After 103 years of stratospheric heights and immeasurable lows, General Motors Corp. has died. Motors Liquidation Co., or "Old GM," as it became known during the 2009 bankruptcy reorganization, was quietly dissolved on Thursday, Dec. 15, taking the company's bad debts and liabilities along with it.
The dissolution leaves the newly formed General Motors. Co. to live on as the company's fitter and better-financed replacement. The latter, as you'll recall, benefited from a massive government bailout of nearly $50 billion and the ability to restructure contracts with its suppliers, dealership bodies and unions. The surprisingly expeditious reorganization saw GM shed its Hummer, Pontiac and Saturn nameplates, along with Swedish automaker Saab (whose own efforts to find footing as an independent automaker sputtered into bankruptcy earlier today). A far healthier company today, "New GM" is turning a profit with just four U.S. nameplates – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC... and it's enjoying a newfound run of competitiveness.