General Motors completed an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy protection on Friday with ambitions of making money and building cars people are eager to buy. Once the world’s largest and most powerful automaker, new GM is now leaner, cleansed of massive debt and burdensome contracts that would have sunk it without federal loans.

General Motors Corp. will give the United Auto Workers union 17.5 percent of its common stock, $6.5 billion of preferred shares and a $2.5 billion note to fund a trust that will take over retiree health care costs starting next year.

President Barack Obama has announced a new fuel and emission standard that he says will, at last, put the United States on the road to a cleaner environment and better fuel efficiency.

Documents in Chrysler’s bankruptcy case reveal the automaker’s plans to close five more of its plants by the end of 2010. The plants include the Sterling Heights and Conner Avenue assembly plants in Michigan, and the St. Louis North assembly plant in Missouri. Workers react to the closings, and the bankruptcy.

Three people briefed on the deal say Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA will sign paperwork by Thursday to become a partner with Chrysler LLC. The partnership is the last piece of a huge restructuring plan needed to keep Chrysler alive. The U.S. government has lent Chrysler $4 billion and gave it until Thursday to get concessions from unions, reduce debt and take on a partner or face liquidation.

Three people briefed on the deal say Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA will sign paperwork by Thursday to become a partner with Chrysler LLC. The partnership is the last piece of a huge restructuring plan needed to keep Chrysler alive. The U.S. government has lent Chrysler $4 billion and gave it until Thursday to get concessions from unions, reduce debt and take on a partner or face liquidation.

The United Auto Workers is urging members to lobby the Obama administration for support as the union continues negotiations with troubled automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

A $14 billion auto industry bailout bill stalled in the Senate on Thursday, and Republicans demanded upfront concessions from the United Auto Workers as the price for support needed for passage.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally says he’ll work for $1 per year if the automaker has to take any government loan money.