General Motors yanks the hybrid Malibu, warns common shareholders

Downtrodden General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ) is throwing in the towel on its 2010 hybrid-electric Chevy Malibu, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Due to weak demand among retail customers, dealers have stopped ordering the car, and the automaker is currently choking on a backlog of the unpopular hybrids.

To drive home the point, the Journal quotes Joe Menegos, the sales manager at a National City, Calif., dealership, as saying, "We could care less" that the hybrid Malibu is being deep-sixed.

In fact, the theme for GM this week is the admission of defeat. In a press release late Wednesday, GM commented on its rising stock price, and warned investors that "any recovery for the common stockholders in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process is highly unlikely, even under the most optimistic of scenarios."

In other words, the automaker has no clue why people are still buying its stock. (Maybe they're desperate for the tax write-off?) No matter what the motivation was for GM's recent advances, traders are finally taking the hint today. At last check, the equity was down more than 10%.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

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