Tuning Truck

General Motors says Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., will be its new chairman.

The former AT&T chief and ExxonMobil board member will lead newly downsized automaker as it seeks a way out of the government fold when the company is launched later this summer, a GM press release says. Interim chairman Kent Kresa will give up his seat when Whitacre takes over, likely to oversee the sell-off of "old" General Motors assets that remain.

The new General Motors

General Motors is teetering ever closer to the brink of bankruptcy today, as the automaker's exchange offer for its outstanding debt fell "substantially" short of the necessary take-rate. GM had offered some $27.2 billion of its unsecured public notes to its bondholders, but the offer expired at noon yesterday without having the minimum tender amount met. The U.S. Treasury Department had mandated that at least 90 percent of bondholders would have to agree to swap

While General Motors dealers here in the States are awaiting 1,100 retail store losses, Opel/Vauxhall dealers in Europe have opted to take matters into their own hands. Euroda, the Opel/Vauxhall dealer association, is raising 500 million Euros ($667 million US dollars) in exchange for a 10-20% stake in the brand, plus representation on the brand's board of directors.

The 4,000 dealers will raise the money by contributing €150 for every vehicle sold for the next three years.