As General Motors tells it, the move to let Tiger Woods out of his current endorsement contract with the automaker was coincidental to its current quest to gain a share of a $25 billion loan Congress is contemplating for the Big Three Detroit wheels.

The decision to release the superstar golfer from the final year of a five-year deal that was paying him a reported $7 million a year was by mutual consent. GM and Woods were in discussions to extend the contract when the golfer indicated he wanted to reduce his appearance schedule with all sponsors to spend more time with his family. With cost-cutting uppermost on GM’s priorities list, both parties figured it was a good time to simply part ways, according to company spokesman Pete Ternes.

It’s the latest move GM has made to trim marketing and advertising expenses, after opting out of buying a Super Bowl spot – a $3 million saving – and declining sponsorship roles with the Academy Awards and Emmys. A million here and a million there, and soon you’re talking about real money as a wise man once put it.

That wise man was the late Sen. Everett Dirksen (R.- Ind.), who was talking about budget cuts in the 1960s at time when $1 million was more than a mere bag of shells in fiscal terms.

At least it conveys the impression that GM is putting a serious face on excising peripheral costs, like the price tag for being able to print “Buick” on Tiger Woods’ golf bag.

One wonders whether that same impulse will overtake Ford and the current endorsement deal it has with Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James for its Lincoln brand. Under the circumstances, it would seem the politic thing to do, even if it doesn’t save any assembly line jobs or the assembly lines themselves.

As General Motors tells it, the move to let Tiger Woods out of his current endorsement contract with the automaker was coincidental to its current quest to gain a share of a $25 billion loan Congress is contemplating for the Big Three Detroit wheels.

The decision to release the superstar golfer from the final year of a five-year deal that was paying him a reported $7 million a year was by mutual consent. GM and Woods were in discussions to extend the contract when the golfer indicated he wanted to reduce his appearance schedule with all sponsors. With cost-cutting uppermost on its priorities list, Gm figured it was a good time to simply part ways, according to company spokesman Pete Ternes.