I think General Motors (GM)—and GM shareholders—will get reintroduced to reality with the company’s Thursday February 16 earnings report.

Investors have been surprised to find that just two years after emerging from bankruptcy General Motors has returned to its traditional position as the world’s largest carmaker. In 2011 General Motors sold 9 million cars to take back the title of the title that it lost to Toyota in 2008.

The good news has helped propel GM shares to a 25.8% gain for 2012 through February 10. (That compares to a 6.98% gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 in 2012 through February 10.)

But now the shiny new car that GM built—with financing from U.S. taxpayers courtesy of the Obama administration—has got to perform. The showroom gloss is gone and investors will want to know how long it will take the new GM to go from zero to 60—and if the engine will blow out halfway down the track.

Mere survival is no longer good enough—especially now that investors have bid up the value of that survival by 26%.

I think we’ll see what this little deuce coup has got not in the company’s report on fourth quarter 2011 earnings, but in GM’s guidance for 2012. Read more

What GM’s ads don’t say: Taxpayers will take a loss on this bailout

So what about the rest of our money?

Today General Motors is running ads patting itself on the back for repaying its taxpayer loans.

“We’re proud to announce: We’ve repaid our government loan. In full. With interest. Five years ahead of the original schedule.”

Absolutely true. As far as it goes. Read more

The U.S. is now only the second biggest auto market in the world

China is now the biggest auto market in the world.

In 2009 sales of passenger cars, buses, and trucks grew by 49% to a total of 13.6 million units. With U.S. sales falling 21% in 2009 to 10.4 million that pushed the United States to No. 2.

Three things you should know about the Chinese auto market as you start looking for a play on the growth in this market. Read more