With bankruptcy looming, a new GM begins to emerge

With an almost certain bankruptcy filing days away, General Motors is beginning its reinvention, planning to retool one factory to make its smallest vehicles ever in the U.S. and rid itself of the biggest.

As GM's board began two days of meetings Friday to make a final decision on the company's fate, its main union overwhelmingly approved dramatic labor cost cuts. Germany's finance minister said a plan was approved for Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. to rescue GM's European Opel unit. And a deal to sell GM's rugged but inefficient Hummer brand also appeared on the horizon.

The moves provided more clues about what a restructured GM might look …