Hummer dealers uneasy as GM weighs possible sale

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told shareholders last week that the automaker was conducting a strategic review of Hummer and was considering all options, from revamping of the lineup to a partial or complete sale. Wagoner gave no timeline or further details.

"I'm not real happy with General Motors right now," said Brad Johnson, general manager of Hummer of Columbus in Dublin, Ohio. "It was a poor choice of words on their part and it's a bad decision to come out and say something when you don't know what's going to happen."

Jim Bushart, parts director at Lynch Hummer in Chesterfield, Mo., said he assumed GM was analyzing the Hummer brand as gas prices reach $4 a gallon and consumers look for more fuel-efficient vehicles. But he was surprised the automaker discussed the review publicly.

"Maybe they were hoping that by making an announcement they would drum up some interest," he said.

Others griped that the company could hurt sales of Hummer's first pickup, the H3T, which comes out this summer.

GM spokesman Nick Richards said the company decided to announce the review, along with the closure of four plants, to demonstrate how seriously it takes the U.S. market's rapid shift away from trucks and sport utility vehicles.

At an event in Washington Thursday, GM's North America President Troy Clarke again refused to give a timetable for the review but indicated it will be done quickly.

"It's in our best interest to move forward in a very expeditious manner," he said. "It's not the kind of thing that gets better with time. We ought to make our assessments, be decisive and get moving forward."

Hummer has always been a niche brand, with U.S. sales reaching a peak of 71,524 in 2006. By comparison, Honda Motor Co. sold 53,299 Civic sedans last month alone. But unlike small cars whose sales have exploded this year, the Hummer niche is disappearing. Hummer took the worst hit of any brand through May of this year, with U.S. sales down 36 percent compared to the same period the year before, according to Autodata Corp.