Ford is paying back every dime because they took out a loan, but GM was given cash for stock to keep them afloat. GM was also split into two entities, GM and GMAC became Ally Financial. When the stocks were eventually sold for both, the government lost $10 billion against the $70 billion that was invested in GM. So they still cost the tax payers money.
As far as if we would be better off if GM doesn't exist, we don't know that today. If they continue to shut down factories in the US and move jobs elsewhere, then was the bailout worth it? Maybe it still means something today to those that still have jobs now, but if the trend continues it's not going to mean much to future generations if the jobs are gone. Credit Ford for doing a better job of managing their finances, and it was announced earlier this year they're building a new factory in Michigan and they're investing $1 billion in Chicago factories while adding jobs to that area. I say all this as a consumer that has exclusively driven Pontiacs for the last 18 years, so I'm not a Ford fanboy.