My goal in coming to General Motors was to help restore profitability, build a strong market position and position this iconic company for success. We are clearly on that path.

So long as TARP money is wrapped up in GM, the company will never shake its 'Government Motors' image. That label, as competitors and GM employees are keenly aware, is code for one thing: 'GM is a failure'.

I've been accused many times of not talking very much, but I guess I don't believe in talking things to death. You can talk too much on most anything and it stops being productive. There is a time for action. Eventually you have to pull the trigger.

If someone wants to transmit a high-quality service with no interruptions and 'guaranteed this, guaranteed that,' they should be willing to pay for that.

No partnership between two independent companies, no matter how well run, can match the speed, effectiveness, responsiveness and efficiency of a solely owned company.

When I went into GM there was a lack of morale. The company had gone bankrupt and the people who worked there were embarrassed. Underneath all of, though, there was a will to show what they were capable of, but nobody knew exactly what to do.

I'm a pretty average guy and want to keep a low profile. I don't want the world necessarily to know about me.