'Right now, it's more GM than Ford. The bankruptcy thing won't go away. It keeps popping up. And it builds,' said Wes Brown, a partner in Iceology, a California consumer research firm. 'Subconsciously, it's already having an effect. If that talk continues, the effect is going to be even worse.' Ford, whose stock price has dipped below $2 a share, acknowledges that its financial woes are also scaring off consumers. 'The business coverage of the entire industry is definitely affecting consumer opinion,' said Jim Farley, Ford's head of sales and marketing. 'I definitely feel a huge obligation not to be part of it all.' GM has lost more than $18.5 billion this year. Ford has lost more than $8.5 billion. Both companies have seen their sales fall sharply this year. Ford needs to address its business challenges in its advertising, Farley said. That means focusing on the wave of new cars and trucks the company is launching. 'Our product cadence is really going to be a lot higher than our competitors in the next six months,' he said. 'The optimism for the company has to come through. We just need to explain our story.' GM said maintaining the company's image with consumers requires constant vigilance. 'GM has worked hard over the last decade to change consumer perceptions about our quality and products -- and we've moved the needle in this area,' said spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato. 'Now, with these tough economic times, we also need to ensure customers and employees maintain confidence in GM, its products and its dealers.' Brown said that is getting harder to do with all of the bankruptcy speculation surrounding GM today, and he said that is precisely why it has to avoid filing at all costs. 'As a business tool, bankruptcy would give them all that they need to fix the company. But it would be unbelievably damaging to their brand,' he said. 'If you file, you can say goodbye to any customers for a generation. GM would be left with a 10 percent market share if they're lucky, and those will just be the loyalists. There are way too many other options out there for consumers.' When consumer-oriented companies file for bankruptcy, it can devastate their brand image. Kmart, for example, never recovered from its bankruptcy filing and was eventually forced to merge with Sears. The danger to automakers is even more acute, Brown said, because many consumers buy cars to make a statement. The only statement bankruptcy makes can be summed up in a word: loser. Chrysler learned that the hard way when it was on the verge of bankruptcy three decades ago, he said. As the federal government approved its loan guarantees, consumers abandoned the company in droves and it took years for its brands to recover from the stigma. GM shares closed Wednesday down nearly 5 percent at $6.22 and Ford shares dropped more than 6 percent to close at just $2.30. Farley said he is confident that consumers will return at the first sign of good news. 'I have a lot of faith in U.S. customers,' he said. 'They really love buying stuff.' Detroit News Writer Robert Snell contributed to this report. You can reach Bryce Hoffman at (313) 222-2443 or bhoffmandteom.