Can General Motors be saved?

by: Kathy

Tue Aug 05, 2008 at 11:15:00 AM EDT

Program highlights include:

The Long Road Back - Auto industry legend Bob Lutz is the man charged with bringing quality and excitement back to GM's cars.

Red Means Go - While GM's sales are diving at home, they're thriving abroad, fueled by the coolest new car in Communist China: a Buick.

A Star is Reborn - GM hopes to make history - again. The Chevy Camaro, a classic muscle car born in the 60's, is back, and NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the first to take the wheel.

Jobs on the Line - Warren Kennedy has worked almost every job on the GM factory floor. After taking a buyout, he looks back at a company vastly different from the one he began at 30 years ago.

Green Machine - With SUV sales tanking, GM's bid for a greener future hangs on its revolutionary electric car, the Chevy Volt. Just one problem: they still have to come up with a battery that can power the car.

CNBC will also profile GM CEO Rick Wagoner, "who has also been on the job for 31 years. Wagoner discusses why he believes he is the right executive to lead the company despite its decline in market share, its loss of billions of dollars and the stock losing more than 75% of its value."

The program is being framed as a race against time, which some analysts fear has just about run out for General Motors.

The struggling automaker, which has lost more than $51 billion over the past three years, posted a $15.5 billion quarterly loss on Friday as its North American sales fell 20 percent and plunging prices for SUVs prompted deep charges for its auto finance business.

Most analysts believe the company will have significant cash issues going forward, with some believing the automaker will have to tap external funding sources to meet its capital needs. [...]

Liquidity will remain an important concern among investors as cash flow in the second half of the year is likely to remain negative for the company, Goldman Sachs said....

Lehman said it remained more comfortable with the turnaround prospects at GM's rival Ford Motor Co.

Only time will tell if General Motors survives, but it's already too late for the thousands of workers who lost solid middle-class jobs.

For more information and video clips, click here.