GM, Chrysler raise aid request by $21.6 billion,Viability plans

GM, Chrysler raise aid request by $21.6 billion
Viability plans underscore worsening cash crisis

Christine Tierney and David Shepardson / The Detroit News

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC asked Washington for as much as $21.6 billion more Tuesday to stave off bankruptcy, citing worsening economic conditions in new business plans that are likely to provoke fresh criticism of Detroit's embattled auto industry.

Their pleas for more aid, raising the tab for the auto industry's rescue above $40 billion -- which includes a $39 billion bailout for the two automakers plus requests from suppliers -- present a major challenge for the new administration of President Barack Obama. The government wants to help the domestic industry restructure but faces mounting bailout fatigue across the nation.

Yet since the government extended the first emergency loans in December, the already weak U.S. auto market has collapsed to its lowest level since the 1980s....More