Would You Like Egg Roll With That?

What could be more American, Part Two...

General Motors announced today (10/9) that it had reached and agreement with Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd (Tengzhong) to sell 100 percent of Hummer brand to the company. This would essentially make it the first Chinese automaker to do business in the U.S.

Under the agreement, Hummer would contract vehicle manufacturing, key components and business services and dealer agreements from GM during a defined transitional time period. GM's Shreveport assembly plant would continue to contract assemble the H3 and H3T and AM General's Mishawaka assembly plant will continue to assemble the H2. Both facilities will produce the specified vehicles until June 2011, with an optional one year extension until June 2012. On the bright side, the deal is expected to secure more than 3,000 jobs in the U.S.

Optimistically, this is sure to expand the iconic brand's reach on the international scene – most notably in China where affluence and the car culture are exploding at such a rapid rate Ferrari recently announced it would build a region-specific "China" edition of the 599 FTB Fiorano. On the other hand, this could be the final dagger in the chest here in the U.S. for a brand that has already suffered for its perceived largess and ecological unfriendliness.

UPDATE: That deal has since fallen through and GM will allow the Hummer brand to limp along through the end of the model year. It will be phased out completely unless the company can somehow find a buyer for the iconic brand. Dedicated Hummer dealerships will be shuttered, though GM will continue to service vehicles and honor warranties, most likely via Chevrolet and GMC dealers (the H2 and H3 shared parts with trucks sold under those brand names).