General Motors, still the biggest car company in the world, is due to go back to US legislators on Tuesday to ask for more money on top of the $13.4bn it has already received as a 'bridging' loan to keep trading. Smaller rival Chrysler will also be taking its begging bowl to Washington. New president Barack Obama is riding high at the moment because he's about to sign his $819bn gift to the US economy into law but GM and Chrysler represent a problem of a different dimension. In summary, would they be better long-term by going bust now (and therefore being restructured through administration) or does he trust their managements to drive the hard bargains with the unions that would preserve a decent amount of jobs for longer? Arguably the global car market is so bad that the reflexes of the current managements are just out of date. Only a government-appointed administrator can restructure these businesses for an era in which people don't need as many cars (because their old ones last longer). Even efficient companies like Toyota and Honda, BMW and Mercedes are staring down the barrel. With all sorts of public works about to kick off, Obama has the opportunity to be bold. But it's a tough call.