Hatch: Save the Hummer ... for the Environment

The Utah Mormon is also a writer of love songs

(NEWSER) - Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is a prolific author of love songs and Christian spirituals, but it took about 10 years for Jeffrey Goldberg to cajole the “philo-Semite” Mormon into writing a Hanukkah song. Goldberg first floated the idea for “Eight Days of Hanukkah” as an aside in an interview prior to Hatch’s failed presidential bid, and though he thought the candle of inspiration had dimmed, it hadn’t. Last Dec. 23, he was emailed "five verses of a sincerely felt Hanukkah song" that he didn't quite believe came from Hatch. But on Christmas Eve, he got a call. More»

GM offloads brand to Chinese heavy-equipment maker

(NEWSER) - General Motors has finalized a deal to sell its iconic Hummer brand to Chinese heavy-equipment maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. The deal will save 150 Hummer dealerships and 3,000 American jobs, execs say. The vehicles will be assembled at GM plants in the US until 2011 under the deal, and the Chinese firm has signaled it plans to continue manufacturing in the US afterwards. More»

Country KOs GM deal with manufacturer over environmental worries

(NEWSER) - Beijing will halt GM’s sale of the Hummer brand to a Chinese machinery firm over pollution concerns, according to Chinese state radio. The purchase would run counter to the government’s goal of reducing pollution caused by manufacturing, the BBC reports. The Chinese firm shrugged off the report. “The fact that it is from an article from a state media organization does not mean it is government policy,” the company said in a statement. More»

(NEWSER) - The news that an obscure Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer is probably making government officials pull their hair out in frustration, writes Andrew Peaple of the Wall Street Journal. “Beijing is keen for Chinese companies to expand overseas,” he allows. “But they’re also hoping for some common sense.” Instead we have Sichuan Tengzhong, a small company that lacks English-speaking execs, taking over an American icon. More»

Company aims to become carmaker

(NEWSER) - After General Motors announced a plan to sell the brand, the identity of Hummer’s buyer has emerged: It’s a Chinese machinery firm that aims to become an automaker, an insider tells the New York Times. GM’s deal with the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company was subject to Beijing’s scrutiny. The firm builds road equipment but has lately been working on trucks. More»