Collision course

Nearing financial ruin and frustrated by the inability of a tradition-bound CEO to see the warning signs, in 1992 the General Motors board of directors took drastic action. In a daring coup that shook the auto industry, the board seized control of the world's largest carmaker from chief executive Robert Stempel and handed it to an unassuming New Englander named Jack Smith. The world was shocked: It was general knowledge that GM was sick, but no one had any idea just how close to broke the company was.

Facing the daunting task of rebuilding the company virtually from the ground up, Smith and his team of strategic planners and executives launched a program they called Fundamental Change, hoping to stop the bleeding that had almost killed the automotive giant. Under Smith, GM has returned to fiscal health, but at tremendous cost. Jobs had to be slashed, plants closed, and slow-selling cars and trucks scrapped.

Despite the promising ideas in Fundamental Change, thousands of employees now wonder what Smith plans to do next. Bypassing GM's formidable public relations department and talking instead with company insiders from the boardroom to the factory floor, noted business journalist Micheline Maynard uncovers the truth behind the latest crisis at GM.