Jack Lessenberry writes:

Whatever you think of his business practices, you've got to have some sneaking admiration for Kirk Kerkorian, if only because he refuses to recognize the laws of biology. This man is running around fighting to gain control of General Motors . . . at age 89.

Kekorian's rags to riches story as told by Lessenberry is, to say the least, inspirtional. Jack continues:

General Motors, on the other hand, is a mess.

The company has been in so much trouble for so long, that we have become almost numb to the terrible shape it is in. There were actually headlines last week that said things like, "Good News; GM only loses $3.2 billion in the second three months of this year."

On the GM Fastlane blog, Chariman and CEO, Rick Wagoner, offers a slightly different perspective:

As I commented to financial journalists earlier this week, conventional wisdom holds that you can't turn a ship as big as GM around quickly. We aim to prove that conventional wisdom wrong.

He concludes:

We recognize that our most recent financial and sales numbers, while promising, aren't enough to declare our turnaround a success quite yet. But we know what has to be done to get our North American business back on a solid footing, and we're doing it.

Read or listen to Essay: General Motors - 7/31/06 by Jack Lessenberry's Essays and Interviews
Also read or listen to the companion Interview: Allan Sloan - 7/31/06
Read Turnaround Momentum Drives GM in the Right Direction by GM Fastlane Blog