General Motors announced publicly that its Hummer brand is up for “strategic review”, but it looks as though GM has already made an internal decision about the iconic off-road marque and it will soon be exiled from the GM family. Moreover, the auto giant could be looking to trim one more brand from its portfolio.
According to GM Inside News, GM has already canceled the Hummer H3 GMT-700 program and put its H4 program on life support until Hummer’s new owners take over.
But in addition to giving the Hummer brand the boot, GM is also considering putting another brand on the chopping block. The front runner for extermination looks to be GMC , although Pontiac is also said to be in the mix. GMC would seem to make the most sense as it has no unique products and only offers rebadged trucks and SUVs – not exactly the bread winners in today’s market.
If GM does give GMC the ax, look for Saturn to replace it in the Buick -Pontiac-GMC channel.
Pontiac’s demise is still possible, but less likely. Thanks to popular products like the G6, G8 and Solstice, Pontiac has a much stronger business case than GMC.
Then again, Oldsmobile looked liked the better bet in the early 2000s, but GM pulled its plug in favor of the Buick brand.
