Even after some time since General Motors agreed to sell its Hummer brand to Chinese company Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, the proposed deal is still being criticized and opposed by certain parties in China, from the government to the media to people in the car industry.

Here are just a few examples of how enthusiastic the Chinese are about the Hummer sale. A Chinese news agency colorfully likened the deal to “a snake attempting to swallow an elephant.” A member of the Chinese Communist party questioned whether the deal was actually an “international joke”. The Xinhua News Agency says that the move is just a bid by Tengzhong to heighten publicity and increase capital.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce added further fuel to the fire of criticism, advising similar Chinese firms that want to go global to “learn more about international market rules and development trends in their industries and make prudent investments.”

This spells a bit of bad news for GM, which is itching to unload its struggling brands to kick off its restructuring plans.

Perhaps a wise move done a little too late. GM had been struggling for years now losing billions upon billions a year. With the cranky US car market and the shunning of the SUV, it looks like it’s too late for GM to dispose of Hummer as a brand. Still, they’ll be letting go of Hummer next year.

How unprofitable a brand is Hummer? Well, they only just lost $51B over the past three years and with the sale, they’re hoping to get get back at least $15B through cost-cutting and liquidation of assets. Makes you wonder why they’re trying to do these things just now.

Well, given the status of oil and the SUV, there are still parties interested to take-over Hummer and needless to say, they’re from the Gulf Arab region. Oh man, if only oil sports out of my back yard, I’ll be driving Hummers too.

Source: Automotive News (subscription required)

Yes, Hummer fans. Blame it on the oil crunch. We won’t be seeing all-new Hummers for now. And dread it if it’s going to be for good. General Motors has put on hold all developments of the new H3 and the H4 in efforts to arrest the shifting interest of the market.

SUV sales are down, hybrids and small city cars are back. In a business sense, it’s not very likely that GM will break even with the sale slump and the development cost. Also affected, aside from the new H3 and H4 is a planned next-generation H2. However, while all future developments have ground to a halt, GM is still keen on launching the Hummer H3T late this year.

One implication of what’s happening with Hummer is a dreaded sale of the brand. Killing off the Hummer is highly impractical because of the expense and with GM posting huge losses, they might just have to console themselves by selling it off.

Really sad news for Hummer fans this.

One thing about the Honda Civic is that it’s a quality sedan. Great for those in a budget looking for a car to ferry themselves and their family around. The improvements to the new Civic (particularly performance and fuel efficiency improvements) also makes it very attractive for potential buyers now that gas prices at the pump are ionosphere high.

For the US alone, Honda sold 53,299 Civics just in the months of May. This is in stark contrast to the previously popular SUV market that took a bitchslap in the mouth as Civic May sales threatened to break Hummer sales for the whole year in 2007 with 55,986. Hummer sales are down 60% in a 12-month cycle and will struggle to even reach 40k by the end of the year.

The Civic also outscored rivaling budget family sedan, the Toyota Corolla (52,826) and even the ever popular Toyota Camry (51,291). This trend also reflects the shift from big vehicles to smaller ones as these three four-door cars raced into the lead ahead of the traditional sales leader, the Ford F-150 (42,973).

Source: Motor Trend Blog

The Hummer H2 has always been a tank. But while sturdy and stiff as if it could take a shelling or two, it hasn’t really impressed me engineering-wise since I really don’t see the point in giving it that much bulk and never bother injecting steroids in the power department. Not necessarily for off-roading in my book.

Yet GM decided to give the H2 another go with this Safari version. Designed to be an outdoorsman’s tank, the olive green exterior’s designed to make it blend with the outdoors. It’s even got a retractable canvas roof panel to give you instant access to the great outdoor breeze. It sports 20-inch wheels with 35-inch off road tires. Great for the outdoors?

I’m not quite sure. For me, it still lacks the power of a great outdoor machine. It sports the 6.2L V8 engine dishing our nearly 400 horses. Quite a lot but that’s not close to what a Land Rover Range Rover can get from a supercharged 4.2L engine (450 hp). Still, if you’re looking for a swanky tank, you might consider this.

Source: GM