Honda is pulling out of Formula One and will close its team down if no buyer is found by the end of the year, a senior source at a rival team told Reuters on Thursday.

General Motors and Chrysler said they would be open to a merger if the U.S. government mandated it as a condition for providing the emergency financing.

The Big Three CEOs returned to Washington to meet with the Senate Banking Committee today, as AT&T and other companies reported job cuts. Following are today's top videos:

General Motors has promised Congress that it can recreate itself as a different kind of car company — smaller, with a more cooperative relationship with its union, and a lineup of fuel-efficient cars to compete with the best of the foreign brands.

Orders to U.S. factories plunged in October by the sharpest amount in over eight years as a deepening recession caused big cutbacks in demand for steel, autos, computers and heavy machinery. Analysts expect the weakness will continue for some time.

CEOs of the major US automakers faced skeptical questioning on Capitol Hill as they pleaded for $34 billion in federal aid and warned of a possible collapse that would jeopardize millions of jobs.

Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press reiterated the need for government aid to help support the auto industry as he travels to hearings in Washington, D.C.

Stocks overcame an array of dismal economic reports and rode hopes that the market may have achieved at least a temporary bottom to close higher Wednesday.

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said the union would surrender job security protections and delay payments into a retiree healthcare trust to help U.S. automakers clinch government aid to survive a sales downturn.

The current problems facing the automotive industry are a result of consumer fear, not the Big Three U.S. automakers, according to John Bergstrom, CEO of Bergstrom Automotive, one of America’s most powerful car dealership groups.

The stock market was far off its morning lows, coming close to turning positive, as investors shook off a handful of weak economic reports and snapped up biotech shares and other defensive plays.

Stocks were set to give back some of their sharp gains from Tuesday's session but were off their morning lows after data showed a sharp increase in mortgage applications last week.

South Korea's top two automakers, Hyundai and Kia, have been cutting production abroad due to falling sales as a global recession hits auto demand worldwide, company officials said on Wednesday.

A number of small companies are angling for a piece of a $25 billion auto industry loan program, set up by the Department of Energy to quicken the development of fuel-efficient cars.