While figures finally show that China has sped ahead of the U.S. as the world's biggest automaker, GM's failed CEO Rick Wagoner is still hanging onto a job (raking in his full benefits, plus a token $1 salary), waiting for the government to figure out his pension plan.

A touchy subject, a "delicate issue," that pension plan. But the two big bankrupt U.S. automakers, GM and Chrysler, are both still saddled with bigger pension problems: having to fund them for thousands and thousands of other employees. CNN Money has good background here on the pension plights of GM's workers and the company itself.

As I wrote in April, GM schemed in its pre-bankruptcy days (while the automaker was sliding downhill but before that was recognized as a crisis) to let Wagoner retire early with no cut in his huge pension package. This was long before the government had to step in to bail out GM and demand that Wagoner take the next exit.

No doubt that earlier sweet deal will help Wagoner and cost taxpayers more money: No matter how much the government whittles down his pension package, it will still be higher than it would have been had not GM given him that sweeter deal back in 2007. To be blunt with only one example: Wagoner got a 167 percent raise and a $1.8 million bonus while GM was ailing in the pre-bankruptcy days.