morningstar auto analyst david whiston says g.m.'s options are limited. >> really, your only options are to close plants and/or amend the labor contracts with the unions. but i think the really, really hard part is how are you going to get the unions to play ball when their contracts don't expire until 2014, and unions in europe are very, very militant. >> reporter: g.m. also acknowledged possible headwinds in north america. the company is selling more cars, especially small ones, than pricier pickups and sport utilities. whiston says the company needs to carefully manage supply and demand of those products without offering steep incentives. >> in other words, have a great product, produce to meet demand rather than overproducing, and then you'd have to put up a ton of cash, which kills residual values. and you get in a horrible spiral that we saw when detroit went into bankruptcy, but we're not going down that road again. >> tom: joining us now from the c.m.e. group in chicago, our midwest bureau chief and auto expert, diane eastabr