General Motors Corp. symbolized U.S. prosperity in the postwar period. Its weight in the U.S. economy was summed up by the phase "What's good for General Motors is good for America" — attributed to a 1953 statement by GM's Chairman and CEO Charles Wilson.

GM enjoyed the position of the world's top carmaker for 77 years from 1931 in terms of the number of units sold worldwide until Toyota Motor took over. But GM has weakened to the point of needing government intervention and assistance.

The effective nationalization of GM and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would have been something unthinkable in the past. GM's Chapter 11 filing, which follows Chrysler's similar move at the end of April, marks the largest failure of an industrial firm in the U.S. history.