Today’s Lipstick on a Pig award goes to the good folks at Hummer, for realizing two important things in their marketing.

1. Adding the letter “X” to a car’s brand name is basically guy-speak for “awesome”.

2. Adding unnecessary crap to your vehicle allows you to change the name and charge more.

At first glance, you might not see much difference between the regular line of Hummer vehicle and the Hummer H3X.  At least until you look carefully at that grill and notice, hey, there’s a brush guard on that grill!

Yes, the brush guard.  One of AskMen’s top ten useless car gadgets that I totally had to bring to your attention because it was entirely too funny to NOT mention.  I’m not sure how much offroading Hummer figured we’d be doing in one of their signature cars, but man, if I ever do go offroading I’d be glad for the brush guard.  Never mind the fact that the Hummer gets something like ten feet per gallon of gas, I’m just glad to know that, when I run over entire trees in this thing, NONE of them will be accidentally wedged in my grill.

So kudos to Hummer for making an already unnecessary vehicle even MORE so!

Hummer has announced enhancements to their 2010 H3 and H3T. The new enhancements include an E85 Flex Fuel capable 5.3L V8 engine and three new exterior colors (Red Rock Metallic, Silver Stone Metallic, and Canyon Metallic). The new engines will be standard for all 2010 Alpha Series models. These new engines feature 300 HP and an aluminum cylinder block that should help reduce overall mass and maintain a balanced front-to-rear weight balance.

These new models are expected to arrive by December, 2009 in North America. The H3 will be priced starting at $33,390 while the H3T starts at $30,915.

Image Credits

(Source) Press

Late last month we told you that GM was in talks with Tengzhong to finally sell off the dying HUMMER brand. Well, today, reports have surfaced that say the deal is officially going down for $150 million.

This wad of cash will net Tengzhong 80% of HUMMER whos vehicles will still be built by GM through June 2011. The other 20% will be going to a private investor which means GM will finally be able to wipe their hands clean of the brand.

What’s really interesting though is the fact that HUMMER, an iconic American brand, is now a Chinese company. What will come from this? Only time will tell.

via autobloggreen

Back in June reports surfaced of a possible Hummer buyout by China’s Tengzhong but here we are 3 months later and still no deal. Today, however, reports have again surfaced regarding the buyout, this time notifying us that it is expected to go down in Q3 of this year.

There’s no official word on just how much the transaction will go down for but Autoblog suggests Tengzhong will be paying about half of what GM had originally wanted for it or about $200 million.

Let’s hope that under Tengzhong’s management, the Hummer brand will live on.

Car owners who are planning to sell their car out there, listen up. One of the things that any car seller would be looking for is faster sales transactions. But to do so, you have to come up with various ways to entice the potential buyers. This does not only include limiting yourself towards discounts, catchy features or even great image shots of your vehicle. They do help and now you can look forward to something unique and original. Try a free video of your car!

That is the new strategy for car selling these days, something that should entice customers in knowing more about the car being offered. Videos are becoming a critical part of the buying process and with this new service offered by EveryCarListed.com via the help of Superpages.com, you can bet that car selling and disposal can be entirely easier if not faster.

Here is a sample video featuring a 2007 Hummer C2

(Source) Press

Everyone knows what a Hummer brings but as far as China is concerned, it is not green (eco-friendly) enough to meet the standard of the country. Apparently the issue here is fuel consumption to which everyone knows that this GM vehicle consumes a lot. To think of it, China may not be the only country who may oppose the entry of the hummer because of this.

Prior to these issue surrounding the fuel prices and eco-friendly problems plaguing the world, the Hummer was a class act vehicle to have. In fact, being seen riding or driving one already places you in the circle of the elite who could afford to get one. But that was yesterday. Today, the theme is “Green” and the Hummer seems to be nowhere near that.

The country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is also concerned that Tengzhong lacks expertise in car production, the report said, but the company dismissed the story as speculative. Insiders at the company believe that negotiations with regulators are progressing well, that the Chinese government has not taken a view, and that it will assuage any environmental concerns by promising that future generations of Hummers will be significantly greener.

(Source) NZ Herald

First Hummer, then Saturn, now Saab — GM seems to have found a buyer for their Saab brand in Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg who has banded together with a group of Norweigen investors.

GM says that while Saab had several potential buyers Koenigsegg made the best overall offer. Unforunately there were no details on how much the deal will go down for but we do know that it will happen sometime before the end of the suimmer.

According to KickingTires, Saab hasn’t turned a profit for GM since they bought a stake in it back in 1990. Worse yet, sales peaked at 133,000 so it’s really no wonder that GM would want to sell off the brand.

Holden Muscle 350

Auto enthusiast Jon Sibal produced renderings of the HGT to guess how a car might look if it was built by Hummer. His completed renderings represented an awesome-looking car, and he was soon contacted by Signal Auto from Bandung, Indonesia. They wanted to actually build the car.

The completed car debuted at the AutoBlackThrough show in Indonesia, with the new name- Holden Muscle 350. The aggressive looks of the car are backed by a powerful, supercharged 350CID Small Block V8. It looks like a pretty serious muscle car!

Hummer is on the brink of being sold to the Chinese manufacturer Tengzhong but if/when they are sold, what well become of the company?

Well, in a recent interview done by The Detruoit Bereau, Hummer brand manager Jim Taylor said the following:

“We need to head towards CAFE compliance – which means smaller and more fuel efficient, or we’re dialed out. Think of the smaller H4 we were showing at the auto show and it could safely conjectured we would enter into that space.”

That’s not all though as he then went on to say that a fully electric or hybrid vehicle is definitly something Hummer will be looking towards for a future model. And, when question how long until Hummer fulfills these tasks Taylor said: “I think five years out, excellent, assured. It’s 100%.”

Let’s hope what Mr. Taylor says is true as Hummer definitly needs an all electric or hybrid vehicle that will make up for the gas guzzling models they have become known for.

Talks over who GM could sell HUMMER to have been in the works for some time not but it seems the company is finally nearing a deal.

GM says that they are currently in talks with China based Tengzhong who, if the deal goes through, would hold ownership of the HUMMER brand along with all aspects of the business including senior management and dealership agreements.

To combat the displeased Americans who think HUMMER should stay an American brand, GM says that if this deal were to go through more than 3,000 jobs would be saved.

Read (AutoBlogGreen)

With the new age of plug-in electric vehicles slowly creeping in, Raser Technologies and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be on hand to demonstrate the Hummer H3. The H3 uses an extended range electric vehicle (E-REV) powertrain developed by Raser Technologies. The Hummer H3 is a mid-sized SUV, similar in size to a Jeep Commander.

“I believe low-carbon fuel vehicles are the future and I want to see them succeed right here in California,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “That’s why I’m bringing cars like this one to the Capitol where we can show the world there is a market for smart and innovative technologies that will also create jobs in the auto industry.”

Indeed, this should be something worth checking out if you are within the area. The attention of most motorists today is geared towards checking out what the latest trends for alternative transport options are available in the market today. And while everyone knows the Hummer brand, it is quite curious to note what this mid-sized SUV has to offer in light of the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles needed today.

(Source) Press

Who said that driving a big Hummer H3 will make a burning hole in your wallet? Raser Technologies seems to know how to make better Hummer. The company has a prototype Hummer H3 ready to take you 100 miles per gallon which is absolutely impressive. Raser worked with FEV in order to deliver one of the most eco-friendly Hummers available to man so maybe there’s hope for the model to survive this rough economy.

The prototype comes with an E-REV power train engine and three lithium ion battery packs. The batteries alone will get you a range of just 40 miles but once the range extender is started you will get an additional 400 miles before a following charge. Production will start some time in 2011 and by that time we could have some prices for you.

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Immediately following the announcement that Pontiac would cease to exist, GM released to the public that their Saturn and Hummer brands are to follow suit.

GM has said that after the 2009 model year, they will not be producing anymore Saturn vehicles meaning. As for Hummer, 2009 will be the last year for the dying brand. However, Saturn and Hummer might not be gone forever as GM has detailed their intentions to sell the dying brands to anyone who wants them.

Sure this is a perfect example of how badly the economy is shafting everyone, but this announcement is no where near as sad as the one about Pontiac. I mean Hummers are just gas guzzlers, right?

Read (KickingTires)

It looks like we may be seeing an electric vehicle that traces its roots from the Hummer H3 concept come this 2009 SAE World Congress. FEV, Incannounced today that it will unveil the Hummer H3 Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (ReEV) demonstrator at the upcoming 2009 SAE World Congress, held at Cobo Center in Detroit on April 20 – 24.

FEV partnered with Utah-based Raser Technologies (Raser) in the development of the H3 ReEV, the first vehicle equipped with Raser’s range-extended electric vehicle technology. The H3 ReEV will be on display in the FEV booth. The unveiling of the H3 ReEV comes one year after FEV and Raser first showed the technology as a concept at last year’s World Congress.

The announcement was made jointly by Gary Rogers, FEV, Inc. president and CEO and Jim Spellman, Raser VP of Business Development.

The Hummer H3 ReEV is the first range-extended electric vehicle based on a full-sized SUV. The Raser scalable plug-in series hybrid design provides 40+ mile all-electric range and 100+ mpg fuel economy. FEV performed the full vehicle integration including electrical and mechanical design. Additionally, FEV developed all software for the hybrid control unit and in-vehicle graphical display.

Propulsion comes from Raser’s 200 kW traction motor mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Raser’s 100 kW generator, driven by a 2.0L SIDI turbocharged engine, provides electrical power. Although a full-sized SUV, the concept has been achieved with only minimal sacrifice of acceleration performance, cargo space, or towing capacity.

(Source) Press

All it took was the help of JDM kits, known for totally overhauling the look of any car with the right features. Apparently, no one ever thought that cars could eventually pass as another car until this JDM kit transformed a Honda Crossroad towards a replica of a classy Hummer H4.

Driving a HUMMER in Japan seems about as practical as piloting an Chevy Kodiak in the urban canyons of Manhattan. It’s just not optimal. Solution? Take Honda’s pint-sized pillbox on wheels, the Crossroad, and HUMMERize it. That’s what Okada Enterprise (Motto: “We supplied high quality cars”) has gone and done for Japanese drivers looking to add more macho to their micro. That is, if macho means a HUMMER-style grille, abundant chrome trim, gaudy wheels, and (our favorite) a backwards-reading “HUMMER H4″ decal on the driver’s side.

(Source) Autoblog