A number of media reports say that GM (GM) will file for Chapter 11 at 8 AM this morning. The move has been anticipated for several days.

Under the plans to be presented to the court, GM's debt will fall by about 50% and the company will get an additional $30 billion from the U.S. government. Taxpayers will get a 60% ownership in the car firm.

Although it has been written and said on a number of occasions, GM's fate relies more on its ability to keep its market share by building better products than it does on a short-term government bailout. It should not take more than several quarters to see if the company can pull that off. If it cannot, a lot of taxpayer money will have been wasted.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.