There's an excellent Economist article about the big 3 domestic automakers. The outlook is dire: between their debts, pension and healthcare liabilities, General Motors, (Daimler)Chrysler and especially Ford are on the verge of collapse. They have no free cash flow and their credit ratings teeter on the edge of junk.

Of course, the contrarian will take this as a buying opportunity. Their stock prices are low and going lower. They have a lot of money pass through their hands and if an enterprising CEO found a way to funnel that to some other business (one thinks of GM Hughes), it might work out well.