A G.M. logo is seen behind an Opel logo at the Opel plant of Antwerp September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to sell its European arm Opel to Canadian auto parts group Magna but has attached strings to the sale, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet (BELGIUM TRANSPORT EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) 

General Motors Chief Opel negotiator John Smith holds GM and Opel signs after a news conference in Berlin, September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY BUSINESS POLITICS TRANSPORT) 

GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster attends a news conference in the headquarters of German car manufacturer Opel in Ruesselsheim September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, signalling an end to months of uncertainty for the European unit and its 50,000 workers. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

General Motors chief Opel negotiator John Smith poses after a news conference in Berlin, September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY POLITICS BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

Vans are seen at the GM manufacturing plant in Luton, north of London, September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, ending months of uncertainty over the European unit's fate. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh (BRITAIN BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT TRANSPORT) 

General Motors chief Opel negotiator John Smith attends a news conference in Berlin, September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY) 

GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster (R) and Klaus Franz, leader of the Opel works council talk after a news conference in the headquarters of German car manufacturer Opel in Ruesselsheim September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, signalling an end to months of uncertainty for the European unit and its 50,000 workers. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster attends a news conference in the headquarters of German car manufacturer Opel in Ruesselsheim September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, signalling an end to months of uncertainty for the European unit and its 50,000 workers. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

General Motors chief Opel negotiator John Smith (R) and Fred Irwin, chairman of the Opel trust, attend a news conference in Berlin, September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY) 

Workers leave the Opel assembly plant in Antwerp September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to sell its European arm Opel to Canadian auto parts group Magna but has attached strings to the sale, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

A placard 'Opel Magna' is seen in front of the Opel plant in Bochum September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

Workers of the afternoon shift chat before beginning their work at the Opel plant of Antwerp September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to sell its European arm Opel to Canadian auto parts group Magna, but has attached strings to the sale, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. REUTERS/Sebastien Pirlet (BELGIUM TRANSPORT EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) 

Rainer Einenkel of the Opel works council arrives for a statement at the Opel plant in Bochum September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

General Motors chief Opel negotiator John Smith (L) and Fred Irwin, chairman of the Opel trust, attend a news conference in Berlin, September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to recommend a sale of its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna, the carmaker said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the unit's fate. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY) 

A banner is displayed at the GM manufacturing plant in Luton, north of London, September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, ending months of uncertainty over the European unit's fate. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh (BRITAIN BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT POLITICS) 

A Vauxhall sign is seen across the road from the GM manufacturing plant in Luton, north of London, September 10, 2009. U.S. carmaker General Motors has decided to sell Opel to a group led by Canadian car parts maker Magna, ending months of uncertainty over the European unit's fate. Opel has two factories producing automobiles under the Vauxhall badge in Britain as well as major sites in Belgium, Poland and Spain. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh (BRITAIN BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

An Opel sign is pictured in front of a GM logo at the Opel plant in Ruesselsheim September 10, 2009. General Motors was set to end months of suspense over the fate of its Opel unit on Thursday and announce whether it plans to sell the European carmaker to one of two rival bidders. GM said in a statement its board had taken a decision on Opel after a two-day meeting. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a statement on Opel in Berlin, September 10, 2009. Merkel said General Motors told Germany it wants to sell Opel to Magna . REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY POLITICS BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

Workers arrive for the shift change at the Opel plant in Bochum September 10, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided to sell its European arm Opel to Canadian auto parts group Magna, but has attached strings to the sale, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

A Magna Steyr logo is pictured in Graz June 3, 2009. Canadian auto supplier Magna International aims to close a deal with General Motors over its Opel unit in September, Magna's co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf said Wednesday. The comments come in the wake of a deal struck over the weekend between Magna, General Motors and the U.S. government for the sale of parts of its Opel unit.
REUTERS/ Dominic Ebenbichler (AUSTRIA TRANSPORT BUSINESS) 

A clock is pictured in front of the logo of the Opel plant in Bochum September 10, 2009. General Motors was set to end months of suspense over the fate of its Opel unit on Thursday and announce whether it plans to sell the European carmaker to one of two rival bidders. GM said in a statement its board had taken a decision on Opel after a two-day meeting. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

A destroyed logo of German car manufacturer Opel is seen in a rubbish dumpster at a former car dealer in Berlin May 27, 2009. The German government is due to decide on Wednesday which bidder or bidders it prefers as a partner for the Opel unit of struggling U.S. carmaker General Motors, and could agree to provide aid for the firm. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS) 

A flag of GM (General Motors) is seen next to an Opel logo at the Opel plant in Bochum August 25, 2009. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said General Motors Co's top negotiator for a deal on the sale of its European unit Opel would meet the government's Opel Taskforce on Tuesday in Berlin. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

Opel cars stand outside of General Motors German unit Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim April 23, 2009. Struggling U.S. carmaker General Motors Corp appeared set for a deal next week to offload a majority stake in its German unit Opel, having found a buyer in Italy's Fiat SpA, among others. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY TRANSPORT EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) 

Employees of German car manufacturer Adam Opel AG wave a flag of Germany's metal worker union "IG Metall" (IGM) as they arrive for a demonstration ahead of warning strike in Ruesselsheim near Frankfurtin front of the Opel headquarter in Ruesselsheim near Frankfurt May 3, 2007. Workers in Germany's engineering and metalworking sector aim to begin work stoppages after unions failed to agree with employers to raise wages by 6.5 percent. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach(GERMANY) 

An elderly woman begs for money as she sits outside the showroom and sale shop of German car manufacturer Opel near the Opel headquarters in Ruesselsheim, March 9, 2009. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Monday he was very reserved about granting state help to General Motors unit Opel. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE) 

Flags wave in front of the General Motors Corp world headquarters in downtown in Detroit, May 28, 2009. General Motors Corp persuaded its major bondholders to accept a sweetened ownership plan on Thursday, a deal that could result in a smoother ride for the carmaker through bankruptcy. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (UNITED STATES TRANSPORT BUSINESS) 

A flock of birds sit on a covered General Motors sign at an abandoned auto dealership in Warren, Michigan December 18, 2008. U.S. President George W. Bush expressed concern on Thursday that a disorderly bankruptcy in the auto industry could be "very destabilizing" and said he was looking for concessions from labor unions and others in deciding on aid to automakers. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (UNITED STATES) 

A sign 'stop the engine' is seen at the Opel plant in Bochum September 9, 2009. Germany expects General Motors to pay back a 1.5 billion euro loan made to help Opel if GM keeps its European unit, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

An Opel car is pictured in a car wash at a car seller in Darmstadt May 6, 2009. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

The logo of German carmaker Opel is pictured in Berlin, July 27, 2009. The Opel Trust, the German body which has been responsible for Opel since June, said on Saturday it has not made any decisions yet regarding the takeover offers for the carmaker. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

Workers remove the logo of German car manufacturer Opel from the storefront of a former car dealer in Berlin December 10, 2008. The rooms will be used as an art gallery for the next months. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

A worker carries an Opel logo sign at a junkyard in Budaors, on the outskirts of Budapest, June 2, 2009. Germany will start providing financing to Opel on Tuesday and is no longer relying on Canadian auto parts group Magna to cover the carmaker's short-term liquidity needs, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh(HUNGARY TRANSPORT BUSINESS POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

The Opel plant in Bochum is pictured September 9, 2009. Germany expects General Motors to pay back a 1.5 billion euro loan made to help Opel if GM keeps its European unit, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

The emblems of GAZ car factory is pictured at an assembly line at its Nizhny Novgorod facilities, June 17, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson attends a press conference following GM's bankruptcy filing in New York, June 1, 2009. General Motors Corp filed for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of government ownership. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES TRANSPORT BUSINESS IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

Magna International Inc. Chairman Frank Stronach gives a statement in Cologne September 9, 2009. Stronach said he expects a decision by General Motors on Opel within the next two weeks. GM has been in talks to sell Opel to either Canadian auto group Magna or Belgium-based financial investor RHJ, and sources close to the deliberations have told Reuters the company was now also considering keeping Opel. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT POLITICS HEADSHOT) 

GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster addresses the media after talks in Berlin May 30, 2009. Germany reached a deal in talks with Canada's Magna, General Motors (GM) and governments to save Opel, German government leaders said on Saturday after a marathon six-hour meeting in the chancellery. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY POLITICS BUSINESS TRANSPORT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) talks to GM Europe CEO Carl Peter Forster during her visit at the headquarter of German car manufacturer Opel in Ruesselsheim March 31, 2009. Opel, a unit of struggling U.S. carmaker General Motors, employs about 25,000 people in Germany and has said it needs 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in state aid from European governments to save jobs and keep plants open. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (GERMANY EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS CONFLICT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

CEO of General Motors Europe Carl-Peter Forster attends a presentation at the exhibition stand of General Motors Corp's German unit Opel during a preview day of the 79th Geneva Car Show at the Palexpo in Geneva March 2, 2009. German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said he would not be pressured into making a quick decision on state aid for GM-owned Opel, after a meeting with GM Europe's chief in Berlin. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND) 

Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska visits the GAZ car factory in Nizhny Novgorod, June 16, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS) 

General Motors Corp president and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner (L)
and chairman John Smith adjust earphones at the start of the GM alliance
partners news conference in Tokyo October 23, 2001. General Motors said on
Tuesday it had no plans to raise its stakes in alliance partners, even if
they were in financial trouble. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama

KM/PB 

Flemish Region President Kris Peeters addresses a news conference on Opel after a cabinet meeting in Brussels July 24, 2009. Peeters said that both Magna and RHJ International would close the Belgian Opel assembly plant in Antwerp in 2010. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) 

Carl-Peter Forster, CEO of General Motors Europe, waits for his shuttle service at the Chancellery in Berlin, March 6, 2009. Members of the General Motors board met on Friday with German Economy and Technology Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg for talks in the German capital. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY) 

A U.S. flag is pictured in front of the Opel plant in Kaiserslautern May 28, 2009. A rift between Berlin and Washington threatened to torpedo Germany's goal of shielding Opel from the imminent bankruptcy of its parent General Motors, raising the risk of insolvency for the German carmaker. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

An Opel car is pictured in a car wash at a car seller in Darmstadt May 6, 2009. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

Workers of Opel follow a news conference of State Premier of Hesse Roland Koch after talks in the headquarters of German car manufacturer Opel in Ruesselsheim June 9, 2009. The consortium led by Canadian car parts group Magna remains on track to buy General Motors' German carmaker Opel, Koch said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY BUSINESS TRANSPORT EMPLOYMENT) 

Employees of General Motors' German unit Opel attend a visit of German Foreign Minster Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Opel plant in the Eastern German town of Eisenach, May 4, 2009. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY POLITICS TRANSPORT) 

Workers leave the Opel plant after shift change in Bochum early September 10, 2009. General Motors shook up its management and dispatched a negotiator on the sale of its Opel unit to Berlin after a watershed two-day board meeting under the direction of Chairman Ed Whitacre. GM's 13-member board endorsed the departure of GM's chief financial officer, a new marketing campaign aimed at winning back skeptical U.S. consumers and a still-sealed decision on Opel that will be conveyed to German officials on Thursday, the sources said. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

A Vauxhall badge is seen on a car in London May 30, 2009. Union leaders on Saturday urged the government to do more to safeguard British jobs after Germany announced a deal to save the European arm of stricken U.S. car giant, General Motors. Germany reached a deal with Canadian auto parts group Magna and its Russian banking partner Sberbank to take over most of GM Europe, which includes German-based Opel and British-based Vauxhall brands. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A man works at a GAZ factory in Nizhny Novgorod, June 16, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA POLITICS BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

Workers assemble trucks at the GAZ car factory in Nizhny Novgorod, June 17, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA POLITICS BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

Workers assemble a Volga Siber, built by GAZ on the same platform as the Chrysler Sebring, at the GAZ car factory in Nizhny Novgorod, June 17, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakovv (RUSSIA BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

Employees of GAZ car factory leave the main entrance in Nizhny Novgorod, June 17, 2009. GAZ, along with Russia's largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is on track to buy GM's German carmaker Opel. GAZ is the industrial partner in the deal, which Russia hopes will bring in Opel's expertise and a chance of a technical breakthrough in its ailing car industry. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

The Russian flag is seen outside the headquarters of state bank Sberbank, during a protest denouncing bonuses paid to bankers in Moscow March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (RUSSIA BUSINESS CONFLICT POLITICS)