Free Republic

Controversial beedi businessman Muhammed Nisham was arrested on charge of attempt to murder a security guard in Shoba Group’s residential township in Thrissur on Thursday. According to police, the security guard was hit by Nisham’s ‘Hummer’ car for delay in opening the gate of the township in the wee hours of Thursday. The security guard Chandrabose has been put on ventilator support after receiving serious injuries. Nisham is managing director of Tirunelveli-based King Beedi Co. Apart from being a prominent tobacco supplier, he has hotel and jewellery businesses in the Middle East. His cars include Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Road...

If you, like this author, always dreamed of using a camo-covered, Army-issue Humvee as your personal golf cart, your dreams can finally come true — for a price. According to the Army Times, the Department of Defense will start auctioning off as many as 4,000 military-spec Humvees to the public as part of its surplus-reduction efforts. In previous years, the off-road behemoths would have been sent straight to the military scrapyard, but due to changes in policies in recent years and what the Defense Logistics Agency spokesperson Michelle McCaskill describes as “cooperation from other government offices," the used Humvees will...

"......Some American consumers and business owners say they weren’t yet confident cheaper prices at the pump would stick. Instead, they say, they are treating the sub-$3 gas as a helpful little gift, but not as a green light to make major adjustments. “When gas was up around $5, it was killing us,” said David Grant, 50, of Fairfax, who owns a regional pest management company and spends several thousand monthly in fuel for his fleet of Ford F-150s. “I went ahead and raised my prices on everybody else.” This time, Grant said, he’s not lowering those prices, nor is he...

[Video] A foreign diplomat in Rabat, Morocco cruises around in a custom vehicle made up of two Jeep Wranglers!

The race is on for the Humvee's successor (Bye, bye Hummer) Your Mom may still love driving a Humvee to the mall, but the military has different needs for its combat operations these days. Some 20 years after the Humvee first rolled out, the military is now entering the second phase of the project to choose its successor. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program will be reviewing the proposals for a new vehicle, and has a pretty specific list of what it's looking for. Manufacturers getting in the game need to submit prototype designs for a seven to 10-ton...

With its custom red paint job, on-board TV, public-address system, game consoles and sparkling chrome tire rims, the 2003 Hummer was no ordinary vehicle. The $45,196 SUV was designed to deliver an eye-catching, AIDS-awareness message to people in poor African-American neighborhoods on behalf of the Illinois Department of Public Health, then headed by Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, one of President Barack Obama’s closest friends.Soon, though, other AIDS activists began to question how the Chicago not-for-profit organization that used the decked-out Hummer to spread its message could afford to spend money on such a vehicle. After first insisting otherwise, Whitaker aides...

"Fresno businessman James Makalian's lawsuit claims he's a victim of fraud and deceit after his ex-fiancee Nichole Grazioli (pictured above) broke up with him and then kept her $53,000 engagement ring and Hummer SUV that he bought for her."

If there’s one constant in this world, it’s this: We live in a world of constant flux. In the automotive world, however, we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing the same group of manufacturers introduce new models each year. You know the names. But for the 2011 model year—thanks largely to the huge economic downturn that began in late 2008—four well-known American nameplates have gone the way of the Edsel, so to speak...

Probably the most interesting bird spotted in Nova Scotia after the passage of hurricane Earl, was a Calliope hummingbird from the American western mountains, where they are uncommon at best. The male is the only hummer whose coloured throat feathers form streaks against a white background. The red feathers on its throat can be distended. It is the smallest U.S hummer. How the southwestern hummingbird ended up in Nova Scotia, is a mystery. It might have been migrating south to its wintering grounds in north west Mexico when it got caught up in Earl's vortex. The question now is whether...

Looking for a ridiculously expensive SUV to plow through crowds of the undead when the zombie apocalypse begins? Then look no further than Conquest Vehicles' Knight XV. It's bulletproof and you can get it with a minibar option. Um, yes please! Conquest Vehicle Inc's flagship vehicle, the KNIGHT XV defines the future of the ultra-luxurious, handcrafted fully armoured SUV. This one-of-a-kind, V10, 6.8-litre, Bio-fuel powered SUV was inspired by military vehicle designs and features security appointments that are unrivaled in today's SUV marketplace. The KNIGHT XV(TM) is priced at $295,000 USD. Only 100 will be made available as a limited...

An Homage to Hummer Comedian Penn Jillette laments the passing of the 'big, stupid' vehicle By PENN JILLETTE There's a feeling one gets when one sits behind the wheel of a really big stupid military-lite American Hummer. You have that feeling of being strong and safe, high on your pleather throne, above the fray, above the danger, not having to listen to anyone or anything, the rumble of a too-big motor giving you a wiggle and jiggle and tickle inside you. You have the power to run over anyone else on the road, if they dare monkey with you and...

General Motors Co.'s deal to sell the Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. (STHIM.YY) for $150 million fell through, signaling the end of a brand that just a few years ago was one of GM's hottest. Earlier Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that Tengzhong had been told its takeover application "is not going to be accepted" by Chinese regulators. Those authorities were reluctant to let a Chinese company acquire a brand they see as unfriendly to the environment. Moreover, the bid from Tengzhong, an industrial company that doesn't currently make...

GM to wind down Hummer after China sale fails Photo 4:55pm EST DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will wind down its Hummer SUV line after failing to complete a deal to sell the brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, the automaker said on Wednesday. GM had been trying to complete the deal by the end of February after reaching a definitive agreement last year to sell Hummer to Tengzhong, a little-known heavy machinery company based in Sichuan province. But the two companies failed to win approval for the deal from Chinese regulators within the proposed time frame,...

G.M. to Close Hummer After Sale Collapses NICK BUNKLEY February 24, 2010 DETROIT — Hummer, the brand of big sport-utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler,” is being shut down after a deal to sell it to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart, General Motors said Wednesday. G.M. said only that its planned sale of Hummer to the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Company “cannot be completed,” without giving a reason, but the $150 million deal had been stalled as the companies awaited approval from the Chinese government. G.M. had been trying to sell Hummer for a year,...

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomized America's love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy equipment maker. General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. finally signed the much-anticipated deal for GM to sell the brand on Friday. Tengzhong will get an 80 percent stake in the company, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, who indirectly owns a big stake in Tengzhong through an investment company, will get 20 percent. The investors will also get Hummer's nationwide dealer network. Financial terms were not disclosed, although a person briefed on the deal said...

Hummer LLC plans to locate its new headquarters in Michigan once General Motors Co.'s sale of the sport-utility vehicle maker to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is finalized, Hummer spokesman Nick Richards said. The new headquarters, expected to be located at a refurbished site in either Detroit or a northern suburb of the city, promises to provide a modest lift to a Michigan economy that has been battered by the rapid decline of the U.S. auto industry and other economic pressures. The region has lost tens of thousands of white- and blue-collar automotive jobs in the past year due...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Vandals in Portland targeted some pretty pricey cars over night, throwing acid or paint stripper all over them. No one has claimed responsibility, and there's no telling just how many people were involved. The damage to as many as 15 cars is expensive. Here's one, a Hummer from the besieged Vic Alfonso Cadillac Dealership in Northeast Portland. You can see a number of spots where the paint is now peeling off the car. A sociology professor at Portland State University said there are plenty of reasons that could have motivated the vandals to do all of...

Highlights Enthusiasts Agree: Guns and HUMMERs go together Dealer says “It’s been a huge success.” Watch video: http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=116792

Title only. No links allowed to Bloomberg. Here is the url: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akQaZGWodMhY

GM wants to sell Hummer. It needs the money. Sichuan Tengzhong, a heavy equipment firm based in China, looked like a ready buyer. GM would like to find an acquirer that would save most of the unit’s jobs. Sichuan Tengzhong seemed to fit that bill. Now it appears that the Chinese government has killed any chance of a transaction. According to the AP, it is because the equipment company “lacks expertise to run Hummer.” The news is a strong indication that China wants to push its companies to expand abroad, particularly if they can buy depressed assets at fire sale...