GM Likes Fritz Henderson—It Really Likes Him!

The new General Motors (MTLQQ) is starting to sound uncomfortably like the old General Motors. For example, the new GM board chairman, Ed Whitacre, says of CEO Fritz Henderson, who ascended to the big chair when President Obama effectively fired previous CEO Rick Wagoner, that "the board gets along with Fritz; he has our unanimous support." Well, thank goodness! But this is kinda what the GM board used to say all the time about Wagoner, voicing approval for his serial restructuring plans, even as GM lost market share.

Of course, looked at another way, Whitacre and the board could simply be stalling, waiting to see how the economy and the auto industry shake out before contemplating a change. Given that former Boeing CEO and current Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally is the man to watch now in the U.S. car business, it’s hard to imagine that GM—and its majority owner, the U.S. Treasury—isn’t at least looking outside Detroit for some new blood down the line. Unless it’s decided that, post-bankruptcy and brief period of contrition, it’s GM again and doesn’t need to listen to anybody.