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Comment From The Boston Globe

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2009

After marketing Hummer as the quintessence of American brawn, General Motors is selling the mega-SUV maker to an obscure Chinese company that promises a shift toward more environmentally sensitive vehicles.

This vow is welcome, but it also makes one wonder whether the new owner, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Inc., has any idea what it's buying.

Hummer's biggest fans would agree with its militant critics on at least one thing: The brand sells not only vehicles, but also a philosophical viewpoint - a declaration that drivers should be able to use as much gasoline and road space as they can afford. Never mind that military-styled gas-guzzlers seem particularly wrong-headed when U.S. soldiers are embroiled in war in the oil-rich Middle East; the brand's marketing specifically rejected the whole notion of self-doubt.

Indeed, one TV ad mocked vegetarians and ended by urging viewers to "restore your manhood."
Sichuan Tengzhong's plan to sell fuel-efficient trucks may go over well with policymakers in Beijing and Washington. But it's no easy challenge to rebrand Hummer as its own direct opposite.

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