Automakers too big to fail, governors say

DETROIT, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The too-big-to-fail yardstick -- applied to the country's financial firms in recent months -- is being used to measure U.S. automakers, observers said.

Six state governors used the too-big-to-fail criteria when writing U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. recently, the Science Christian Monitor reported Monday.

The governors, among them Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said that U.S. automakers directly hire 335,000 workers, but include a reach into the economy that affects 4.5 million other jobs.

"If the auto companies ask for help, the federal government should give that help and give it quickly," said Elizabeth Boyd, Granholm's press secretary.

The downturn in the industry resulted in the loss of 700 U.S. new car dealers this year with total sales projected to fall short of the 16.2 million vehicle-sale break even point, the newspaper reported.

"It's fairly easy to lose billions when your average wholesale price is $27,000," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Brandon, Ore.

"It's amazing some of the manufacturers are still around even now," he said.