Ironically, on the same day that JD Powers announced Hummer ranks highest among mass market brands. Costing up to 3,000 jobs, the deal to sell to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart after that government declined to approve the sale. China has a new emphasis on the environment and slowing oil consumption. GM will shut down production:

Over the years, Hummer shifted from a brawny status symbol that drew attention on the road into an automotive pariah.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California helped the brand become popular and once owned a fleet of Hummers, but more recently, he described the brand as prime evidence of the Detroit automakers’ failings.

Still, dealers and fans were optimistic that Hummer could live on.

GM has left the door open to new bidders. Environmentalists are giddy — Rust In Peace — but caution:

we must remember that despite the fact that they were more symbolic than other gas guzzlers, they aren’t even close to being the biggest problem with our transportation sector.

The Hummer tops the list of most ticketed vehicles. At 463% above average, it’s followed closely by the Scion tC. Here and here some speculation as to why. A few highlights from the short, disgusting life of the Hummer:

December 1999: GM buys the rights to market and distribute the Hummer from AM General.

2002: Beginning in 1996, a series of tax laws combine to create large tax credits for certain Hummer buyers. By 2002, the New York Times reports that, thanks to changes in the tax code during the Bush administration, an eligible buyer can deduct $34,912 of the $48,800 base price of the Hummer… By now the Hummer rules hip-hop. …

2006: Annual sales for all models of Hummers peak at 71,524. …

2007: Hummer sales drop 22 percent.

May 2008: Hummer sales drop 60 percent in one month. By June, sales are off 50 percent for the year.

As good a day as there will ever be to revisit the classic Colbert Report take on the Difference Makers – The National Hummer Club: