Reflecting On GM's Past

(CBS)  From 1968 through 1995, the studio space used for The Early Show was a General Motors showroom that displayed the finest cars in the GM fleet. It was a rich part of the one-time world's top car manufacturer's history. But as of yesterday, the GM we once knew is a thing of the past.

It used to be said that what's good for the country is good for General Motors.

The man who first said that was Charlie Wilson. The GM CEO who was Dwight Eisenhower's choice to be Defense Secretary. He was trying to say there was no conflict between the government, General Motors and his stock portfolio. Well, as of Monday, they will be one and the same for all of us. We all own General Motors.

America in the 1950s and '60s was a world where consumers' dreams came true and the engine that gave birth to many of those dreams was General Motors.

Millions of newly prosperous Americans had leisure time, and they would fill that time driving.

What they drove became part of who they were. General Motors designed, marketed and built a model for every kind of American dream.

"Salisbury has been a Chevrolet dealer for 58 years. We've sold Chevy's," said Dan, a general manager of Salisbury Chevrolet.

But selling those dreams comes to an end next year for Salisbury Chevrolet in Scotia, New York. One of 1,100 dealers nationwide notified by the company they won't be selling GM cars after next October.

"This is something the world has never seen. And whether or not declaring bankruptcy is the best thing, I don't think anybody really knows, we certainly don't," said salesman Matt Hathaway. "And if that's the way it goes, we're going to hope for the best and keep trucking along."

Even with GM's looming bankruptcy, Salisbury Chevrolet isn't going down without a fight.

"I just hope we can continue operating. Because I'm going to miss this a lot. We are like a big family," said Anna Gerrity, owner of Salisbury Chevrolet. "I think that a lot of people are going to be upset. They're not going to be able to go where they know the people and they trust the people."

Once arguably the most important company in America, maybe the world, General Motors is now worth about $450 million - that's less than a third of the cost of the new Yankee Stadium.

At the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, an exhibit called "Futurerama" drew huge crowds. It was sponsored by General Motors (and repeated again in the '60s). What none could have envisioned then and what many people still can't quite comprehend, is that GM is bankrupt.

"The GM CEO who was credited with really pulling the company together, because there were all these disparate parts, Cadillac, Buick, this guy named Albert Sloane," said Early Show co-anchor harry Smith. "He was guy who really pulled this all together and was kind of the architect of the General Motors as we know it now.

"But one of the other things he invented is planned obsolescence. You would drive a car for several years and then buy another one. Who would have ever known that his own company is virtually obsolete?"

"The current CEO, Fritz Henderson told me it was bittersweet to be back in our studio," said Early Show co-anchor, Maggie Rodriguez. "He used to work in this building. He toured that showroom many times and here he is today talking about the company being bankrupt, which was inconceivable for so long. This used to be the most profitable company in the world and now it hasn't seen a profit in years."

"Over 77 years it was the world's largest," added Early Show news anchor, Russ Mitchell.

"The moral of the story is that there were critics long ago, and in the not-too-distant past who said GM needed to change their ways," said Early Show's weather anchor and features reporter, Dave Price. "People turned their backs on hearing those voices, and now we've got an opportunity for GM to have a re-birth. Than again, you have to listen to your critics. We'll see how that goes."