General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre said on Wednesday that the company has made its final payment of $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in
full, ahead of schedule.
The announcement came at a ceremony at GM's Fairfax, Kansas, and Detroit-Hamtramck assembly centers to celebrate a $257 million investment at the plants for the next
generation Chevrolet Malibu.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant builds the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS, but will be a second source for the Malibu, should market demand warrant the additional
production. The plant is also slated to build the Chevy Volt electric vehicle.--Karl Greenberg