Critics have contended for years that General Motors has far too many brands and have urged the auto giant to dump Buick, Pontiac, GMC, or Saturn—or all of the above—and focus on satisfying customers with its core nameplates: Chevrolet and Cadillac.

With its stock trading at historic lows, GM is responding—but by putting only one brand up for potential sale, despite media reports that more are under review—basically because it could no longer afford to finance the future product development required to keep the nameplate vibrant for customers and dealers in the years to come. Hummer is for sale because GM already has more than enough truck brands, says Mark LaNeve, GM vice president for sales, service, and marketing.

LaNeve frankly admits the intense pressure on the full-size trucks and SUVs created by rising gasoline prices led to the review. “We’ve been looking at the Hummer business obviously for a while. Basically what triggered it is the pressure that we have right now on our full-size trucks. Any body-on-frame trucks are under pressure right now,” he says, noting the automaker has four truck brands with Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Hummer.

“It’s only prudent to explore our options with our lowest-volume franchise and one that’s a self-contained brand,” LaNeve says, given that the two segments in which Hummers compete have seen sales fall 50 percent in the past year. “Hummer’s actually gained share,” he says, “but we have a responsibility to look at this business both for our shareholders and for our dealers.”

Dealers are urging GM to move ahead quickly with its review, LaNeve says, and GM, which has retained Citibank as an adviser to help sort through any offers for the Hummer name, will do its best to accommodate their request.

“We think the brand has a lot of potential with the right (product) portfolio and the right investment,” he says. “In terms of our strategic options, it wouldn’t be right for me to speculate and I don’t have anything to speculate about. We’re looking at everything from a complete re-tool of the lineup to a partnership to a partial or complete sale.”