General Motors, its river of red ink stemmed by a trip through Bankruptcy Court, reported a narrower quarterly loss yesterday and said it would start repaying billions of dollars in government loans that helped keep it alive. GM lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter—far less than the $6 billion it lost in the first three months of the year, before GM was transformed by a stay in Chapter 11. The company credited a sharp reduction in debt as well as sales of new models.

The most common deals under the government’s $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press. The single most common swap—which occurred more than 8,200 times—involved Ford 150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford 150s.

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomized America’s love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy-equipment maker. General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. finally signed the much-anticipated deal for GM to sell the brand yesterday. Tengzhong will get an 80 percent stake in the company, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, who indirectly owns a big stake in Tengzhong through an investment company, will receive a 20 percent stake.

BRADENTON, Fla. Afamily tragedy inspired a Bradenton resident to invent a product he hopes will save lives. Jack Roe pursued a patent for transitional glass tinting for vehicle windshields after his 34-year-old daughter died in a car crash in February 2006. The 72-year-old said Dawn Roe died in a car accident in Plymouth, Ind., when her vehicle crashed into the back of a truck. Because of the morning sun’s glare, Roe said she did not see the truck stopped in her lane to make a turn, and the mother of four died at the scene.

With global talks on climate change looming, the Obama administration sought to gain momentum yesterday by unveiling its plan to require better gas mileage for cars and trucks and toughen rules on vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions. The new standards call for the auto industry’s fleet of new vehicles to average 35.5 mpg by 2016. The proposal will cover vehicle model years 2012 through 2016, allowing auto companies to comply at once with all federal requirements as well as standards pushed by California and about a dozen other states.

CarMax Inc. CEO Tom Folliard told shareholders and employees the automotive retailer is working its way through the downturn and is poised to rebound.

Battered automakers are unveiling greener, hipper cars at the New York International Auto Show that they hope will satisfy scared buyers, while the company with the most to prove went the farthest yesterday to show it still has a future. Chrysler LLC’s president, Jim Press, surprised reporters at the automaker’s news conference by arriving on stage in an iconic Fiat 500 subcompact.

U.S. automakers saw a 37 percent drop in March sales. And while the March sales were dismal compared with last year, consumers lured by record incentives pushed the February-to-March increase above the normal rise that comes at the end of winter. “Maybe we’ll get—imagine that—some momentum going,“ said Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global market and industry analysis for General Motors Corp., whose 45 percent sales decline last month was the worst among the major automakers.

The Obama administration’s decision to effectively convert much of the U.S. auto industry into a subsidiary of the federal government illustrates the worst aspects of the bailout mentality. Billions in taxpayer dollars continue to flow into troubled industries—and government control of those businesses is expanding faster than the budget deficit. We’re pleased to see that the administration is considering bankruptcy for GM. But it’s hard not to wonder if that time-tested approach for dealing with insolvent companies should not have been applied sooner to automakers—and to at least some of the failing financial giants.

Stocks were set for a selloff today after the White House rejected the turnaround plans from General Motors Corp. and Chrysler.

LEXINGTON When the good news is that Honda’s U.S. sales are down only 28 percent and Toyota projects losses of only $5 billion, it’s clear the auto industry’s problems extend well beyond Detroit. Market pro jections by car companies for 2009 vary by 30 percent, while light truck sales are up—for now. Which cars will sell is no clearer than how many will sell. Yet, in its December “bailout” to the industry, Congress mandated that Detroit produce turnaround plans by Feb. 17 and show progress in implementing them by March 31, or get thrown into bankruptcy.

Worried about the weakening economy, the Bush administration said it was ready to step in and prevent the U.S. auto industry from collapsing

A plan to give troubled U.S. automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is on life support, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit’s once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.

Auto bailout?: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called for “emergency and limited financial assistance” for the battered auto industry and urged the Bush administration to join lawmakers in reaching a quick compromise. President-elect Barack Obama has prodded the Bush administration to do more to help the industry. Officials familiar with the conversation said the president replied he was open to the idea.