Old GM Shares: More Than Meets the Eye

Meanwhile, Coyne says, the GM master asset sale agreement "seeks to sweep the tax benefits into the sale, which is a narrow bridge on which to transfer such a large and complex asset."

In a sense, Coyne notes, the discussion is immaterial because the only party that would object to a transaction that unreasonably minimizes tax liability is the U.S. Treasury. And in this case, the U.S. Treasury is the new majority owner of GM.

Among other automakers' shares Tuesday afternoon Ford(F Quote) closed Tuesday at $5.84, up 15 cents; Toyota(TM Quote) finished at $75.45, up 86 cents; and Nissan(NSANY Quote) was at $11.91, up 61 cents.