AUTOS

GM Expects to Save $4 Billion: America’s No. 1 auto maker is on track to slash annual North American purchasing costs by $4 billion, thanks to a tough system implemented by its former purchasing chief, his successor said. Executive Vice President G. Richard Wagoner, in his first public remarks to GM suppliers since succeeding J. Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua in April, said GM will continue to use the same system but promised that it would cooperate more with suppliers. Under the new system, suppliers deal with one purchasing organization in the United States rather than 27 separate groups that previously had little communication with each other.