It appears the U.S. Treasury has little confidence in GM, ordering the automaker today to prepare for a bankruptcy filing by June 1st.  All is not lost, though, as the point of this exercise is actually to make sure the best brands remain salvageable.

Car guys can relax.  Chevrolet, which makes the Camaro and Corvette, and Cadillac, which makes the CTS, appear to be on the safer side of things.  One bankruptcy plan would split these brands into a separate company that would almost immediately spring back into business.

Shawn Langlois then explains, “Less desirable assets, including unwanted brands, factories and health-care obligations, would be left in the old company, which could be liquidated over several years.”

And it’s still not even certain that GM will have to declare bankruptcy at all, of course.  The Treasury is just planning for the contingency ahead of time.  Such a complex maneuver couldn’t be executed without a little preparation, and this way, everybody will get to have their say.

Nonetheless, GM’s condition isn’t anything to get too happy about.  Its stock dropped 16.18 percent today, landing at $1.71 per share and within a price range any child can afford.