Autos: Heirs Apparent

In the locker rooms of the Detroit Athletic Club, and at the 19th hole of the Bloomfield Hills Country Club, the guessing game has been going on for months. Who will move up when General Motors Chairman Frederic G. Donner steps down?

Donner reaches G.M.'s mandatory retirement age of 65 this week. If he follows company custom, he will give up his chairmanship by month's end, but he will probably keep a seat on G.M.'s board and a place on the all-powerful finance committee. It is almost taken for granted that Donner's successor will be the current president and chief...