GM GOES RELIGIOUS

Posted at 1:06 p.m. ET

Well, I guess it's never too late for confession, or even redemption.  But GM's new print ad can either lead to Detroit finding the True Way, or it can give divinity a bad name.  Consider:

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Monday unveiled an unusually frank advertisement acknowledging it had "disappointed" and sometimes even "betrayed" American consumers as it lobbies to clinch the federal aid it needs to stay afloat into next month.

Might have felt a bit more sincere had they done this when they didn't have their hand in our pocket.

"While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the ad said. "At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs became lackluster."

Say it, Brother General, say it!

"We have proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on the core U.S. market," the ad said. "We also biased our product mix toward pick-up trucks and SUVs."

Sinners!  Sinners!

"Despite moving quickly to reduce our planned spending by over $20 billion, GM finds itself precariously and frighteningly close to running out of cash," the ad says.

Punishment!  Deserved punishment!

GM spokesman Greg Martin said the ad was an attempt by the automaker to present "a pledge directly to the public."

"We believe we need to deliver this commitment unfiltered since quite a bit of media commentary has not kept pace with our actual progress to transform the company," Martin said.

We'll check back in two years, guys.  In the meantime, tell us more of the things you've done.  It's good for the soul.

December 8, 2008.