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Basis of Presentation and Recent Accounting Standards (Notes) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2012
Basis Of Presentation |
Basis of Accounting [Text Block] | The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for interim financial information. Accordingly they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, composed of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary by management to fairly state our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (2011 Form 10-K) as filed with the SEC. Use of Estimates in the Preparation of the Financial Statements The condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires the use of estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities at the reporting date and the amounts of revenue and expenses in the periods presented. We believe that the accounting estimates employed are appropriate and the resulting balances are reasonable; however, due to the inherent uncertainties in making estimates actual results could differ from the original estimates, requiring adjustments to these balances in future periods. Change in Presentation of Financial Statements In 2012 we changed the presentation of our condensed consolidated balance sheet, condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and certain footnotes to classify the assets and liabilities of GM Financial as current or non-current and to combine line items which were either of a related nature or not individually material. We have made corresponding reclassifications to the comparable information for all periods presented. Venezuelan Exchange Regulations Our Venezuelan subsidiaries utilize the U.S. Dollar as their functional currency because of the hyperinflationary status of the Venezuelan economy. The Venezuelan government has introduced foreign exchange control regulations which make it more difficult to convert Bolivar Fuerte (BsF) to U.S. Dollars. These regulations affect our Venezuelan subsidiaries' ability to pay non-BsF denominated obligations that do not qualify to be processed by the Venezuela currency exchange agency at the official exchange rates. The aggregate net assets of our Venezuelan subsidiaries at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 were $596 million and $438 million. At March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 other consolidated entities have receivables from our Venezuelan subsidiaries of $482 million and $380 million. The total amounts pending government approval for settlement at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 were BsF 2.7 billion (equivalent to $633 million) and BsF 2.3 billion (equivalent to $535 million), for which some requests have been pending from 2007. Significant Non-Cash Activity Investing Cash Flows The following table summarizes the amounts of non-cash property additions that have been excluded from Expenditures for property within the investing activities section of the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows because no cash has been expended (dollars in millions):
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2012 |  | 2011
Non-cash property additions | $ | 1,927 |  |  | $ | 1,257 |
Recently Adopted Accounting Principles In 2012 we adopted the provisions of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05, “Presentation of Comprehensive Income” (ASU 2011-05) that requires presentation of all non-owner changes in equity in one continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. We elected to provide a separate statement of comprehensive income for all periods presented. The amendments in this update do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income (OCI) or when an OCI item must be reclassified to net income. The adoption of ASU 2011-05 did not affect our condensed consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations and cash flows. ASU 2011-05 was modified in December 2011 by the issuance of ASU 2011-12, “Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05.” This update indefinitely defers certain provisions of ASU 2011-05 that require the disclosure of the amount of reclassifications of items from OCI to net income by component of net income and by component of OCI.

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