GM's brand makeover

The carmaker is realigning itself around four core brands while looking to ditch two more.

For the most part, the plan, which was announced Tuesday, is a refinement of a strategy GM has been working on for years. But with congress watching, the automaker seems to be going at it with more public commitment.

Essentially, GM has its mainline brand - Chevrolet - and a luxury brand - Cadillac. Instead of a single brand in the middle, GM has the Buick-Pontiac-GMC "brand channel" which covers pickups to entry-level luxury cars to small economy models.

Everything outside of that core is disposable. And now GM is finally looking at disposing more of it.