Re Directorate

General Motors Corp (IRS)
7 August 2001
                                                              Contact:
                                                              Toni Simonetti
                                                              [phone]
                                                              Jerry Dubrowski
                                                              [phone]

                     TWO NEW DIRECTORS NAMED TO GM BOARD


DETROIT - General Motors Corp. Chairman John F. Smith, Jr. today announced the
election of two new members to the General Motors Board of Directors.

The two new directors are: Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley, president and chief executive
officer of Procter & Gamble Co.; and E. Stanley O'Neal, president and chief
operating officer of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.

The election of Lafley and O'Neal increases the membership of the GM board to
13, 11 of whom are independent, outside directors.

'The addition of A.G. and Stan to the GM board is consistent with our efforts to
seek out exceptional business leaders.' Smith said. 'A.G. is well regarded for
building strong brands and franchises, and Stan's experience in international
financial markets brings added depth at a time when globalization is offering
new opportunities for growth.'

O'Neal's appointment is effective immediately. Lafley's appointment is effective
in January, 2002.

Earlier this year, Dennis Weatherstone, the former chairman of J.P. Morgan &
Co., retired from the GM Board after 15 years as a director, and Vice Chairman
Harry Pearce retired from GM and left the board to accept the position of
chairman of Hughes Electronics Corp.

Lafley, 54, joined Procter & Gamble's marketing division in 1977. Before joining
P&G, Lafley served in the U.S. Navy for five years. He was elected president and
chief executive officer on June 8, 2000. He held a variety of positions in P&G's
laundry and cleaning business before being named group vice president in 1992.
In 1995, Lafley was named executive vice president with responsibility for Asia.
In 1999 he was named president for the company's North American and Global
Beauty Care Divisions.

A native of Keene, NH, Lafley graduated from Hamilton College with a bachelor's
degree in history. He also holds a master's degree in business administration
from Harvard University. His local and national activities include: past member,
American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; member, Board of Trustees, Hamilton
College; member, Board of Trustees, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; member, Board
of Trustees, Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts; and member, Board of Trustees,
The Seven Hills School. He is also a member of P&G's Board of Directors.

O'Neal, 49, was named president and chief operating officer at Merrill Lynch in
July 2001. He also serves as president of the U.S. Private Client Group and sits
on the company's board of directors. O'Neal joined the firm's investment banking
group in 1986, with client responsibilities in a variety of areas, including
high yield, project finance and equity private placement.

Before assuming responsibility for the U.S. Private Client Group, O'Neal served
as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, O'Neal worked for GM, beginning his career as a
cooperative education student where he worked on an automotive assembly line at
GM's Doraville, Ga., plant. He continued his employment there while earning a
degree from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute). After
receiving a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University
in 1978, O'Neal joined the GM Treasurer's Office, where he served in a series of
positions in New York and Madrid, including general assistant treasurer
responsible for mergers and acquisitions and domestic financing activities.

O'Neal is vice chairman of the Securities Industry Association and a member of
the Capital Markets Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange. O'Neal
also serves as a trustee of the National Urban League, the Ronald McDonald House
of New York and The Buckley School. He also serves on an advisory council to the
Bronx Preparatory Charter School, a New York City public school that provides a
college preparatory curriculum to low-income students.