GM Emerges From Bankruptcy

But GM, whose 40 days under court supervision was far shorter than anyone predicted, faces the worst auto sales slump in a quarter-century. At a news conference, CEO Fritz Henderson said the revamped automaker will be faster and more responsive to customers than the old one. It will generate cash and repay billions in government loans ahead of a 2015 deadline.

The new company will build more cars and trucks that consumers want and launch them faster than in the past, the CEO said. GM also announced a partnership with eBay to test auctioning vehicles online. Henderson said GM recognizes that they've been given a rare second chance, and the company is very grateful and appreciates the fact that they now have the tools needed to succeed.

The new company will focus on customers, cars and culture. "If we don't get this right, nothing else is going to work," Henderson said at GM's Downtown Detroit headquarters. "Business as usual is over at General Motors." The automaker is launching a "Tell Fritz" Web site to allow owners and the public to share their concerns with senior management, and Henderson plans to go out on the road every month.

He said GM will partner with eBay in California to allow consumers to bid on vehicles just as they would in a typical eBay auction. They could also choose a "Buy it Now" option in an experiment to make car shopping easier. Dealers would still distribute the cars.

"As a culture, General Motors needs to be prepared to experiment and adjust," he said.

New Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. said GM's trip through bankruptcy protection had been extremely challenging. "There have been a lot of long hours, there have been a shuttering of plants, there have been painful layoffs." GM, in a viability plan presented to the government, said it would break even before interest and taxes next year, and be slightly above break-even for 2011 on a pretax basis.

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