If GM got all the benefits of a Chapter 11, that would leave Ford in a situation that certainly couldn't be stable.

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are being challenged operationally and financially in North America as never before.

In the past, we might have felt at different points that the concerns about bankruptcy risk were way overplayed.

In the past we might have felt at different points that the concerns about bankruptcy risk were way overplayed.

Ford has experienced a marked deterioration in its pension funding levels due to poor investment portfolio performance,

This poor financial performance heightens concerns about the company's ability to effect a timely turnaround in its critical North American operations,

They've been skilled in their product development. But they, like their domestic competitors, are very dependent on light truck profitability. They've introduced some new S.U.V.'s at a point when that market is under a cloud.

Product design issues are also an important concern here, as the companies have shown little ability to foresee market trends, such as the demand for crossover utility vehicles and gasoline-electric hybrids,

Public sentiment regarding such vehicles has turned more negative than previously.

These actions should be sufficient to maintain positive net liquidity in 2002, even with weaker earnings performance. But those aren't actions that can be relied on indefinitely. The future of the company relies on an earnings rebound.