Although a Chinese machinery maker's effort to purchase Hummer from General Motors collapsed, offers by previous bidders are now being reconsidered before the line is shut down for good.

Regulators in China declined to approve the purchase by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. Nick Richards, a Hummer spokesman, said GM would continue to entertain offers. If successful, it would not be the first time such a sale was pulled back from the brink.

The recent transfer of Saab from GM to Spyker Cars NV grew out of a similar situation when a proposed sale to Koenigsegg Group AB of Sweden collapsed in November. Hummers chances of a similar last minute save are considered less than Saab's however.

Last year Hummer sales declined by 67 percent as a reaction both to high fuel prices and the recession. Most dealers are reacting with the assumption that the brand will indeed be shuttered.

Hummers became available to civilian buyers in 1992, with non-government sales averaging 800-1000 units annually. Sales peaked in 2006 at 71,524, but were scuttled by $4 per gallon gasoline. In 2009, sales dropped to just 9,046.

Two plants will be directly affected by the collapse of the sale, one in Shreveport, La. and another in Mishawaka, Ind. Both are currently at partial capacity and will be retooled for the production of other models.