From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The auto industry in survival mode.

Hello again, I'm Orin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

GM and Chrysler have

just two weeks until a presidential task force decides if their viability plans will do the job

or if they'll have to go bankrupt. But across the board, auto sales are in free fall,

especially among the gasoline-saving hybrids beloved by politicians who want the industry to turn

green. How important is the price of gasoline?

How difficult is getting a loan?

Are car sales tied to housing?

We'll talk with the world's biggest Ford dealer and others about the present and future of the automobile.

What would an intelligent transportation system look like?

On reporter's notebook later on, what's next for Pakistan? First, here's the

news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren Alney, back

with To the Point. GM and Chrysler may be on the verge of bankruptcy, but auto sales are declining

so fast the entire industry is in trouble. We'll assess the prospects for its survival and what

the future might look like. On reporter's notebook, Pakistan confronts instability amid hopes of

democratic reform. First, this news

update, the failed insurance company AIG paid 73 executives bonuses of a million dollars or more.

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