According to a story by Harry Stoffer for Automotive News, the rejected $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry would have benefited the faltering automotive industry.

The 228-to-205 defeat of the measure by the House of Representatives caused the stock market to reel, taking a dive of more than 700 points, the largest one-day decline in history.

Lawmakers are set to try again today to secure passage of the legislation that would, among other provisions, give the Treasury Department power to acquire securities backed by automotive loans.

Both President Bush and congressional leaders have said that a plan of some kind must be enacted this week to forestall a complete financial meltdown.

In a separate measure, the President is expected to sign legislation today to provide $25 billion in low-interest loans for automakers and suppliers to be used specifically to retool their operations for the production of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Although the sub-prime mortgage crisis is blamed for an overall weakening of credit in the United States, high gasoline prices have further effected the automotive industry by causing a rapid change in consumer preference.

Increasingly drivers are keeping their cars for a longer period of time and turning away from the once popular SUVs and trucks in favor of smaller, more efficient cars and hybrids.