Market cap: $2.9 billion Employees: 252,000 The company lost $38 billion in 2007 Rick Wagoner GM's CEO is asking for loans and credit lines of $18 billion. He needs $4 billion this month and $4 billion next month to stay afloat. Market share Light vehicles 22.2% 2008 28.7% 2000 How It Got Here A long-term management failure, GM could not adapt its cars and production system to be consumer-focused and globally efficient. How to Fix It A new labor agreement will help, as will making its plants more flexible. But GM has to make cars people love so that its price per car--and profit--rises. Best Hope for Future Much is riding on the 40-m.p.g. Chevy Volt hybrid electric, but GM models like the Malibu have to produce too. Market cap: $6.8 billion Employees: 87,700 The company lost $2.7 billion in 2007 Alan Mulally The Ford boss isn't cash-short. But the company wants a $9 billion standby line of credit in case things get worse. 15% 2008 23.5% 2000 How It Got Here After recasting itself as a greener company, Ford got waylaid by the success of its SUVs in the cheap-gas years. When prices soared, it had no great cars to sell. How to Fix It Ford's future is pegged to producing small- and medium-size cars, including hybrids, that it can design and sell globally. Still strong in pickups. Best Hope for Future The bet is on the 2010 Fiesta, the first product of the One Ford strategy. Available in Europe, the U.S. version will be strikingly similar. Privately owned Employees: 55,000 The company used up $3 billion in cash in its last quarter Robert Nardelli Chrysler's boss requested an "urgently needed $7 billion in bridge funding" by Dec. 31, or else he faces an unhappy new year. 11% 2008 14.5% 2000 How It Got Here After a disastrous merger with Daimler, the company was sold to private-equity firm Cerberus. Chrysler's big-truck, big-power posture got hammered by Big Oil. How to Fix It Chrysler has contracted with Nissan and VW to make vehicles for them. Perhaps a bigger linkup is in order. It needs a partner to share costs. Best Hope for Future Chrysler's current new-car program is focused on a small car that will be built by Nissan and on ENVI, its in-house electric platform.
Source: Ward's AutoInfoBank 2008 data through November
Motor City Relics A gallery of images captures what has become of Detroit's illustrious past. Go to time.com/detroit
