"The key is going to be execution," said Laurie Harbour-Felax, president of the Royal Oak-based Harbour-Felax Group. "If anybody thinks that Toyota is sitting on their heels right now, they are kidding themselves. ... The competitive picture is not getting any easier. It's getting harder and quicker."

As of Nov. 1, about 27,000 GM hourly workers that took buyouts or early retirement deals had left the company. The rest will be gone by year's end and GM has been filling needed slots with workers returning to GM from auto-parts maker Delphi Corp., employees in the jobs bank and temporary hires.