US car firms begging for $25bn bailout : Dollar Drought to continue

The bosses of the three biggest US carmakers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, have asked Congress for a $25bn bail-out.

They told a Senate hearing that without the rescue package, their firms risked collapse, and warned of broader risks to the US economy.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the firm needed a loan to span the "financial chasm" that had opened up.

However, Republicans and the White House do not want to use the $700bn bank rescue to help car firms.

GM has warned it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks and cannot wait until President-elect Barack Obama - who has promised to help the industry - is sworn in in January.

The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says the last thing Mr Obama wants is to oversee the death of manufacturing icons during his first few months in office.

Mr Wagoner told the Senate banking committee that the industry's predicament was not due to failures by management but because of the deepening global financial crisis.

He warned millions of jobs and 4% of GDP could be lost without government action.

"It's about saving the US economy from a catastrophic collapse," he said.

But sympathy for the industry appeared to be sparse among senators from both sides