Ever since it shocked its way onto the U.S. commercial market more than a decade ago, Hummer has been an object lesson in America's boom-time obsession with size and status. Now—in leaner, greener times—the automotive brand made famous by cigar-chomping macho men is up for grabs.

In June, obscure Chinese construction-equipment manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Industrial Machinery agreed to take the iconic brand off bankrupt General Motors' hands for a reported sum of $100 million. This week, the agreement met with some resistance from Chinese regulators more interested in promoting fuel-efficient cars than thirsty SUVs, but did not appear to be in jeopardy. With deals inked to offload Saab to a partnership between Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings and Sweden’s Koenigsegg Group, and Europe’s Opel division to go to a consortium led by the Canadian auto supplier Magna, Hummer is the last lingering question for GM.

What interest could Tengzhong—or any other potential suitor—see in the deeply troubled Hummer?

The sale would, for one, provide any buyer instant access to the global auto market, including the coveted-if-diminished U.S. sector. Under the current plan, GM would supply Hummer’s H2 and H3 models to Tengzhong, though for how long is not yet clear. As in other high-profile Chinese automotive acquisitions, Hummer's dealer network and management team would remain intact, providing valuable insight into Western business practices. A bundle of trouble would come along as well. High fuel prices and a tanking economy have sent sales into a tailspin. In 2008, the company's U.S. sales were down 51 percent to just 27,485. So far this year, GM has sold a paltry 7,767 Hummers, down 61 percent from the same period last year. (Maybe worse, a once-vocal booster, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, now disavows the brand. “I’ve always been a big fan of the Hummer, but…we know we’ve got to get rid of the big, polluting vehicles and cars that drive with very low mileage,” he recently said.)

Even against such a bleak backdrop, analysts say Hummer could yet be salvaged. Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of auto-buying site Edmunds.com, points to Harley-Davidson, which barely scraped through the 1980s when a negative image of motorcyclists, quality concerns, and foreign competition nearly did the company in. Harley-Davidson famously turned its vices—a loud, jolting ride—into rough-and-tumble brand virtues, building a healthy lifestyle business alongside its burly hogs, including clothes and riding accessories. "It's easy to dismiss the brand in today's environment," insists Anwyl of Hummer, "but the truth is, despite getting banged around, it has enormous value."