Nowadays, you can still encounter Hummer occasionally on the road. Although it is rare, its huge body and resolute shape are always unforgettable. The last time I saw Hummer news was ten years ago. On May 24, 2010, parent company General Motors announced that Hummer had officially ceased production. At the recent Super Bowl, General Motors aired an advertisement announcing that Hummer would return. The official release date was set for May 20, 2020, before the tenth anniversary of the discontinuation of production.
HUMMER EV preview image
As a giant modeled on American military vehicles, Hummer has always been known as the "King of Off-Road" and is also a veritable "gas tiger". H2's daily fuel consumption per 100 kilometers can easily exceed 25L. The new car reborn ten years later is also very powerful. The trailer mentioned that the new car will have a maximum power of 1,000Hp and a torque of 11,500 pounds per foot (approximately 15,591N·m, or "wheel torque"), and can accelerate to 60 kilometers per hour in 3 seconds. miles per hour. However, this time it is no longer a "gas tiger", but a pure electric pickup truck.
Imaginary diagram of HUMMER EV drawn by foreign media
Based on the current information, the new car will be named HUMMER EV and will be under the GMC brand. HUMMER EV is the first model of the large-scale luxury electric vehicle program code-named BT1 within the General Motors Group. It is also the GMC brand's first pure electric pickup truck. The new car will be put into production at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant and will be launched in the fall of 2021, followed by a high-performance version in 2022.
I don’t know how everyone feels about the former off-road warrior suddenly becoming an electric pickup truck, but this vehicle is of great significance to General Motors. With the high profits of SUV/pickup trucks and the trend of electric vehicles, General Motors chose the well-known Hummer to make its first move. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant that produces the car and the Origstown, Ohio, plant that supplies batteries are both plants that GM had planned to close. Choosing to produce pure electric models here eases pressure on labor unions. It is reported that GM has invested approximately US$7.7 billion in transforming its factories and supporting facilities for electric vehicle production, of which more than US$3 billion has been invested in the Detroit Hamtramck plant.
Judging from the performance parameters currently announced, HUMMER EV still makes people look forward to it. GM’s promotional slogan for the new car is "Quiet Revolution". While looking forward to new cars, we don’t bother to review the past stories of the two Hummer brands and talk about where the Hummer brand was born and why it died.
Judging from the trailer of HUMMER EV, Hummer’s once classic seven-hole grille on the front has been replaced by seven closed decorations. Does the sound of seven-hole grille sound familiar? The most classic symbol of the Jeep brand is its seven-hole grille shape. to this end. Jeep parent company Chrysler sued Hummer for infringement in 2003, but was ultimately dismissed. The reason is the historical origin of Hummer and Jeep's constant turmoil.
Willys, the predecessor of the Jeep brand, was all-powerful during World War II and became a generation of meritorious models. After World War II, it went through a series of evolutions and became the Kaiser-Jeep company. In 1970, AMC (American Motors Corporation) acquired Kaiser-Jeep's General Products Division and split the department that served military orders to form AM General.
However, AMC's subsequent development was not satisfactory. In 1980, AMC formed an alliance with French Renault. The poor economic situation forced Renault to become AMC's largest shareholder. Of course, the U.S. government cannot allow the possibility of interference in national security by other countries, and the French government owns shares in Renault. So AMC had to sell AM General to LTV (later acquired by Renco Group). Afterwards, AMC was acquired by Chrysler in 1987, retaining only the Jeep brand. AM? General Company developed the HMMWV model that is supplied to the US military.
Lamborghini CheetahDD
HMMWV happened to be born when AM General and AMC parted ways.
In the 1970s, the U.S. military put forward the demand for a new generation of light multi-purpose military vehicles based on the experience of the Vietnam War. The bidders even included Lamborghini. They brought the CheetahDD prototype to participate in the test. The rear-wheel drive CheetahDD eventually crashed in the desert. , but Lamborghini subsequently launched the civilian version of LM002 to the market.
The final winning bid was the HMMWV model developed by AM General. In 1983, the US military signed a contract with AM General for 55,000 units, worth US$1.2 billion. In the late 1980s, AM? General developed the civilian version of the HUMMER model based on the military HMMWV. This car is well-known for its appearance in Schwarzenegger's movie.
In 1992, AM General split HUMMER into an independent brand, and the Chinese name was "Hummer". In 1999, General Motors purchased the rights to use and produce the HUMMER trademark and named the car Hummer H1. Since then, General Motors has launched Hummer H2 and H3 models that are more suitable for civilian use in 2003 and 2005 respectively. However, Hummer H1 and H2 have been assembled at the AM? General factory.
The global financial crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 severely impacted the automobile city of Detroit, and the three American auto giants were all in danger. General Motors even entered bankruptcy protection proceedings, and only managed to survive with the help of the U.S. government. Subsequently, GM decided to sell the Saab, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer brands to meet its immediate needs (unfortunately, all four brands eventually ceased production and disappeared).
From the time the news was released on June 3, 2008, until June 2009, although some companies were interested in Hummer, they were never sold. Just when General Motors announced that Hummer was unable to be sold and was about to cease production, a Chinese company suddenly appeared. The little-known Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. quickly reached an acquisition agreement with General Motors. Tengzhong Heavy Industry intends to acquire the Hummer brand for 2.4 billion yuan.
Hummer CEO Jin Taile and Tengzhong Heavy Industry General Manager Yang Yi took a group photo
I don’t know whether it was due to lack of experience or a sudden incident, but Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. reached an acquisition agreement with General Motors After that, they hurriedly reported to the National Development and Reform Commission. The normal process should be reported to the National Development and Reform Commission at the beginning of the negotiation, and the final acquisition needs to be approved by the Ministry of Commerce. Finally, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry claimed that the acquisition had not been approved by the Ministry of Commerce. In fact, the acquisition did not reach this stage at all.
Therefore, some people speculate that Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry used the acquisition of Hummer to create a wave of hype. Because of its attempt to acquire Hummer, this little-known company is still mentioned today. Since then, the development of Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry has not been satisfactory, and it has fallen into the whirlpool of illegal fund-raising, suspension of work and bankruptcy several times. At that time, Geely acquired Volvo for US$1.8 billion (approximately 12.4 billion yuan), and acquiring Hummer for US$2.4 billion was not an outrageous plan. However, in the context of the global economic crisis at that time, Hummer, which only had large-displacement, high-fuel-consumption models, was already struggling. There were even cases of extreme environmentalists smashing Hummers in the United States. Tengzhong Heavy Industry, which has no experience in operating vehicle brands, may not be able to maintain the Hummer brand even if the acquisition is successful.
After Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry withdrew, General Motors announced on May 24, 2010 that Hummer production would officially cease. Of course, this HUMMER is not related to the HMMWV of the US military. Military HMMWVs continue to be produced at AM? General. During the Iraq War, the lightweight HMMWV caused the US military to pay a heavy price in street fighting. Since then, various heavy military vehicles have gradually replaced the HMMWV's status. Here is an off-topic episode. In 2015, the Mercedes-Benz R-Class withdrew from the global market but continued to be sold in the Chinese market. In order to free up production capacity for other models, Mercedes-Benz handed over the R-Class sold to China to AM General. The Mercedes-Benz R-Class after 2015 is produced in the former Hummer factory.
In the past ten years, the world has undergone tremendous changes. The Hummer, which was once all-powerful but came to an end sadly, was reborn in an unexpected way. There is no longer a 6.6L? V8 diesel turbocharged engine, nor is there a complex four-wheel drive transmission system.
However, with 1000Hp, 11500lb-ft, and acceleration to 60mph in 3 seconds, the "gas tiger" of the year has become a fierce electric tiger. Is the power consumption also very high? Find out in the fall of 2021!
PS: According to the latest national epidemic prevention instructions, I hope everyone will try to wash hands frequently, wear masks, and go out less often. I hope everyone will take care of your health in the days to come. I hope everyone can be healthy in the new year. Have good health in the new year!
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.