OE

The options for the first blank are propitious (favorable or auspicious), precipitous (steep), or promontory (an outcropping or peninsula). We can immediately cross off promontory as it does not fit logically or grammatically. A drop in profits is rarely a positive thing, and 19 percent is rather high, so the only reasonable choice is $B$.
The second blank could be filled with a variety of words. However an assailant is an attacker, and hindrances is vague, so the best and most logical choice is competitors - in Asia it makes sense for these other countries to have companies competing for the same business.
The last sentence logically must be making the point that GM will be in trouble if it does not perform better. Erratically, or unstable and unpredictable, is not a positive thing when talking about a business's performance, and pedantically, didactically and pompously, does not make sense in this context either. Performing consistently, steadily or evenly, is a positive thing that GM would want to do.