taylor will remain on with the company.

The sale of Hummer is actually the first successful one in GM’s brand elimination process. The company announced it would eliminate Pontiac, while selling off Saturn, Saab and Hummer and keeping four core brands: GMC, Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet. The sale of Saturn to Penske recently fell through while GM has yet to sign a contract with Koenigsegg group, which is interested in Saab.

[Source: Automotive News]

General Motors’ sale of its Hummer brand to China’s Tengzhong may be completed within a week.

The two companies have been working on a deal for Hummer since June, and an unnamed source said to be the discussions said a deal is imminent.

“Tengzhong executives have been traveling between the U.S. and China in the past months and more will arrive in Detroit soon,” the source told Reuters. “If there are no big surprises, an agreement could be finalized next week.”

The source also said that, as expected, Tengzhong is likely to keep Hummer’s senior management and operational team, as well as its dealership network.

The deal, reportedly worth $100 million, would also enter Tengzhong into a long-term agreement with GM over components, material supply and assembly. GM’s Shreveport, La. plant would be contracted to build the H3 and H3T models through 2010.

One final hurdle in the way of a Tengzhong’s Hummer acquisition is approval of the Chinese government. Earlier reports from a state-run radio station said the Chinese government may nix the deal but recent comments from China’s commerce ministry sounded more positive. The unnamed source said Chinese regulators will decide whether to approve the deal after it is finalized.

[Source: Automotive News and Reuters]

Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) new Indian owner Tata Motors continues to invest in and makes plans for its newly acquired luxury division despite what has so far been a very poor return on investment.

JLR posted a $1.11 billion loss last year but that won’t stop Tata from making big changes, the first of which is an initiative to reduce the weight of all new vehicles.

“JLR is planning to have all its future cars constructed with light weight aluminum bodies resulting in considerable savings in weight and reduction in CO2 emissions,” said CEO Ratan Tata in his company’s annual report. Weight is certainly something Land Rovers could lose, as some models are currently approaching the 6,000 lb mark.

Jaguar’s new 2010 XJ (pictured above) not only makes use of aluminum body panels but an all aluminum frame and is the first of a new line of Jaguars to be launched by Tata. The lighter package requires a less powerful (and more fuel-efficient) engine, as well as smaller and less expensive brakes to stop.

Considering the massive weight of Ranger Rovers and the significant surface area that their sheet metal has to cover, an aluminum body would make a noticeable difference. [Source: Motoemag]

Today the sun rose on a New General Motors, a move which will also see the sun set on a lot of people’s careers. GM emerged from bankruptcy protection at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time with news of a serious corporate restructuring plan that will take effect over the next few months.

Due to leadership (and in some cases arm-twisting) by the Obama Administration, the new GM,  headed by CEO Fritz Henderson, is poised to return to its once-great status after shedding its debt and healthcare obligations by a massive $48 billion. Much of this comes as the UAW made serious concessions in accepting a new contract with the automaker. GM also hopes to significantly reduce its cash-burn after eliminating a third of it’s dealership network. Additionally, the automaker looks to profit from the sale of the Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands, as well as through selling-off much of its stake in its European operations, including Opel to Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna International.

“Today marks a new beginning for General Motors, one that will allow every employee, including me, to get back to the business of designing, building and selling great cars and trucks and serving the needs of our customers,” CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement.

Henderson’s plan will see 6,000 (or 20 percent of) white-collar employees lose their jobs by October, with 35 percent of all executives being dismissed. Many executives will be cut from the company’s old Automotive Strategy Board and Automotive Product Board, a complex, multi-tiered system of management which will be axed in favor of a small committee that will meet weekly to make decisions about the future of the company.

Henderson says the move will cut those making the decisions at GM in half as the automaker focuses on its four key brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

Sales and Marketing will also no longer be under the leadership of one individual, as that part of the company is split. Sales will report directly to Henderson, who was unclear about what that meant for the current Sales & Marketing boss, Mark LaNeve. GM will also bring back veteran Bob Lutz to manage marketing, as well as design, brands and communications.

This will be a particularly vital role as GM looks to introduce a new line of vehicles into the marketplace to help re-brand the company. In total 10 new vehicles will launch in the U.S. in the next 18 months, with 17 overseas.

[Source: Automotive News]

Late Sunday a judge approved the sale of GM’s assets to a group comprised of the U.S. government, the UAW and the Canadian and Ontario governments under the name NGMCO, Inc. The decision will see GM exit bankruptcy court quickly with the ‘New GM’ assets going to NGMCO, while the ‘Old GM’ assets will be sold off to the highest bidder.

Judge Robert Gerber then placed a stay on the proceedings to for four days to hear objections or appeals, but as most of those have already been dealt with, GM is expected to reemerge as a new government-owner company by Thursday.

In a statement Judge Robert Gerber said that he would, “prevent the death of the patient on the operating table.”

Gerber pointed out the seriousness of the matter and the alternative, stating that, “The only alternative to an immediate sale is liquidation – a disastrous result for GM’s creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence, and the communities in which GM operates.”

The New GM will be majority owned by the U.S. government with a 60 percent stake in the automaker. The UAW will get 17.5 percent, while the Canadian and Ontario governments will get 12 percent.

In response to the news GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson released a statement saying that, “A healthy domestic auto industry remains vital to the global economy and we deeply appreciate the support the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments and taxpayers have given GM, and the sacrifices that have been made by so many. This has been an especially challenging period, and we’ve had to make very difficult decisions to address some of the issues that have plagued our business for decades. Now it’s our responsibility to fix this business and place the company on a clear path to success without delay.”

The Obama Administration’s auto task force has said that sale of GM back to the private sector could begin as early as next year.

[Source: Automotive News]