When it comes to selling off the brands it no longer wants, General Motors' track record is not good. A proposed sale of Saturn fell through, leading GM to shut down that brand. Saab survived, only because a second buyer stepped up after the first planned sale fell through. And Hummer…well, that one's still up in the air.
Reuters reports that GM and the Chinese company bidding to buy Hummer, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industry Machinery, have "agreed to push back the deadline for the acquisition from January 31 to the end of February as they seek approval from Chinese regulators."
Autoblog notes, "The two companies have been working to sew everything up on the SUV brand deal since it was first announced last October, but the original deadline expired yesterday without a resolution." Several different bureaucracies within the Chinese government may need to approve the deal before it can go through. One of those, "China's commerce ministry," recently "went on record as saying that they hadn't received an application for approval from Tengzhong."
The two sides say they remain optimistic that a sale can be completed by the end of February. Hummer Communications Director Nick Richards told Edmunds Inside Line, "While the transaction approval process is not proceeding as quickly as originally forecasted, both companies are pleased with the progress that has occurred to date and are extending the deadline for sale closing to the end of February."
However, Motor Trend warns, "Should the second deadline pass, Hummer could face the same fate as Pontiac and Saturn, and ultimately be wound down."
If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
