detroit automakers

Top Republican senators said Sunday they will oppose a Democratic plan to bail out Detroit automakers, calling the U.S. industry a "dinosaur" whose "day of reckoning" is coming.

Top Republican senators said Sunday they will oppose a Democratic plan to bail out Detroit automakers, calling the U.S. industry a "dinosaur" whose "day of reckoning" is coming.

Their opposition raises serious doubts about whether the plan will pass in this week's postelection session.

The tale of "Blue" - a Ford Motor Co. team set up to design small, fuel-efficient cars - tells a big part of the story about why Detroit automakers maybe only months away from bankruptcy.

The tale of "Blue" — a Ford Motor Co. team set up to design small, fuel-efficient cars — tells a big part of the story about why Detroit automakers maybe only months away from bankruptcy.

Analysts at JPMorgan painted a bleak picture for Detroit's automakers Thursday, suggesting General Motors Corp. might need to raise $10 billion, Ford Motor Co. could be forced to sell Volvo and Chrysler LLC may have few if any options by late next year.

Detroit automakers — and Chrysler in particular — nearly erased the North American productivity gap with their Asian rivals in 2007 thanks to worker buyouts, leaner plants and other improvements, but they still make less money per vehicle because of higher costs, according to the Harbour Report on manufacturing released Thursday.