GM chief Rick Wagoner stays sunny despite bad economy

DETROIT -- From his aerie 39 stories above the icy Detroit River, Wagoner exudes casual confidence even though he's in charge of a huge car company on the edge of failure, going through the worst time in its 100-year history.

GM, he says, is crouched and ready to pounce if the auto market begins to rebound. "We just need to get the storm over, and we're about ready to go," he said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.

Most auto CEOs face similar problems, but the challenge are outsized for Wagoner because GM's size makes it hard to overhaul quickly, and its image as a stumbling U.S. automaker discourages buyers. GM's plan to survive also differs. Chrysler, for instance, is considering a partner. Italy's Fiat has proposed taking 35% of the company. And Ford Motor, unlike the other two Detroit makers, hasn't yet needed to borrow from the government. GM is trying to soldier through on a combination of federal loans, drastic cuts — including shedding some brands — and sheer optimism.

The reason for Wagoner's confident appearance is his unshakable belief that things will get better soon enough. And, in Wagoner's view, GM will be ready — forged in the crucible of crisis into a tough, hard, healthy, profitable, high-tech and high-quality leader.

Too bright an outlook for some outsiders.

"We're struggling now, but tomorrow is going to be a sunny day.' I've heard it so many times from so many companies for so many years, I guess I'm a little skeptical," says Jim Hossack, senior consultant at AutoPacific consultants.

"If I had to bet, I'd bet yes," on a Detroit bankruptcy filing, even if the government approves the viability plans that GM and Chrysler submit Tuesday and lends them more money, says Douglas Bernstein, managing partner of the banking and bankruptcy practice at law firm Plunkett Cooney in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Bankruptcy of one, the automakers have said, could take down all three by starving component suppliers of enough business to keep running.