Local car dealer runs low on Hummer inventory

GM told dealers that they may have to wait until November for word on the Hummer sale.

By Don Shilling

AUSTINTOWN — Car dealer Greg Greenwood has emptied his Hummer showroom on Mahoning Avenue because he was running low on inventory.

Greenwood moved his last four new Hummer vehicles to his adjacent Chevrolet lot.

Long-term plans for the Hummer building are on hold as General Motors works on a sale of the brand.

Greenwood hasn’t been able to replenish his Hummer supply because GM stopped production of H2 models in December and H3 models in April.

Production was stopped because of the overall slump in auto sales but was to restart when GM completed the sale of the Hummer brand to a Chinese company.

Greenwood said GM has informed dealers, however, they may have to wait until the end of November to learn whether the sale will go through. The two sides are still working through some issues, he said.

Greenwood said customers shouldn’t notice much of a change with the idling of the Hummer showroom. He always had operated a combined service department, body shop and used-car operation for the Hummer and Chevrolet brands.

The only work that was handled at the Hummer location was selling new vehicles and meeting with customers who needed service work.

Greenwood said all employees who worked at the Hummer location have been transferred to the Chevrolet side. The dealership employs 120 people and had as many as 10 people in the Hummer building in the past.

GM agreed in June to sell the Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd. The deal was to be completed by the end of September.

GM also had planned to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group, but that deal fell apart last week. GM said that it was discontinuing the Saturn line.

Greenwood said he is neutral on the Hummer deal because he isn’t sure how the sale of an American brand to a Chinese company would go over with customers. “I’m withholding judgment,” he said.

GM had been making Hummers in Louisiana. The sale agreement called for GM to continue making the vehicles for a while and then the buyer would have to come up with another production plan.

As part of its recent bankruptcy proceedings, GM has dropped the Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Saab lines. It will continue with Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

shilling@vindy.com