GM may have found a saviour in the form of GM-brand licensed products. Last year in the US alone, sales of GM branded merchandise almost equalled the ailing car maker’s $3.2 billion second quarter loss. Unfortunately for the General, licensees and retailers take most of the profits from those sales. GM’s latest attempt at capturing some of this market is the release of its miniature toy Hummers in a deal with McDonalds.

This method allows the auto manufacturers to influence the buying habits of the next generation of the car buying public and to build loyalty with the brand. GM is not alone in its quest to gain more fans. BMW already has a bike that it aims at children under the age of 10 and Dodge has a PC that’s shaped like a Charger sedan, Viper roadster or Magnum sport wagon.

GM tops all the other manufacturers in its sales of licensed products. Of these sales GM receives anywhere from between 3 and 15% in royalty fees, but this is still a market that’s too hard to ignore. Strangely the Japanese brands have been slow to act.