PICK OF THE PAPERBACKS; On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, by J. Patrick Wright. New York: Avon Books. $2.95.

This book gives John Z. De Lorean's version of the foibles, excesses, and worse that go on in the GM executive suite. De Lorean, a former GM vice president, through the pen of J. Patrick Wright, gives a highly readable account of why he thinks GM is in trouble: "inept" management decisions, resistance to fresh ideas, and a gradual, yet perceptive move away from the GM "plan of operation" as laid out long ago by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.

What comes out is a highly unflattering picture of the mammoth company, perceived by many to be one of the country's -- even the world's -- best run, most-res pected business operations.