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GM's historic Willow Run plant closes

After 68 years of arming the nation and putting America on wheels, the Willow Run manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan closed on Thursday. The 5-million-square-foot powertrain plant, owned by Motors Liquidation Corp., the remnants of the former General Motors Corp., has fallen victim to GM's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring. About 300 workers left at the plant will either “retire, transfer to another campus or go on layoff,” said Chris Lee, a spokesman for the reorganized General Motors Co.

GM posts $7.6 billion profit for 2011

General Motors on Thursday posted a $7.6 billion profit for 2011, while recording its smallest quarterly profit of the year in the fourth quarter. Net income for the October-through-December period fell 7 percent from the year-earlier period to $472 million, as a $562 million loss in Europe--the steepest of the year there--weighed on the automaker's bottom line. North American earnings nearly doubled.

Four big pickups get low marks in crash tests

Four 2009 full-sized pickups got low marks in side-impact crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group for auto insurers. Crash protection is "poor" in crew-cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and Nissan Titan without side-impact airbags, according to test results the institute released on Wednesday. The Dodge Ram with standard side-impact airbags got only a "marginal" rating, the institute said.