I was waiting for somebody to mention that the corporate bailout plan for the Wall Street elite seems to be a done deal. But a seemingly smaller request for aid was instantly shot down (by the President) months ago. If any of the financial houses begin to really fail, there will be investors that will step in to prop them back up (See Buffett-Goldman deal). Phil didn't discuss the issue like I thought he would though. We should consider if any of the Big 3 were to file bankrupt and was then sold in parts to the highest bidder(s), many of their (outstretched) facilities would be shuttered leaving 10s of thousands jobless in an instant...not to mention the various supplier industries that support the larger corporations manufacturing efforts. Whole cities and town would be hurt within months of such an event.I say this to indicate that auto companies are just as important to the US economy as the financial companies that basically bet big with American mortgages and lost even bigger on the gambling floor by ignoring clear indications that it was time to stop and walk away.