The big Hummer dealership off US 45 in Milwaukee is going bye-bye

[LTR]

It was only a matter of time. Having sold cars in the past, I kinda felt bad for their sales guys during this whole gas thing. Tough to make a living when nobody's walking in the door.

They're moving Hummer out of the building and downscaling them into their Chevy dealership next door, taking down all that Hummer crap (like the Army barracks decor) and the test track and selling used cars out of there.

The ironic thing is that earlier this year, they opened up a Smart Car dealership on the other side of them. Quite a drastic shift.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=763751

Wisconsin’s largest car dealership group is downshifting, swapping Hummers for used vehicles at its high-profile dealership overlooking Highway 45 on the northwest side.

Bergstrom Automotive will move its Bergstrom Hummer Milwaukee dealership on Metro Blvd. into its nearby Bergstrom Chevrolet dealership. Hummer sales have skidded as consumers respond to $4 a gallon gas.

The dealership was the first Hummer store in the state and opened in 2002 with considerable fanfare, including an unusual visit from GM Chairman Rick Wagoner.

Now it will be converted into a used-car store. The eye-catching Quonset-hut style roof will be taken down, and the test track for Hummers will be smaller.

(more)

[lutefisk]

1. The military connection is more objectionable than the mpg issues so many DUers freak out over

And I, too, feel for the sales staff. It must have been tough lately- after all, they are just trying to work to support themselves and their families like the rest of us.

[AdHocSolver]

2. Not only sales staff of GM gas guzzlers, but the factory workers and suppliers who lose their jobs.

The executives at GM are incompetent for not seeing this coming a couple of years ago. They were pushing gas guzzlers over more efficient vehicles for years, and now wring their hands over being "forced" by "market forces" to stop trying to sell their pet products that buyers no longer want.

The employees are made to pay for executive arrogance and incompetence.

Back in the 1990's, under a mandate by California to develop "zero-emissions" vehicles for testing, GM developed and leased dozens of EV1 electric vehicles. They were so popular, many of the drivers wanted to purchase the vehicles. Terrified of the popularity of a car they did not want to sell, GM recalled, and then destroyed, almost all of these electric cars.

Why are auto makers like GM hostile to electric vehicles?

1. They require little maintenance. No complex transmission systems since, unlike gasoline engines that are low torque devices that require high RPM's to produce their power, electric motors can produce high torque even at very low RPM. Electric vehicles require no fancy cooling system, no mufflers, no antipollution devices, no fuel systems, and no oil changes. So auto companies cannot make lots of profit selling you replacement parts.

2. They are cheaper to manufacture. Whereas gasoline engines, transmission systems, fuel systems, antipollution systems, and exhaust systems together have hundreds, if not thousands, of parts, electric power trains count their parts in the dozens.

3. Electric vehicles can provide better performance. The Tesla electric car can go from zero to 60 MPH in 4 seconds.

4. Since the same financial institutions invest in the auto industries and the oil industries, the auto companies will endeavor to keep their investments in Big Oil profitable and vice versa. So the auto companies push gas guzzlers and do their best to stifle technologies that will reduce oil consumption.

[dragonlady]

3. Excellent summary!

:hi:

[Jimbo S]

6. I shed no tears for Hummer dealers nor their sales staff

They sold their souls when they signed up to sell these things. The same for those who sell Japanese cars as well.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. I just passed that for the first time the other day on the way up to Oshkosh.

And wondered to myself how their shitmobiles were selling. Guess I have my answer.

And aside from the income for the salesmen, don't feel much regret.

[hornblast]

5. what of the one in Madison?

There's a Hummer dealer visible off the Beltline as you drive east into Madison. I wonder if it's going to befall a similar fate. Good riddance either way.....

[Broca]

7. Hopefully

legislators will begin adding electric cars to the tax credit/deduction list. Currently it is mostly hybrids:
http://taxes.about.com/od/deductionscredits/a/hybridtaxcredit_3.htm

[hornblast]

8. And that makes little sense considering...

My VW TDI gets about 62 MPG when it's on the highway! Of course the second you take it into the city or drop from 5th gear, the mileage plummets to all of ~40 MPG, but still, that's better than a some hybrids. Yet we get no tax credits. :nopity: That's okay, we don't need tax credits with all the money we USED TO SAVE on fuel........ dammit....