Two of the big three car makers in the US have announced emergency measures to stay afloat, as they wait to see whether they will get billions of dollars in loans from the Bush administration. General Motors and Chrysler both say they are close to running out of cash. GM has suspended work on the construction of an engine plant in Michigan. The new small engine was to be vital to its greener energy plans. Chrysler is shutting down all of its production lines for a month from tomorrow, saying the lack of car credit is robbing it of up to a quarter of all potential sales. The White House has said it will make a decision relatively soon. The French automobile component supplier, Valeo, has announced 5000 job cuts worldwide.

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