What could have happened if GM had went under... Center for Automotive Research gives this answer

84,000 people out of a paycheck and with no income.
factor in manufacturing jobs that supply GM and now the number is 238,000
impacts to spinoff industries and non-auto jobs would have caused 1.2 million people to lose their jobs
personal income in the USA would have suffered a 79.5 billion dollars of loss
income tax and social security would have seen a drop of 17 billion

Thats just in 2009

In 2010 another 674,000 jobs would have vanished, and the country would  have missed another 50 billion in income

If when Chrysler also died, it would have meant about 4 million jobs in 2 years.

The cost to tax payers for the GM bailout? 11 billionish

Compare that to a Air Force debacle... they have a plane that costs a lot of money. It is an older design, and our national congressmen kept it from getting axed, and the money saved would have then went to a new plane contract.

6000 jobs were on the line. Mostly Air National Guard. It works out to about 620,000 per job to keep the old plane funded.

Keeping GM alive cost about 125,000 per job. Or if you take the 238,000 jobs in manufacturing supply for GM, it would have cost 44,000 per job.

Or if you look at the spinoff and non auto jobs, it cost about 9,000 per job.
Not bad in comparison. 

Reaction to the GM recall on Chevy Cobalts and other GM cars with the ignition switch.. this is awesome. An owner is going to make a statement piece on his car

Six is inviting San Diego area artists to collaborate and paint a protest on his Chevy Cobalt. “This is a warning to people driving alongside this car. To shame General Motors into doing something about this car. And really, to draw attention to the matter.”

The Death Trap Art Car began life as a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, with a faulty ignition switch. It was sold to a family who returned it and resold to someone who was shocked to learn that he'd been driving a deathtrap since 2010.

 The news came in the form of a recall letter from General Motors. The letter from General Motors said that the car would be fixed. But not yet. While automobile owners wait for parts, cars with the same faulty ignition were responsible for 13 deaths (said General Motors, but others in the automobile business put that number at closer to 300).

A not-so-proud owner of a 2007 Chevy Cobalt, Six says that before he takes his car in to have it fixed, he's inviting artists to help him paint the outside of the vehicle with messages and imagery meant to communicate their disappointment in the slow and slimy way he says General Motors handled the recall.

Because the car is worthless -- and already Caution Tape Yellow -- it is the perfect venue for sternly worded, though poignantly beautiful, messages to General Motors about their responsibility to faultless owners, passengers and commuters.

Thus far, he has commitments from two artists. One painter is planning on doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘Total Recall’ motif. “The other… She is a calligrapher and she said, you know, ‘Nothing says screw you like screw you written out really pretty.’” He is looking for others to join them.

Six is wary of driving the vehicle. He still needs to get to work or auditions. Since his model has a stick shift, he thinks he can downshift and pull over if something goes wrong.

Since he has to travel the California freeways, the painted protest will send a message of warning to residents in San Diego and Los Angeles Counties.

“I don’t want the car, even if they replace the ignition,” Six laughs. “Because I don’t trust them. For 10 years they knew this problem existed and kept making the cars and kept selling the cars while people were dying.”

Come see the DeathTrapArtCar at OnTheEdgeArtGallery this Saturday, April 26th, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This is an opportunity for the curious to see the car and hear our plans for it -- and for artists to claim their panels. Lead Artist Michael Arata will be there and calligrapher Justine Hince will be working right on the car! There are a finite number of panels so reserve yours soon!

The gallery is located at 7317 El Cajon Boulevard, La Mesa . Look for the bright yellow 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt in the parking lot.
 For more information, visit http://deathtrapartcar.com/ or http://bizcenterart.blogspot.com/ or e-mail us at: Car@DeathTrapArtCar.com

First panel seems odd... until you learn, that each fingerprint represents one of the people dead in Cobalts since GM knew of the problem, and hasn't acted, because of the lack of safety and focus at GM. 

inside the GM heritage collection

Thanks Mike!

SAFETY NEWSFLASH: 2.6 million GM vehicles have been recalled since February, 13 people known dead, in 32 crashes, due to a 1 dollar switch

At least 13 deaths in Saturn Ions, Chevrolet Cobalts and other models have been linked to the faulty ignition switches, which are prone to being bumped or jostled into accessory mode while cars are still moving. That can shut off engines and disable power steering, power brakes and airbags.

The company is facing numerous lawsuits over the vehicles, on behalf of individuals injured or killed in crashes or customers who say their cars lost value as a result of the recall.

 Plaintiffs in those cases have accused GM of knowing about the defect for at least a decade, but failing to recall cars until this year.

The case is Silvas v. General Motors, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 14-89.

found on http://news.yahoo.com/u-judge-declines-order-park-now-notices-gm-165837959--sector.html

GM has reported several things that could cause the ignition switch to fail. If the car goes over a hard bump, or if the steering column or ignition switch is suddenly jilted or jarred, or if the weight of the key ring is significant and causes the ignition switch to loosen over time, then the engine may suddenly turn off and the airbags may become disabled.

Traffic deaths caused by such conditions began being reported many years ago, yet GM did not recall the affected vehicles to fix the problem. GM has admitted that it was tracking and following such cases with interest, but still did nothing.
above two paragraphs from http://www.pulaskimiddleman.com/practice-areas/products-liability/gm-recall-lawsuits/?gclid=CJjtj-Xw7L0CFRSPfgod33YAng

image from http://www.gmignitionupdate.com/?seo=goo_%7c_Awareness_%7c_1741%257C1755%257CIPUS%257CAU%257CG%257CA%257CBP%257CE%257C+GG-AWR-GM-Recall-SN-BP-Exact_%7c_GM_%7c_gm%2520recall%2520ignition%2520switch

GM acknowledges that the faulty ignition switch has been linked to 32 crashes and 13 deaths. 

The design GM ended up choosing to install in vehicles starting in 2003 did not meet GM’s own design specifications for torque, as shown by documents released last week.

 http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/gm-recall/did-gm-reject-safer-ignition-switch-design-2001-because-cost-n81526

Beginning in January, 2014, GM has recalled the following vehicles:
 Buick Enclave – 2008 to 2013 
Chevrolet Cobalt – 2005 to 2010 
Chevrolet HHM – 2006 to 2011 
Chevrolet Traverse – 2009 to 2013 
GMC Acadia – 2008 to 2013 
Opal GT – 2007 Pontiac G5 – 2007 to 2010 
Pontiac Solstice – 2006 to 2010 
Saturn Ion – 2003 to 2007 
Saturn Outlook – 2008 to 2010 

In the wake of further studies it is possible that GM may recall additional models soon. Additionally, it has been reported that the faulty ignition switches could have been repaired for less than $1 each.

“We now know, from Engineering Drawings and Documents submitted to the U.S. Congress by General Motors, the company created two competing designs for the ignition switch on the 2003 Saturn Ion and later models including the Chevrolet Cobalt and other recalled vehicles,” it says. “But GM chose to use the ignition switch that would fail as your customers were driving innocently on the highway.”

In an interview, Ditlow told NBC News that, based on his 40 years experience in the auto industry reading engineering and cost documents, he can reach no other conclusion other than that GM opted for the shorter part because of the price.

The new allegation against GM came Wednesday morning in a joint letter to GM CEO Mary Barra from Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, and Joan Claybrook, former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and former executive director of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

Kevin Six says that before he takes his car in to have it fixed, he's inviting artists to help him paint the outside of the vehicle with messages and imagery meant to communicate their disappointment in the slow and slimy way he says General Motors handled the recall.
http://deathtrapartcar.com/?utm_source=2007CobaltDeathtrapArtCar+E-Mail+List&utm_campaign=4d40606625-Open_Car_4_22_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_95470e913d-4d40606625-147363865