GM goes Hummer Crazy

GM announced today that it would spend $250 million on a new Hummer H3 assembly plant in Lousiana.

GM recently announced the H3, a mid-sized SUV, on the heels of a 20 percent drop in sales of the full version Hummer.

Environmental activists had much to say about the move, mostly pointing out that GM is missing the boat on the hybrid car movement. "Sure, some people will buy this truck," said Roland Hwang, chief motor vehicle analyst at Natural Resources Defense Council. "The question is whether and how long GM can stay afloat while ignoring the new market reality of growing oil dependence and rising pump prices."

GM has a released a 'mild' hybrid version of it's Silverado, but competitors, especially Ford, have been quick to point out that mild hybrids offer significantly less fuel efficiency than Ford's Escape Hybrid SUV. Additionally, the Escape hybrid offers a much higher decrease in pollution-causing emissions.

Not that Ford has been a leader in hybrids. The Escape actually had to be built using leased hybrid technology from Toyota's Prius hybrid.

In reality, GM is not expected to enter the hybrid market, with a full hybrid, until at least 2007.