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GM tries to remain upbeat in crisis

By Michelle Fleury
Business reporter, BBC News, Detroit auto show

More than 100 General Motors (GM) employees, dealers and retirees cheered and waved signs that said "Here to Stay" as the car maker showed off its latest offerings at the start of the 2009 Detroit auto show.

Even though it was carefully stage managed, the message was simple: GM plans to pull through its current troubles.

Like its rival Chrysler, GM got a helping hand from the US taxpayer in the form of a loan.
And its chief executive Rick Wagoner says the money is being used to "keep the business running during this difficult time".
The loan is enough to keep GM going until Barack Obama is into the first few months of his presidency.
Mr Wagoner would not comment on whether the struggling automaker would go back to Congress to ask for more money on top of the $13.4bn (£9bn) it has already been pledged.
Instead he was cautious, saying only that "at this point the funding that we've got is going to be adequate".

Collapsing demand

It is struggling amid an economic meltdown that has curbed consumers appetites for new vehicles.
That made 2008 the worst year for new car and truck sales since 1992.
And Mr Wagoner is not upbeat for his firm's short-term prospects.

"Eventually we'll get some recovery, but for now we have to plan for low industry volumes and for cutting out our costs and capacity to be able to manage against that," he says.
To try to shift the focus away from its survival plan and back to its carmaking - GM unveiled several new models, including an electric Cadillac concept car that uses the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt.
During the presentation, Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman, told the audience that he once accidentally ran out of power 12 miles from his house and had to call on a friend to come and pick him up.
GM is

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