try to get it -LSB- done -RSB- outside of bankruptcy . But if we ca n't , we 're not going to compromise our goals . We 're going to get it done inside our bankruptcy . Our preferred approach is still to do it outside , but you ca n't rule out going in . '' Over the past few weeks pundits of all stripes have appeared on financial news networks suggesting that entering Chapter 11 is GM 's only way to future viability . `` Get on with it , '' they say , and save us the agony . It is the only way , they argue , General Motors can get relief from its immediate cash-flow issues , tear up or substantially modify its union contracts , dump unnecessary brands , close plants and `` right-size '' its operations . But those pundits who propose Chapter 11 fail to acknowledge that General Motors is a consumer-facing company whose success or failure is in the hands of millions of average Americans . This group will decide to buy or not buy General Motors vehicles based on what they know , hear and even feel about GM 's
Editor 's Note : Jack R. Nerad is Executive Editorial Director for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com , and co-host of `` America on the Road , '' heard on more than 300 radio stations . In the 1980s he served as Editor of Motor Trend magazine . Nerad is the author of `` The Complete Idiot 's Guide to Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles , '' published recently by Alpha Books . Jack Nerad says bankruptcy would drive car buyers away from GM and imperil suppliers . -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The events of the past week have been unprecedented in the auto industry and in the annals of American business . As the events have unfolded , there is the strong implication from the administration 's automotive task force that Chapter 11 bankruptcy , followed by restructuring and `` cleansing '' of General Motors ' balance sheet , is a potential scenario in the ongoing efforts to keep the giant automaker alive . GM 's new chief executive , Fritz Henderson , acknowledged as much on CNN Sunday . `` You ca n't rule options off the table . So you basically say we will spend time to