Vehicle sales have been less than stellar in recent months, disappointing some analysts. But the industry is gradually improving in a broad trend that is benefiting nearly all automakers -- including the Big Three, which have returned from the brink.
General Motors is giving some 600,000 employees, retirees and dealers the chance to purchase stock in the resurgent company as the auto giant moves forward with its initial public offering, slated for next month.
The federal government's controversial decision to step in and save General Motors from insolvency was the right thing to do, says the automaker's new Chief Executive Daniel Akerson.
Akerson, who assumed the post Sept. 1, will also receive a portion of his salary in the form of stock, totaling $5.3 million, which will be paid out over three years beginning September 2011.
The new incoming CEO will need to convince shareholders that GM, which is only a year out of bankruptcy and has posted just two profitable quarters, is a worthy investment. He'll also have to make sure the carmaker's dramatic turnaround is built to last.
