Speaking today before the Senate Banking Committee General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, in an apparent act of contrition, said, "We made mistakes," and failed to construct a flexible operation able to quickly transition to the production of small, fuel efficient vehicles.

Wagoner, along with the other executives of the Detroit Big Three, Ford's Alan Mulally and Chrysler's Robert L. Nardelli, was chastised last month by lawmakers for arriving to ask Congress for a federal bailout aboard a private jet. He said he and his contemporaries had learned from those difficult hearings, which instigated "a healthy internal review" at GM.

The execs have returned to Washington to deliver financial plans for consideration to lawmakers in the hope that they will receive bridge loans to support a return to viable status. For its part, GM has promised to cut brands and nameplates, slash jobs, decrease executive salaries, and restructure corporate debt.

It is unclear, however, whether such loans will be forthcoming before the end of the year when GM says it will run out of operating capital. Chrysler is in a similar condition, but Ford says it has enough cash to survive through 2009 and seeks a loan to serve as a fallback position only.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will call Congress into a special lame duck session next week to consider the bailout, but the Bush White House remains lukewarm to the notion. It is unclear what will happen to the embattled companies if they are forced to wait for another attempt at an aid package until after the inauguration of President-elect Barak Obama.