Commitments And Contingencies (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended						9 Months Ended															3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Korean Labor [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Korean Labor [Member] KRW	Sep. 30, 2012 Canadian Dealer Litigation [Member] CAD	Sep. 30, 2012 UAW Lawsuit [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Nova Scotia Claims Litigation [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Nova Scotia Claims Litigation [Member] CAD	Sep. 30, 2012 Nova Scotia Claims Litigation [Member] GBP (£)	Sep. 30, 2012 Accrued Liabilities [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Accrued Liabilities [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Operating Leases [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Operating Leases [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Ally Financial Commercial Loans [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Ally Financial Commercial Loans [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Third party comercial loans and other obligations [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Third party comercial loans and other obligations [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Guarantees of Product Related Claims [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Guarantees of Product Related Claims [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMNA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMNA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMNA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMNA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GME [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GME [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GME [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GME [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMIO [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMIO [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMIO [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMIO [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMCL [Member] Nova Scotia Claims Litigation [Member] CAD	Sep. 30, 2012 GMSA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMSA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 GMSA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 GMSA [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] USD ($)
Guarantees [Abstract]
Liability Recorded																$ 0	$ 0	$ 4,000,000	$ 0	$ 75,000,000	$ 7,000,000	$ 53,000,000	$ 53,000,000
Maximum Liability																9,000,000	26,000,000	9,000,000	24,000,000	302,000,000	210,000,000	1,123,000,000	838,000,000
Liquidation Proceeds from Collateral			60,000,000
Other contingencies [Abstract]
Environmental Liability	167,000,000		167,000,000			169,000,000								33,000,000	34,000,000
Product Liability	597,000,000		597,000,000			514,000,000
Other Litigation Liability	1,256,000,000		1,256,000,000			1,196,000,000	163,000,000	182,000,000,000
Environmental Liability [Abstract]
Enrironmental Remediation Years of Cost to Incur, Min	5 years		5 years
Enrironmental Remediation Years of Cost to Incur, Max	30 years		30 years
Environmental Remediation Losses, Low Estimate			130,000,000
Environmental Remediation Losses, High Estimate			280,000,000
Other Litigation-Related Liability and Tax Administrative Matters [Abstract]
Indirect Tax Escrow Deposit Range																																									462,000,000	656,000,000
Estimated Loss not Accrued For							600,000,000	671,000,000,000
Litigation Claims									750,000,000	450,000,000
Estimate of Possible Loss										450,000,000
Notes Payable													600,000,000
Loans Payable																																				1,300,000,000
Liabilities Subject to Compromise												399,000,000
Estimated Maximum Possible Loss											951,000,000	935,000,000
GME Planned Spending Guarantee [Abstract]
Planned Spending Guarantee - Euro					265,000,000
Inventory Pledged as Collateral	188,000,000		188,000,000			209,000,000
Contract Cancellations [Abstract]
Contract Cancellation Charges	$ 44,000,000	$ 51,000,000	$ 125,000,000	$ 81,000,000																				$ 21,000,000	$ 9,000,000	$ 48,000,000	$ 30,000,000	$ (7,000,000)	$ 5,000,000	$ 42,000,000	$ 8,000,000	$ 0	$ 37,000,000	$ 5,000,000	$ 43,000,000		$ 30,000,000	$ 0	$ 30,000,000	$ 0