After two days of long hearings, the Ford, Chrysler and GM CEOs weren’t able to convince Congress that they deserve a $25 billion federal assistance loan.  Democratic leadership said they need written proposals that are more concrete by Dec. 2.  At that point if they find the argument compelling enough, there will be more hearings and Congress will vote on Dec. 8.  For the carmakers, this will be their last chance for action before Barack Obama takes office as President on Jan.20.  GM threatens that they may run out of money before the end of the year, which would start a domino effect, taking down suppliers as well as other carmakers.

After it was all said and done, Congress questioned whether a loan would actually work, and if the car companies would come right back asking for more money and if assistance would have the result of viability in the long-term.  It didn’t help the case of the Detroit executives by using corporate jets to get to the hearings and becoming guarded when asked how they got the $25 million figure.

Unfortunately, without a bailout it doesn’t look good for the Big Three.  At the moment, people are opting to hold onto their current cars with the addition of used car warranties, instead of spending money on new vehicles.