Bad news for tools: The end of the Hummer SUV

Those who require an oversized, gas-guzzling, military-style tank to drive to Starbucks are in for some bad news.

According to the Wall Street Journal, GM's negotiations for a sale of the Hummer brand to Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. fell through on Wednesday. Chinese regulators failed to approve the $150 million deal, concerned with Hummers' large size and poor fuel economy as well as adding another vehicle to an already crowded market of Chinese auto manufacturers. 

Introduced to the United States in 1998, the Hummer, styled after the military Humvee tank, was a giant, hulking, parking-spot-hogging symbol of the years of excess, along with tanning parties, spinning rims, bling-bling culture, Paris Hilton, life coaches, The Real Housewives of Orange County, and the word 'humongosize.'

But like the fratboys and suburban princesses that seemed to favor them, the Hummer fizzled out fast. It sold 71,000 units in the U.S. in 2006. By 2008, sales were down to 9,000, according to Time Magazine.

GM says it will begin an orderly wind-down of the Hummer brand network and will still honor Hummer warranties. (At least, that's a temporary break for famous Texas burnt orange hummer owner Roger Clemens.)

Good-bye, Hummer. And may I add: Good riddance.