Twenty-two percent of new-car intenders believe General Motors will have to file bankruptcy again in a few years. Despite that, several GM cars, including the Chevrolet Volt, set monthly sales records in August.

A new report from an automotive industry newsletter says nearly a quarter of all potential car buyers are concerned that General Motors will file for bankruptcy again within the next few years.

CNW Research’s Auto Industry Summary reports that just 3½ years after filing bankruptcy, 22 percent of new-car intenders expect General Motors to seek bankruptcy protection again.

Across town, just eight percent of new-car intenders expect Chrysler to file for bankruptcy protection again, down from 34 percent two years ago.

The U.S. Treasury Department still owns 26.5 percent of GM stock. Many car buyers have said they won’t buy a GM product so long as the government owns part of the automaker. Many shoppers continue to derisively call the company “Government Motors.”

The government sold its remaining six percent investment in Chrysler over the summer. Treasury estimated that it lost $1.3 billion on the Chrysler bailout.

Last week, former GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre wrote in a Wall Street Journal commentary that the government should sell its stake in GM or else the company would be seen as a failure. But Treasury officials said in congressional hearings in July that it would need to sell its shares at between $52.39 or $53.98 to break even. GM shares were trading at 24.45, down 1.41 percent, this morning.

“The government has been an active participant in GM’s management for more than three years, and that’s long enough,” Whitacre wrote in the newspaper. “It’s time for the Treasury to step out of the way.”

Whitacre was hired as company chairman during the bankruptcy, then fired CEO Fritz Henderson and took the title himself.

Despite the bleak view of CNW’s survey respondents, GM reported a big year-over-year increase in sales for August. Several models including Sonic, Cruze, Volt and Equinox all posted their best sales months ever, the company said.