GM speeds production of H3 Hummer, pickups

General Motors Corp. plans to increase production next year of its smallest Hummer, the H3, and its midsize pickups in expectation of increasing sales for the trucks, the automaker said.

With gas prices hitting record highs earlier this year, some consumers have shifted from large SUVs and full-size pickups to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles like the H3 and the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks.

GM said it would invest $20 million in its Shreveport, La., plant, where it builds the trucks, and add a third shift of about 40 workers to its paint department in the first quarter next year.

GM has sold 22,751 of the H3s in the United States since it went on sale in the spring. U.S. sales of the Colorado are up 17.6 percent to 113,062 through the first 10 months this year, while Canyon sales are up 42.6 percent to 30,857.