The second big moment for the 2 campaigns .. Georgia being the 1st

Detroit's sputtering Big Three turn to Washington for help
Battered by weak sales, declining market share and miserable credit ratings, Detroit's Big Three automakers are now turning to the US government for help.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC will be launching a campaign in the coming days to secure at least 25 billion dollars in federal loans to help get past the current economic malaise.

"This isn't a bail out," said Greg Martin, Washington spokesman for GM, the largest US automaker which has been awash in speculation for months that it is running short of cash.

"These are direct loans that we have to pay back," added Ford spokesman Mike Moran.

Detroit's goal is to have new legislation in place for the aid package by the time Congress adjourns in late September or early October.

If any of these three had completed the engineering research needed for any of:

• Outright electric car via battery technology and motor technology

• Hybrid technologies, using some from the above, and NATURAL GAS

• Outright natural gas vehicles

• Fuel Cell Technologies
  

Then they wouldn't be in the position of triceratops the day after the meteor met the Yucatan.
Now the problem is we can't afford to see this industry end, and we can't afford to do what they want and ENABLE stupid behavior, and IRRESPONSIBLE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE.
The feds are RIGHT NOW bailing out the irresponsible business practices of the Fanniemae and Freddiemac, and helping out the undeserving stockholders who did not restrain these morons. If they were deceived as to the risk by these people running these businesses, THAT is a whole other game.

The government is thus BLACKMAILED in this case, especially with the election on the horizon, and Michigan a battleground state.
Frankly if these guys have been so irresponsible, then considering the national security implciations of their failures (gasoline for cars = other nations holding US treasury securities = loss of sovereignty in decision making) the government should be setting the milestones for mandatory research expenditures, and milestones for results, contigent on delivery of funds over time.
No free lunch.