Hummer to be reborn as GM electric pickup truck

We’ve often accused the legacy automakers of lacking imagination, but now we see that at least someone at GM has a sense of irony. The company’s first announced electric pickup truck will be called a Hummer.

GM will not be reviving the Hummer make, which choked to death in 2010, but will sell the Hummer pickup under the GMC brand.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the e-Hummer “is likely to be sold in small volumes as a rugged, jeep-like pickup truck for off-road enthusiasts,” according to “people briefed on the strategy.” It’s expected to go on sale by early 2022, and will be among the first of several large electric SUVs and pickup trucks from GM.

GM will build this beast, and other electric trucks, at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, which was marked for closure before the company announced plans for a $3-billion renovation in October.

WSJ says GM plans to run an ad for the new irony-mobile during next month’s Super Bowl.

Aside from the headline-grabbing comedic aspects of the announcement, this is a milestone because it represents a 180-degree turnaround for GM. Until recently, most electric offerings from non-Tesla brands have been small, practical cars, which, as any marketer will tell you, hold little appeal for US buyers. Now GM is going to electrify the biggest and baddest surrogate sex organ in the auto industry. No specs have been announced, but it’s safe to assume that the e-Hummer will boast plenty of horsepower and towing capacity.

A Sierra Club official once said the Hummer “embodied the worst impulses of the American auto industry.” Could it someday become a symbol of a new, more sustainable direction?

Source: Wall Street Journal