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GMC shows how the 2022 Hummer could have looked even more futuristic

Excitement filled the room when GMC asked its designers to resurrect the Hummer in April 2019, but a tinge of uneasiness permeated the department after executives locked in an early 2020 unveiling date. Luckily, stylists knew what they wanted early on in the development phase, and preliminary design sketches give us a fascinating look at how they shaped the electric off-roader that ended up making its global debut online in October 2020. Hummer, the brand, unceremoniously shut down in 2010 after General Motors failed to sell it to the Chinese, but its design DNA was so strong that stylists were able to pick up where their predecessors left off. All of the sketches published on Instagram by the official General Motors Design account show a boxy truck with a tall front end, a short windshield, and a generous amount of ground clearance. These styling cues trace their roots to the AM General Humvee that entered production in 1984 and made its combat debut when the United States invaded Panama in 1989. Even the wildest drawings still depict a pickup that's immediately recognizable as a Hummer. Most of the early design sketches wear some variation of the seven-slot grille that characterized Hummer's production models; it's a styling cue that hints at a heritage shared with Jeep under the American Motors Corporation (AMC) umbrella. Oddly, none wear the round headlights seen on the H2, the H3, and the HX concept that nearly became the H4. Was GMC afraid that its Hummer would end up looking too much like a Jeep? And, at least one sketch shows a fold-down windshield, a feature that will not make it to the assembly line. Sketches never reach production without modifications made in the name of packaging and safety concerns, and the Hummer is no exception, but stylists did a good job of reinventing the brand's design language without copying or erasing the past. If the company had stuck around long enough to make a second- and a third-generation H2, odds are it would look a lot like the GMC-branded model that will enter production in a year. GMC remains on track to start 2022 Hummer deliveries in late 2021, though it told Green Car Reports that it still hasn't built a fully functional prototype yet. When it arrives, this outdoorsy pickup will land in a burgeoning segment of the truck market that numerous models (including the Rivian R1T and Ford's electric F-150) will also call home.

GMC considers adding more vehicles to broaden product line

GMC is considering expanding its product portfolio in the next 10 years to allow it to reach more potential buyers and grow sales, a top executive said Monday. The small and midsize sport-utility-vehicle segments are two possibilities, said Duncan Aldred, GMC sales and marketing vice president. He also said GMC won't make a car, preferring to reinforce its reputation as a maker of trucks and SUVs. "There's plenty of opportunities even if we define ourselves as a we do as a truck and crossover brand," he said. He wouldn't comment on the possibility of adding a Jeep Wrangler-fighter, though rumors have swirled for months that GMC is considering a product to compete with the iconic off-roader. "I can't confirm that ... everything's on the table," he said. He also said that it's possible GMC could get a unique set of underpinnings – all of its vehicles share platforms that are also used by Chevrolet – but it's not needed to differentiate his brand. "I'm very happy sharing underpinnings and everything else," he said. "All of the good-performing automakers do that." Speaking to journalists at a roundtable at General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Aldred said GMC received an investment from GM that is double what the brand has historically spent to fund its growth plans. Advertising spending alone will increase 50 percent this year compared with 2014. The brand rolled out a new ad campaign on Monday, called "Precision," that will underscore attention-to-detail and the premium features of GMC vehicles. Two of the commercials have a sporting theme, and the third focuses on modern menswear. GMC called it a "contemporary interpretation" of the brand's traditional positioning, and it will also continue to use its long-running "Professional Grade" tagline. The premium positioning of the ads come as buyers are increasingly outfitting their trucks as near-luxury vehicles. The percentage of buyers opting for the top-end Denali trim has increased from 17 percent in the middle of 2014 to 21 percent now. The goal is to get Denali to make up 25 percent of GMC sales by the end of 2017, Aldred said. Spurred by the higher Denali take-rate, the brand's transaction prices leapt by $3,000 last year. "It's [Denali] really kind of this jewel in the crown," Aldred said. GMC sales increased 11.3 percent in 2014 to 501,853 units, making it GM's-second-best-selling brand behind Chevrolet.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.