NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 15, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that General Motors Co.'s (GM) announcement that it will pay a 30 cent quarterly dividend beginning on March 28, 2014, does not affect the ratings or outlook on the company. We estimate the dividend will equate to about $1.8 billion on an annual basis. We expected the company would pursue a dividend following the U.S. Treasury's exit from GM's common stock in December 2013, and believe the dividend represents a meaningful, but manageable, cash outflow given GM's strong liquidity and good free cash flow prospects. We expect automotive free cash flow to exceed $3 billion in 2014 and to improve further in the next several years,
