The Slow Turning Tide

General Motors is closing four truck and sports utility vehicle (SUV) plants in the US, Canada and Mexico as it looks to environmentally-friendly cars.

Surging fuel prices have heralded a shift to smaller vehicles, with GM also considering selling its Hummer brand.

But GM's board has approved the production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Ohio, and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit.

The world's largest carmaker said it was making the moves "to aggressively respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and to economic and market challenges in North America".

GM has lost a combined $51bn over the past three years, with shares losing almost 60% of their value since their peak in October 2007.

Me, obsessed? Never!