The heads of the three big US car manufacturers appeared before a US Senate committee last night in a bid to get $25bn (€20bn) in a stop gap loan.
The largest of the three, General Motors, is experiencing severe financial difficulties and faces the prospect of bankruptcy.
The US auto industry maintains that some 3m jobs are on the line because of the crisis.
The chief executives of Ford, GM, Chrysler as well as the head of the United Autoworkers Union were on Capitol Hill last night in an all-out effort to secure the loan.
Sales at GM in particular are down 45% compared to last year. The company is spending its cash reserves at the rate of $2bn (€1.6bn) a month.
Last night, its Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the US economy would suffer a catastrophic collapse if his firm went under.
But bailout fatigue is setting in on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have already authorised hundreds of billions of dollars to support the financial sector.
