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The electric Hummer gets a new logo

GM submitted three trademark applications to government offices here and in Canada, as discovered by GM Authority. Two applications went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on February 4 this year, seeking to reserve the new Hummer logo, at the top in the image above. Note, the two logos aren't to scale; they're about the same size all things being equal, but we shrunk the old mark. GM sent a second application to the USPTO on February 7 requesting the brand name "Hummer" for application to "motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, trucks and sport utility vehicles; bicycles." True, we've seen the new Hummer script stretched across the front of the coming electric pickup in a teaser clip, but the paperwork continues the process of getting the entire continent ready for the alternate universe resurrection of one of America's most notorious brands.     In 2010, gas prices were in orbit, GM committed to closing the Hummer brand, vandals were setting fire to the scattered Hummers left on dealer lots, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 made 638 horsepower, the eco-minded revered the Toyota Prius and the Tesla Model S was still two years away. In that year, it would have been hard to say something more bonkers than, "Hummer's coming back in ten years as an electric pickup, its top trim making 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 pound-feet of torque." But here we are. The new logo's squareness connects it to the resolute bluntness of the old mark, yet the thinner font and chopped corners both modernize the old logo and lessen its truculence. The brand appears headed the same way, with lurid specs and square-jawed looks just like old times, but having in LeBron James a more modern take on the hardcore male vibe than it once got from (unpaid) association with guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger. To be fair, old Hummer commercials always featured women in the driver's seat, or men and young boys dreaming of big adventures, or Regis Philbin chatting up models, but the marketing department couldn't — or didn't want to — outrun the lineup's reputation on the street. We'll see how the electric version and its “incredible on- and off-road capability" fare. According to the teaser site, the new Hummer's debut is still on track for May 20. If the brand manages to recreate the old H3T pickup but with an electric powertrain, it's got one buyer right here lined up already. Related Video:

General Motors could turn Hamtramck into its electric pickup, SUV hub

Electric off-roaders could revitalize the Detroit-Hamtramck factory that General Motors previously announced it will close. While official details remain shrouded in secrecy, analysts believe the plant will be re-tooled to manufacture at least three electric models due out during the early 2020s. The plant's scheduled closure was one of the grievances the United Auto Workers (UAW) union cited when it embarked on a 40-day strike in September 2019. General Motors agreed to keep it open without shedding much light on what it planned to build there. Analyst at LMC Automotive told the The Detroit News they believe an often-rumored electric SUV that will resurrect Hummer's name, image, or both will be one of the models assigned to the Hamtramck plant. Battery-powered variants of the GMC Sierra and the Cadillac Escalade will be made there, too, as will an enigmatic van. LMC Automotive's Jeff Schuster believes the van will come first; it could enter production as early as 2021. The Hummer — which might also be offered as a pickup — will follow before the end of 2022, while the Sierra and the Escalade will both arrive in 2023. We're taking this report with a grain of salt, though, because only one of the aforementioned models has been announced by General Motors. Rumors of a Hummer resurrection emerged in the summer of 2019, just a few weeks before we heard unverified reports of a battery-powered variant of the next-generation Escalade. General Motors confirmed plans to enter the burgeoning electric pickup truck segment, which Ford, Rivian, and Tesla also have their sights on, but it hasn't detailed how or when. The van is a mystery. General Motors refused to comment on the report. It previously announced it will keep Hamtramck open, and invest $3 billion to build electric vehicles there. The investment will create 2,225 jobs. Inaugurated in February 1985, the Hamtramck factory has churned out a diverse selection of models over the past 34 years, including Cadillac's Eldorado, Seville, and Allante, the Oldsmobile Toronado, the Buick Riviera, and more recently, gasoline-electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors announced plans to close Hamtramck in 2018, but it quickly backpedaled and extended its lease on life until 2020 by keeping the Chevrolet Impala and the Cadillac CT6 around for a few additional months.

Cadillac CT6 production ceases January 2020 as part of D-Ham layoffs

General Motors filed paperwork under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act with Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity this week, detailing events to come at the automaker's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. Starting February 28, 814 salaried and hourly workers at D-Ham, as its called, will be laid off. The 753 workers represented by the UAW will begin receiving offers in January to relocate to facilities in Michigan and Ohio, or buyout offers. As the 4-million-square-foot plant winds down through April 3 to a skeleton crew, the Cadillac CT6 ceases production in January 2020, and the last Chevrolet Impala comes off the line on February 28. The loss of the CT6 represents the end of Cadillac's latest brief, and highly regarded, adventure into flagship sedans. It might also mean the end of the 4.2-liter Blackwing twin-turbo V8 engine, at least for the moment. Both casualties are calamities. The death of the Impala closes the door on a nameplate in production for 52 years since 1957, having started off as a top-tier trim for the 1958 Bel Air known as the Bel Air Impala, once advertised with the line, "Lets you know you're the boss." As part of the new four-year labor agreement with the UAW, GM is keeping D-Ham open to build a new line of battery-electric vehicles, ultimately investing $3 billion and tripling employment to 2,225 workers when fully operational. The agreement described the coming EV as a "van" that would commence production in late 2021, but various reports say what's actually coming is a range of premium EVs in pickup and SUV bodystyles under the program codename BT1. The easy predictions put an electric GMC Sierra and Cadillac Escalade among the EV fold, but not until 2023, according to auto industry forecaster LMC Automotive. Before that, LMC claims an electric van will debut in late 2021, along with a battery-powered rebirth of the Hummer brand in pickup and SUV forms, also in late 2021.