Autoblog UK

It seems that the insolvent automotive manufacturer General Motors has found a purchaser for the Hummer SUV brand. The company advised that an appropriate provisional agreement has been signed. The deal is to apparently to be concluded in the third quarter of 2009. General Motors did not release further information about either purchaser or purchase price, so there is still a seething hotbed of rumours in the States. We can but hope that the brand will indeed continue. To see you through the waiting period, there is a gallery of pictures of the Hummer HX concept vehicle.

Stories from the Middle East are always fascinating and '1001 Arabian Nights Car Tales' seem to get more and popular. The sheikhs from Abu Dhabi have already provided us with visions of their wildest dreams over recent months. The 'dernier cri' has now been seen standing outside the "Emirates Palace Hotel". A pimped up open-top Hummer H2. O.K. - the original Hummer H1 was also open, but this version is something special.

With its seven seats covered in lurid red leather, the H2 cabrio seems ideally suited for any harem transport. The alloys are also special equipment, but just what the additional row of lights on the bonnet are supposed to achieve remains a mystery at the time of writing. Maybe they are intended to scare camels that occasionally wander on the roads of Abu Dhabi, but it would not have been necessary. Any camel would surely know what a Hummer is supposed to look like and would probably flee in alarm from such an awesome sight, to restore its sanity with copious draughts from the next oasis.

The recent Dakar Rally was won by South African Giniel de Villiers ahead of the two Americans, Mark Miller and Robby Gordon. The one-two victory for Volkswagen's Race Touareg 2 was a historic result for the Wolfsburg constructor. Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, Robby Gordon took third place driving a Hummer H3. The second vehicle in the Team USA line-up, driven by Frenchman Eric Vigouroux, also finished the rally, taking 13th place.

Team USA started out with one destination in mind: Buenos Aires. Simply finishing the event was their main objective. Many of the favourites came unstuck on this particular 'Dakar' which was staged in Argentina and Chile for the first time, so Gordon's third-place finish is one more incentive for him to enter next time round as well.

After their success in 2009, Team USA are planning to go into next year's Dakar with a third vehicle. It will be driven by ex-Formula One racer Eliseo Salazar who also competed in the IndyCar Series. Their choice of the 55-year-old was clearly influenced by his nationality: Salazar is Chilean. So they are obviously hoping to benefit from the home advantage factor, because all the indications are that the event will once again be staged in Argentina and Chile. The sheer enthusiasm of the spectators along the course was an unforgettable experience for all the competitors.