While Detroit waits, the federal government continues to deliberate how, or if, it should use approximately $14 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to stave off the threatened collapse of General Motors and Chrysler.

Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David McCormick, in comments to the cable network CNBC said the TARP program was designed to help the financial sector not the automotive industry.

"Conditions change, and Congress was not able to come together and move forward on a package, - which was certainly the preference the administration had," McCormick said. "And so we're put in a situation where we have to consider a range of options."

With auto sales at a 25-year-low, General Motors and Chrysler have both indicated that without federal bridge loans, they could run out of operating funds by the end of the year. Ford, which would like a $9 billion line of credit, has indicated it can survive through 2009.

Dana Perino, spokeswoman for the White House, said, "We are moving with all deliberate speed in order to try to do this in an orderly fashion, but we're not going to be rushed into it. We're trying to do something that's responsible."

McCormick described the current situation as "a world of difficult choices," adding that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "has said very recently the failure of an automotive company is a very unattractive option. And so we need to consider a range of options to try to address that situation."