General Motors Exits Ch.11 Bankruptcy Protection

CEO Fritz Henderson said Friday that the automaker completed its 40-day stay under court supervision far quicker than anyone imagined it could. He added GM would repay about $50 billion in government loans ahead of a 2015 deadline.

At the same time, conservatives have been trumpeting that consumers should boycott GM, calling it Government Motors. What these pundits fail to see is the bigger picture: what would happen if GM were to fail and receive no government bailout.

Of course, that does not mean that General Motors is without blame in this. The company long focused on short-term profitability, without looking toward research to cars that would carry them forward in the future. Only now is GM looking into technologically-laden cars, such as the Volt, while others companies passed them in terms of quality and tech: the Prius comes to mind.

Henderson also said that GM was launching a “Tell Fritz” Web site to allow consumers to share their concerns with the company. He also plans to go out on the road every month. GM also has a test to test a partnership with eBay in the works that could “revolutionize” online car buying, he added.