HUMMER in 2012 – The Brand, The Vehicles, and The Customers

Even though I haven’t been updating the site as regularly as I had in the past, I still continue to see a lot of traffic and get a lot of questions via the contact page and the facebook page. So, I thought it may be time for a quick update on the status of HUMMER now that we’re already a couple months into 2012.

The two questions I get most often are, “is HUMMER coming back,” and “do they still make HUMMERs?”

The answer to the second question is simple – no, HUMMERS are no longer produced. HUMMER H1 production was canceled in 2006, when upgrades to the civilian version of the Humvee like the Duramax Diesel, an Allison Transmission, and a number of interior refinements (the original “Alpha”) sent prices were reaching above $130,000. With sales of less than 1% of all HUMMER sales, and HUMMER sales at under 1% of all GM sales – the decision was made to cease production.

The H2 and H3/H3T both finished out 2010 model years, and a few dealers had inventory into 2011 – but as news of HUMMER’s shutdown spread in April of 2010, dealers weren’t ordering new inventory since customers were weary of buying from a brand that wasn’t going to be around after a few months – and GM’s word of continued support didn’t mean much since they were going through a rough time of their own through reorganization via the government bailout.

For further reading, just click the “Older Entries” link at the bottom of the home page – the entire process was covered extensively.

HUMMER in 2012

HUMMER as a brand doesn’t really exist anymore. Sure, the website is still there – but GM doesn’t have any staff devoted to the brand and hasn’t for some time. The only work being done on the brand is by the sales and social media teams – who’s only objective is to move existing HUMMER owners into new GM cars.

In the last couple years, GM hired a company named NYC based BigFuel to manage their social media. Prior to the brand’s demise the facebook page was run by HUMMER’s PR folks – who had been through the AM General’s Off-Road Training program, driven at many HUMMER Club Events (not man-made courses in an auto show), and had a passion for the brand and what it meant to owners and enthusiasts.

Once BigFuel took over, the passion for the brand and it’s customers was gone. They may have opened up offices in Detroit, but the updates on the page still feel like they’re written from the 20th floor of a downtown NYC building by someone who has never been in a HUMMER, let alone driven one or taken one off-road.

Example:

Yeah, HUMMER is like nothing else. But if you’re looking for a new
off-road-capable truck, you just might be surprised by the 2012 Chevy Colorado with the Z71 Off-Road Suspension Package. Check out Chevy Truck Month.”

BigFuel also cut all ties with some of their most ardent supporters of the brand by ‘unfriending’ pages like FourWheeler Magazine and HummerGuy.net – and now instead only like OnStar, Corvette, Chevy Camaro, and GMC.

HUMMER.com was also taken over by BigFuel and got a big udpate at the beginning of 2012. Links to popular HUMMER clubs, groups, and forums were replaced with links to buy “New GM Vehicles” and “GM Accessories.” Most amusing is the fact they don’t even sell GM HUMMER accessories – but if you’re looking for Buick floormats, you’re be in luck.

You don’t have to be an expert in social media to know that cutting ties with owner groups, publications, websites, and other supporters of the brand isn’t a good way of keeping them in the fold when its time to buy another vehicle. Though, you apparently don’t need to know that to operate a multi-million dollar marketing campaign for a major U.S. Brand.

The new HUMMER.com does have a link for certified service which is helpful for current owners. Personally, we’ve had nothing but positive experiences with dealers – but other than the product they sell, the connection to GM is limited – each dealer alone should be credited for their great customer service.

HUMMER Beyond 2012

This is a topic to be discussed another day (hopefully not months and months like our last update 😉 ), but suffice to say the brand isn’t making a comeback anytime soon.