Auto giant General Motors has recalled more than 1.3 million vehicles in the United States over fears that an electrical fault could cause them to catch fire, US government documents showed Tuesday.

The problem, linked to the vehicles' windshield wiper fluid system, affects at least 18 models ranging from Chevrolet trucks to Hummers, documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed.

GM's Buick, Cadillac, and GMC brands are also affected, particularly high-end SUVs and pick-up trucks.

In a letter to customers and US watchdogs, GM -- which received a massive government bailout to stay afloat -- said many of the models had already been involved in a 2008 recall linked to possible electrical shorting.

"However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents," GM said.

The Detroit, Michigan based firm said the new incidents resulted from a flaw in fluid systems' heat insulation.

The incidents ranged from "minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the... fluid chamber."

"In rare circumstances, it is possible for the heated (windshield) washer module to ignite."

At least four fires are thought to have occurred.

GM first notified the US government of potential problems in September 2009, but could affect models dating back to 2006.

In a letter to customers, GM said it would fix the problem "at no charge" and give a "satisfaction payment" of 100 dollars from dealers, spelling a potential payout of more than 136 million dollars for the firm.

The recall is a body-blow to the firm, which is fighting to escape from the shadow of a high-profile bankruptcy.

GM entered a government-backed reorganization on June 1, 2009, with liabilities of 172.8 billion dollars.

The company emerged from bankruptcy on July 10 with 48.4 billion dollars in debt.

In May, the firm saw a quarterly profit for the first time in three years on the back of a jump in sales and cost-cutting measures.

The carmaker said that sales of four brands it retained following restructuring -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac -- rose 31.8 percent from May last year.

US car giant General Motors is recalling more than 160,000 Hummers over a flaw that could cause part of the hood to break off while the vehicle is being driven.

The problem could affect up to 162,129 Hummer H3 cars made between 2006 and 2010, according to documents from GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the integral clip-tabs on the hood louver may fracture," GM said. "If this indicator is unnoticed, additional clips could fracture and the hood louver could detach from the vehicle.

"If the vehicle is being driven when this occurs, it could strike a following vehicle and cause injury and/or property damage," the company said.

The problem can be fixed with the application of an adhesive to the louver, an air grille panel on the car, and owners of affected cars can have them fixed at local dealers, GM said.

A letter from GM to NHTSA said the issue was raised in Japan in January after three warranty claims citing hood grille detachments.

The problem was communicated to GM North America, which decided on April 22 to issue a recall.

The recall affected certain H3 Hummers made between 2006-2008, and certain H3 or H3T vehicles made between 2009-2010.

GM last month informed dealers of its plans to dismantle the Hummer brand after a deal to sell the unit fell through.

Letters went out to the 153 Hummer dealers in the United States and 247 dealers in other countries last week formally notifying them of the "dissolution of the dealership network," GM spokesman Nick Richards told AFP.

The Detroit automaker had announced a deal to sell the brand in June, as it underwent a massive government-assisted bankruptcy restructuring.

But in February, the company announced that the planned sale to China Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. had fallen through.

General Motors is studying new offers for its Hummer brand of sport utility vehicles, two days after announcing plans to end the brand, a source familiar with the talks said Friday.

The source offered no details on number or identity of interested parties but said there had been "offers" for the brand of military-style vehicles.

Nick Richard, a spokesman for the GM unit, declined to confirm any new offers but said the Detroit firm would consider any new bids despite having announced a wind-down of Hummer operations.

"Typically, as you saw with the Saab deal, when things like that happen you get calls," he said referring to the Swedish brand that was sold after GM had announced plans to discontinue operations.

"We're open to review any offer."

GM said Wednesday a plan to sell Hummer to a Chinese firm could not be finalized.

The move to sell Hummer to the maker of heavy equipment, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., was first announced in June as the Detroit auto giant underwent a massive bankruptcy restructuring with support from the US and Canadian governments.

Although GM did not comment on the reasons for scrapping the deal, Tengzhong said Thursday it withdrew the offer because it was "unable to obtain clearance of the transaction from the Chinese regulators within the proposed deal timeframe."

General Motors said it would end its celebrated and scorned Hummer brand of sport utility vehicles after a deal to sell the nameplate to China-based Tengzhong could not be finalized.

"We are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances, without elaborating.

"GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."

GM said it would continue to honor Hummer warranties, and provide service support and spare parts to current owners around the world of the military-style sport utility.

The plan to sell Hummer to the Chinese maker of heavy equipment, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., was first announced in June as the Detroit auto giant underwent a massive bankruptcy restructuring with support from the US and Canadian governments.

Although GM did not comment on the reasons for scrapping the deal, Tengzhong said Thursday it withdrew the offer because it was "unable to obtain clearance of the transaction from the Chinese regulators within the proposed deal timeframe."

Tengzhong said in a statement that it was "disappointed" that it was unable to pursue the "tremendous opportunity" to help transform the gas guzzlers into greener vehicles.

"Following talks with GM, both sides have decided to discontinue discussions on the transaction and terminate their definitive agreement," the company said.

GM and Tengzhong said in October a deal had been "finalized" in which the Chinese company would acquire an 80 percent stake and Suolang Duoji, a private entrepreneur with holdings that include the Hong Kong-listed industrial chemical producer Lumena, would hold the remaining stake.

Last month, Tengzhong said it had agreed with GM to extend an original deadline of January 31 to the end of February, as the company sought the go-ahead from Chinese regulators.

China's commerce ministry said Wednesday that since October, when the two firms said the deal had been "finalized," it had never received an application from Tengzhong to buy Hummer.

A GM spokesman said fewer than 3,000 jobs would be affecting by shutting down Hummer.

"We have about 3,000 employees directly employed in the design, production and sale of Hummer," spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "That would not include suppliers. Some of these employees work on other brands as well, so the actual impact on jobs will be significantly less than that."

For some Hummer was a symbol of GM's glory days, but others saw it as an example of wasteful opulence. The gasoline-guzzling vehicles were adapted from the military Humvee and launched commercially in 1992.

GM acquired full ownership of Hummer in 1999 and expanded production of the original Hummer or H1 and H2. In 2005 GM introduced the H3, which was a mid-sized version but still more fuel-thirsty than most vehicles on the road.

Celebrity owners have included California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the "Terminator" movies.

But as fuel prices rose and economic conditions worsened, buyers abandoned the Hummer. In 2009, GM sold just 9,000 Hummers, a 67 percent drop from a year earlier.

GM has had difficulty reorganizing its global operations. A deal struck last year to sell its Opel brand, the jewel of its European operations, was scrapped and GM decided to keep its European division.

After plans to sell the Swedish nameplate Saab fell apart, GM said it would end that brand. But a last-minute deal was struck to sell the operations to Dutch-based Stryker in a deal completed this week.

In the United States, GM decided to end its Pontiac and Saturn brands, focusing on four remaining core brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery said Monday it had agreed with General Motors to extend the deadline for a deal to acquire the US firm's Hummer brand until the end of February.

A definitive agreement announced by the two companies in October 2009 allowing Tengzhong to buy the US auto giant's sport-utility vehicle brand was to expire on Sunday, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Tengzhong told AFP.

The deadline was extended by one month as the two companies are still "awaiting approval from Chinese regulators" for the deal and will continue to work to wrap up the approval process, she said.

Tengzhong, which was little-known when the deal was signed, said shortly after the signing that it expected to get regulatory approval for the Hummer acquisition and finalise the transaction by late last year or early 2010.

But China's commerce ministry, one of the government agencies tasked with approving overseas investments by domestic companies, has said it never received a formal application from Tengzhong.

China's commerce ministry has not yet received an application from heavy machinery maker Tengzhong for the acquisition of the iconic Hummer brand from General Motors, an official said Thursday.

"The commerce ministry has not received any formal application from Tengzhong," commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian told reporters at a news conference.

"We know no details about Tengzhong's overseas purchase agreement," he said in response to a question about the Hummer deal.

The Chinese company last week signed a "definitive agreement" with US giant GM to buy the sport-utility brand.

A Tengzhong spokeswoman has said the transaction was expected to be finalised in late 2009 or early 2010, "which is the point that we also expect to have received the necessary review or approvals to close the transaction".

However, Yao said the commerce ministry had "no precise knowledge" on whether Tengzhong planned to buy the Hummer brand and external design or take an equity stake in the gas guzzler.

The ministry also did not know the value of the transaction, he added.

But he said the government supported domestic companies investing abroad to expand their market and take advantage of the financial crisis.

US auto giant General Motors on Monday said it is making headway in finalizing a deal to sell its Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to Chinese machinery maker Tengzhong.

"Negotiations continue to progress," GM spokesman Nick Richards told AFP, adding that the finalized deal would be announced "as soon as appropriate."

GM and little-known Tengzhong in early June signed a tentative agreement for the Chinese firm to buy the gas-guzzling Hummer nameplate.

Since then, Richards said, "the parties have been in frequent discussions working closely to finalize a definitive agreement."

The ailing GM, seeking to dispose of non-core assets, had announced the potential Hummer sale before entering a government-orchestrated bankruptcy.

The US auto maker emerged last month from a bankruptcy court-supervised restructuring and is more than 60 percent owned by the US government.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, based in China's southwestern Sichuan province, specializes in manufacturing heavy machinery equipment for use in road and bridge construction, as well as the energy industry.

General Motors, fresh from filing for bankruptcy protection, reached a deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese industrial machinery firm, Sichuan Tengzhong, the companies announced Tuesday.

Tengzhong "will acquire the rights to the premium off-road Hummer brand, along with a senior management and operational team," a joint statement said.

"It will also assume existing dealer agreements relating to Hummer's dealership network," the statement said.

Final terms of the deal are still being negotiated.

Tengzhong could also enter into a "long-term contract assembly and key component and material supply agreement" with GM, the statement said.

GM had said that it expected the deal to secure more than 3,000 US jobs.

On a narrow, leafy street in Northwest Washington, where Prius hybrid cars and Volvos are the norm, one man bought a flashy gray Hummer that was too massive to fit in his garage.

So he parked the seven-foot-tall behemoth on the street in front of his house and smiled politely when his eco-friendly neighbors looked on in disapproval at his "dream car."

It lasted five days on the street before two masked men took a bat to every window, a knife to each 38-inch tire and scratched into the body: "FOR THE ENVIRON."

"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves, 32, who lives with his mother in a three-story home in the 4300 block of Brandywine Street NW in American University Park. "I've kind of been in shock."

Now, as Groves ponders what to do with the remains of his $38,000 SUV, he has been the target of a number of people who have driven by the crime scene in his upscale neighborhood and glared at him in smug satisfaction.

"I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," said his friend Andy Sexton, 27, who is visiting from Arkansas and has been helping Groves deal with fallout from the crime.

Neighbor Lucille Liem, 37, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles are impractical and a strain on the Earth -- and Hummers in particular are a symbol of consumer excess.

"The neighborhood in general is very concerned with the environment," said Liem, whose Prius gets about 48 miles a gallon compared with the Hummer's 14 miles a gallon. "It's more liberal leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer."

Liem added quickly that she does not condone violence.

Another neighbor, Lani Fremaux, 58, said she bought a T-shirt months ago with a picture of a Hummer and above it the word "Bummer." She wore the shirt proudly but said she is so upset with recent events on her street that she might retire it.

"They've got everything at their disposal in this city to make a statement in a legal way," Fremaux said of the bat-wielding men who struck out at the Hummer. "I consider this a hate crime."

Police said they see small acts of vandalism in the area from time to time, but they have not seen anything so severe, or with such a clear political message, in recent years.

"This seems to be an isolated event," Cmdr. Andy Solberg said.

Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses saw two men about six feet tall with bandanas or masks over their faces smash up the car about 3:30 a.m. Monday and then run off.

Groves's mother, Phyllis Groves, 70, said she is sad for her son because he has wanted a Hummer for a while. But even she did not exactly approve of the purchase.

"I teased him because of the gas mileage," she said. "But he wanted a Hummer. He didn't have other gas guzzlers in mind."

He bought the used 2005 vehicle a month ago from a dentist in Fairfax County and left it in a shop for several weeks so it could be outfitted to his specifications -- new, bigger tires and a "lift kit," meaning it would be higher off the ground.

Groves, who grew up in the District and works in marketing for a local radio station, said he wanted the car in part because he is starting a company, Washington Sports Marketing, that is "image-based."

He said he wants to get it towed and repaired but fears extremists might not be done making an example of him.

"I'm worried about what I do now," he said. "If I get it fixed, do I put it back in the same spot three weeks from now?"

HUMMER will consolidate its upcoming H3 range in Australia from 2009 with a variety of new models that will include a compact SUV, diesel, ethanol and hybrid power, and a new full-sized H2.



Central to this will be engineering and design input from General Motors’ global outposts, including Holden, but perhaps Hummer’s most ambitious plan involves a vehicle that sits below the H3 – currently the company’s smallest offering.



Known as the H4 – although this may change by the time it appears around 2010 – it will give the Hummer brand a vital weapon in the United States against premium-priced compact SUVs such as the Nissan Murano.



Hummer general manager Martin Walsh revealed that the H4 will be twinned with an upcoming compact General Motors platform, although he stopped short of saying which one it would be.



"It will be another GM platform that will allow us to build a smaller vehicle," he says.



John Heinricy, General Motors director of high performance vehicles, told GoAuto that GM’s engineering plants across the globe are intertwined in their new-model developments.



"At GM, we work together like it’s one engineering organisation, so I can tell you that on various programs – not particular with Hummer – I’m in conversation with Holden on a weekly basis," he revealed.



"We’re sharing knowledge, we’re sharing engineering. Holden does engineering for the US... it all fits together seamlessly."



However, a Hummer insider admitted to fearing that its hard-won hardcore off-road image may be irreparably harmed if GM decides to go "soft" with the H4.



He insits that Hummer needs to maintain its 4WD reputation by ensuring that all its vehicles have a separate chassis, short overhangs, class-leading approach, breakover and departure angles, ample ground clearance and signature Hummer styling cues.



Mr Walsh also hinted at an even smaller model beyond the H4, if market trends – driven by spiralling fuel costs and increasingly punitive legislation against heavier SUVs – dictate a need for it.



"Our growth will be downwards in terms of size," Mr Walsh says, adding: "Opportunities will lie in smaller segments."



Nevertheless, he cites Hummer’s "iconic design" and leading off-road ability as keys to its success.



"As we grow smaller, we must ensure that (Hummer) maintains these two characteristics," Mr Walsh emphasises.



"We have to offer legitimate off-road capability – that’s where the real challenge is."



In the United States alone, Mr Walsh believes that a smaller vehicle line-up could add between 30,000 and 40,000 sales to the 70,000-odd units (split between 56,000 H3s and 14,000 H2s) Hummer shifted in 2006.



At the other end of the spectrum is the development of an H2 replacement.



Also due out by about the end of the decade, it will again be developed off GM’s full-sized 1500/2500/Suburban truck platform.



However, a greater emphasis on luxury, as well as right-hand drive engineering, should see the H2 II challenge vehicles such as the Range Rover Vogue and Lexus LX570 in markets outside North America.



However, this does not mean that Hummer will be standing still with the H3, the brand’s sole global ambassador for the time being.



As we reported last week, first up will be the long-awaited V8 version of the H3, to address this model’s single biggest criticism – its lack of performance punch.



Dubbed H3 Alpha and on sale in North America from June, right-hand drive production for the V8 will commence at General Motors’ plant in South Africa early next year, with Australian sales following by the end of 2008.



Around the same time, a diesel-powered H3 is in line for introduction, although exactly which engine it will employ remains a mystery.



The H3’s short nose precludes most V6 installations, so talk is rife that Hummer will fit a derivation of the 2.0-litre common-rail four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit found in the Holden Captiva.



Developed by VM Motori of Italy and produced by GM DAT in South Korea, a size increase to 2.2 or even 2.5 litres is a possibility.



Hummer is also looking at E85 ethanol versions of its two petrol engine choices, as well as a move to biodiesel technology.



In fact, within the next three years, Hummer will offer bio-fuel powertrains "...in every single vehicle application" according to one company spokesman.



Further into the future, hybrid technology – including a predominantly electric powerplant with occasional fossil-fuel engine back-up as per GM’s 2007 Detroit show-stealing Volt concept car – could find its way into Hummers.



An SUT (Sport Utility Truck) version of the H3 is on the cards, for a US launch in 2008.



This four-door crew-cab model, with may be joined later on by a two-door utility with an extended bed for greater commercial-vehicle applications.



Despite these developments, Mr Walsh believes that it is the smaller vehicles that will drive Hummer sales in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia, as the Americans drive into new markets and add more dealers in existing ones.



Currently Hummer sells only 12 per cent of its output outside of North America.



"Longer term I think we can get between 20 and 25 per cent," Mr Walsh forecasts.



He declared that the three biggest issues facing Hummer are incorrect perceptions of price, size and fuel economy.



The former initially affected H3 sales in America in its first year. Buyers incorrectly assumed it cost significantly more, simply because of its similar design to the larger and costlier H2.



Mr Walsh points out that buyers are surprised by the relative compactness of the H3, claiming that it has the same turning radius as a Toyota Camry sedan.



He adds fuel consumption is on par with most of its mid-sized SUV competitors.



Mr Martin also admits that distancing the Hummer from the old military HMMWV (and its civilian H1 counterpart) might aid the company in gaining greater social acceptance in some markets.



"There is still a high lack of awareness of what (today’s Hummer) truly is," Mr Walsh laments.



"We are going hard trying to change consumer’s perceptions."



Responding to criticism that his vehicles are out of step with the fuel consumption and environmental concerns of today, Mr Walsh vehemently defends Hummer’s place in this world.



"Hummer is a niche vehicle. We feel we don’t have anything to apologise for.



"We respect the right of people not to choose a Hummer as much as we respect the right for people to choose our product... However, in our future product plans we are incorporating the move to bio fuels and even more fuel efficient options as well."



What's coming from Hummer:

H3 - July 2007

H3 SUT - 2008

H3 Alpha V8 - Q4 2008

H3 diesel - 2009

H4 - 2010

H2 MkII - 2011