DETROIT -- The speed at which General Motors Corp. exits bankruptcy protection would depend a lot on the shape the company is in when it enters. GM has three more days to tidy up, according to The Associated Press.

Bankruptcy experts say the more operational, labor and financial concessions the automaker gets lined up in advance of its likely Chapter 11 reorganization, the faster the ailing automaker can emerge a leaner, stronger company - one that will be nearly three-quarters-owned by taxpayers.