Chrysler’s Better, Smarter, Faster Bankruptcy

General Motors (GMGMQ) isn’t having a bad bankruptcy—things appear to be more or less on track—but there are some substantial difference between its Chapter 11 adventures and Chrysler’s, which have concluded.

A biggie is future liability claims. Here’s a rundown of what GM has agreed to on the issue. Note that the New General will not be ditching future liability claims. Chrysler, by contrast, has ditched them.

On balance, the Chrysler bankruptcy, once the question of rogue hedge funds and secured bondholders was resolved, went smoothly and allowed for Fiat to fulfill its ambition to take a stake in the new company. The result is a (tentatively) integrated international carmaker, with a product mix that can be green, luxurious, rugged (Jeep) and flag-waving ’Merican (Chrysler has Dodge, and Dodge sells trucks).

And of course Chrysler has Sergio Marchionne now at the helm, a tireless turnaround maven and definitive bailout capitalist.

General Motors can’t pull a Pentastar and effectively get bigger; rather, it must streamline and deal with the pain of shedding brands. Leadership looks to be competent if not exactly exhilarating. So GM 2.0 has more of a struggle ahead. And while dropping its resistance to future liabilities might be the right thing to do, it’s not necessarily the smartest.