General Motors (Pre-Bankruptcy)

GM's 2009 bankruptcy—the largest industrial bankruptcy in history—demonstrates how legacy costs can crush even dominant organisms. The company that once controlled 50% of US auto sales couldn't adapt as pension obligations reached $100 billion and healthcare costs added $1,500 to every vehicle. Like a giant sequoia with root rot, GM's visible canopy masked invisible structural decay. Government bailout and bankruptcy shed $40 billion in debt, but the 'old GM' that emerged from 1908 effectively died.