Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem Inc. filed the Chapter 11 petition early on Monday, initiating the long-awaited wave of court filings by the 106-year-old carmaker.

 “Any suggestion that an American corporate icon like GM could file for bankruptcy would have been laughable a few year ago,” said Lynn Hiestand, a partner specializing in restructuring with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, reported Bloomberg.

Under the protection of a bankruptcy plan, the “new GM” will collect USD 30.1 billion in bankruptcy financing from the government, and the Treasury “does not anticipate providing any additional assistance” after that, the Obama administration said yesterday in a statement.

Sixty percent of the company's ownership in the form of equity stakes will go to the government and the Canadian government which is lending USD 9.5 billion to the company, will get 12 percent.

Another US giant automaker, Chrysler LLC, succumbed to bankruptcy to get government aid in April. Now with the General Motors preparing for bankruptcy, the century-old US carmaking industry is seeking possible ways to rebuild and revive.

 “GM going through bankruptcy is a very positive thing for the auto industry: They should emerge as a reasonable competitor,” said Len Blum, managing director at investment- banking firm Westwood Capital LLC in New York.

The court documents list the company's largest creditors as a trust company that holds more than USD 22 billion in bond debt, and the United Auto Workers union, which is owed more than USD 20 billion dollars.