today, it agreed to buy sub- prime auto lender americredit. g.m.hopes the $3.5 billion deal will make it more competitive. the price for americredit: $24.50 a share in cash, a 24% premium over yesterday's close. g.m. says car deals have been left on the table in the last year because buyers couldn't get financing. by adding americredit, it hopes to help buyers with less-than- perfect credit. sub-prime customers buy two of every five cars sold in the u.s. >> tom: g.m. also is busy gearing up for the rollout of its first mass-produced electric car, the chevy volt. many other vehicle makers are also launching electrics, and some cities are getting ready. erika miller checked out new york city's first charging station, and whether it could help spark sales of plug-in vehicles. >> reporter: it's not yet attracting cars, but it sure is attracting attention. this four-foot-tall, thin electric car charger is the first of its kind in new york city. well, that's not exactly true, there's another one on display at the smithsonian cooper hewett museum celebrat

elsewhere, general motors getting back into the credit business, agreeing to buy subprime auto lender americredit for $3.5 billion. reports say later today kenneth feinberg, the obama administration's executive compensation czar, will name 17 financial companies that doled out excessive bonuses to the tune of $1.6 billion after accepting billions of dollars of taxpayer aid. >>> consumers union charges over the past decade, blue cross and blue shield stockpiled a surplus of billions of dollars and yet continue to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases. >>> and, finally, after earning $730 million and selling more than 30 million dvds, the "guinness book of world records" is recognizing "the saw" movie series as the most successful horror movie franchise of all time. >>> a marlins walk-off homer, the orioles' walk-off ejected, and a-rod nears a historic milestone. >>> plus, ichiro may be best known for his bat, but he is not bad with a glove either. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> in weather, we're going to talk about bonnie. we're also going to give you your

thursday they bought americredit for $3.5 billion. a company that makes car loans to people with bad credit. gm hopes it will boost sales, unlike home loans, subprime auto lending it considered fairly low risk. >>> on new york's long island thursday, the empire struck back. a man dressed as darth vader from "star wars" complete with mask and cape used the force to rob a bank. instead of light sabre, the thief had a gun and made a quick getaway. so, i guess, no jedi was on hand to stop him, betty. kind of a weird outfit to choose. >> it's incredible. we see all kinds perform earlier this week there was a guy robbing banks, allegedly, with flowers in hand. i mean, it's like they come up with new ideas. i mean, who sits around and thinks about, what kind of character -- >> i don't know what thought process is there. >> thank you, ashley. appreciate it, joining us live here in new york. >>> just ahead on the morning news, latest over illegal immigration and crime. plus, a traffic stop turns into an ugly fight caught on dash cam. >>> first