A lot of talk and no action

There's no official obituary for GM's HUMMER brand yet, but haters are lacing up their dancing shoes while lovers wring their hands. The latest government move in the China Trade Talk is not helping the Hummer situation. Not one new 2010 H3 or H3T has reached a US dealership. Everyone says the contract signings are "on track," but it's still not completed with Tengzhong and then we have to wait for government approval in China, which with the Trade agreement SNAFU, might become a political football with fate of the Hummer brand at stake.
Dealers with HUMMER franchises have a lot of skin in the game, so the uncertain future is bound to give business officers ulcers. Not willing to wait around to the bitter end, Milwaukee's Bergstrom HUMMER moved into the same space as the group's Chevrolet store. The HUMMER-specific Quonset hut style dealership building will be toned down and pressed into service as an outlet for Certified used GM vehicles.
Other HUMMER dealers across the nation are staring down the same conundrum, being on the hook for that big, rugged showroom, test track, inventory, and staff, while the parent company looks to clamp off bleeders. Some might follow Bergstrom's lead and shove the big trucks into a corner of a showroom dominated by a more stable brand, while others are shipping inventory as fast as they can. The largest, Tobin Hummer stopped selling the brand a year ago, and Lynch Hummer has become Adventure Sports with a dwindling supply of Hummers and no Hummer logo anymore on their expensive digs.
So far, there has been a lot of talk about H3 production in Shreveport, the new Hx, a new headquarters in Michigan, and the H2 line starting again in early 2010. The only action has been a few H3s and H3Ts rolling down the line in Shreveport. Unless they start making a lot more H3s, the H2s start rolling down the line soon, and the Hx gets fast tracked. The Hummer dealerships will go from serious to critical condition in the Dealership Intensive Care Unit.