GM's plan to outmaneuver Toyota

How General Motors will use its eight U.S. brands to to attack and outflank competitors and take back market share.

Job:Take on Jeep, but adjust to the realities of a fuel-conscious world
Hummer H3
Hummer
Job:Take on Jeep, but adjust to the realities of a fuel-conscious world
Hummer is GM's most divisive brand. Its fans absolutely love it. To its detractors, it's simply evil.

Maybe a hybrid would help.

Hummer was created in the mid-1990s, back when it was cool to drive a big, aggressive SUV. Now, fuel economy is cool and even a relatively efficient Hummer, like the mid-sized H3, is seen as a gas hog.

The strategy for Hummer is to go small and broaden its line-up, building on its image as maker of serious off-road equipment while losing its reputation for selling just big, fuel-thirsty SUVs. (The new V8-powered H3 Alpha, shown here, seems like an inexplicable throwback, given the current agenda.)

GM is considering a Hummer pick-up as well as a small SUV to compete directly with the Jeep Wrangler.

A gas/electric hybrid Hummer is also being seriously considered. Such a vehicle would be fully off-road capable. In fact, the electric motor's strong low-end torque could be a selling point. Also, you'd have a built-in elecrical generator for use at the campsite.

One thing Hummer will not do, GM says, is make a Hummer that cannot go off-road. Of course, Jeep used to say that, too.

Last updated December 31 2007: 7:45 AM ET

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.