General Motors is headed down a new road.

On Monday, GM filed for bankruptcy and announced 60 percent of the company will now be owned by the American taxpayer.

It was only a matter of time before the company’s reluctance to adapt to a changing market and compete with Japanese dealers Honda and Toyota caused the company to fall into bankruptcy.

GM refused to innovate, opting instead to market gas-guzzling SUVs and Hummers to a public that sought greener products.

Tip to GM: Fuel-efficient cars are not a fad. It’s time to look to the future.

For example, it would be incredibly ignorant of professors in the College of Design or the College of Engineering to tell students to stick to what has always worked. That’s not the teaching model at Iowa State and it shouldn’t be the business model at GM.

Barack Obama’s plan will save GM, because it will force the company to innovate and set better standards for its industry. Yes, by restructuring, the company faces further job losses, an end no one wants to see.

But with a little government help, we can potentially save more jobs by keeping GM from a complete shutdown.