Hummer Riding Off in Sunset as GM Begins Shutting Down Line

Its famous owners have included Arnold Schwarzenegger and LeBron James, but the future looks dim for Hummer, once seen as the ultimate in sport utility vehicles.

General Motors announced Wednesday it has started shutting down the line after a deal fell through for sale of the brand, trademark, and intellectual property license rights to the Chinese firm Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., the Detroit News reported.

Hummer sales fell 78 percent this year, and only 2,500 of the military style vehicles remain in stock, as GM has suspended production at its plant in Shreveport, La. The shutdown does not have major implications for the company's future, the newspaper said. But the sale, had it been successful, was expected to save 3,000 jobs.

"Hummer's already been pretty much wound down. There's almost no product left," said auto analyst Aaron Bragman of IHS Global Insight. "It's a matter of selling what's left and closing down the plants. They weren't going to get much for it anyway."

Derided by critics as a gas-guzzling behemoth, the Hummer was hurt by rising gas prices and consumer caution as the recession took hold.