According to the Detroit News, GM has announced that they are going to spend $73 million on the Hummer H3T pickup manufacturing line.  The first units are scheduled to arrive at dealerships sometime 3Q08.  The new model is supposed to be somewhere between the Silverado and the Colorado in size.

It’s a curious thing as we approach US$100/bbl oil that GM is plowing forward with upgrades to its Shreveport pickup truck operations. Could it be that they see enough remaining price elasticity with fuels that their pickup production upgrades will pay off? It is notable that GM is introducing a Hummer pickup and not a mini-Hummer.  Economy isn’t in the equation.

To produce an economy Hummer would be to invite questions (and ridicule) about the merit of such vehicles to begin with. It is like diet fudge. What’s the point?

I think GM is taking a purely market-pull approach with this brand. The brand has value and they will offer the Hummer product line until the demand falls away.  GM hasn’t given up on large vehicles because the public hasn’t given up on them.