With GM nearly bankrupt, can America manage?

General Motors (GM) most likely has just a few days before it files for bankruptcy, marking the final death gasps of a company that once controlled 50 percent of the North American vehicle market and sported a peak market value (in April 2000) of $54 billion.

As I've posted, GM's $74 billion in losses and market share decline -- to 19 percent in 2008 -- are due to its failure to adapt to change. And so, after a 98 percent plunge, this week GM is likely to lose most of its remaining $873 million in market value.