"No, Thank you," India's Mahindra & Mahindra tells GM's Hummer

"This is the worst possible time for GM to try to sell this asset," said Shelly Lombard, an analyst at corporate bond research firm Gimme Credit LLC. "This is an environment where people are kind of scared. They're looking forward for a very short period of time and not inclined to make big, expensive, going-against-the-grain bets."

"I'll be fascinated to see who ends up buying Hummer, if anyone. Hummer is not only far too expensive compared to similar off-roaders but also it is not practical buy especially with oil prices running near an all-time high. Given the state of the economy, the credit markets, and gas prices, it wouldn't be surprising to see GM forced to keep it," said Tom Van Praet, an analyst at investment firm Golden Taurus Financial.

"Fuel prices have changed buyers' attitudes," said Kevin Reale, automotive analyst at Endeca Technologies. "Unless someone is going to acquire it for military use, I just don't see it being a viable product line."

"I think it's going to be quite difficult" for GM to sell Hummer, said Joseph Phillippi, president of marketing research firm Auto Trends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N. J. "It gets really tough to see who might step up."

"Hummer needs a complete product overhaul," said Erich Merkle, automotive consultant at Crowe Chizek. "Then again, if you do a complete overhaul, you would take Hummer away from what defines it and makes it the brand that it is."

In a separate development, Mahindra, which lost out to rival Tata Motors in the race to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Land Rover and Jaguar earlier this year, said it plans to launch a small pickup truck and an eco-friendly fuel-efficient SUV in the US market during the second half of 2009.