Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (right, in the driver’s seat next to Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas), who pushed for tough conditions on the $17.4 billion U.S. government bailout for General Motors and Chrysler, said at the Detroit auto show that he hoped Chrysler would find a merger partner to survive.

“Chrysler probably needs to merge with somebody, not necessarily disappear from the standpoint of existence,” said Corker, who added the automaker owned by Cerberus Capital Management was not making the needed investment to remain competitive. He spoke to reporters as he toured the show before meeting with executives for GM, Chrysler and Ford.

Corker, whose home state includes the U.S. headquarters for Japan’s Nissan, also said he felt GM’s debt load was too heavy and it may not meet the restructuring targets set out under the $13.4 billion loan granted to the company by the Bush administration.

The Republican senator met with GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson and, during his visit to the GM stand at the show, sat in the Cadillac Converj, a luxury model of the all-electric Chevrolet Volt concept car.

Corker said he loved the Jeep he drove before he came to Congress, though he did not specify which model. Chrysler, which received $4 billion in emergency loans, owns the Jeep brand.

The most contentious issue in the Bush administration’s bailout plan is a goal that seeks to bring hourly wages for the U.S. automakers’ unionized work force in line with those of Toyota and other Japanese automakers operating nonunion U.S. factories.

The labor give-back provisions were spearheaded by Corker and incorporated into the bailout. A proposal to strip the Corker-inspired labor provisions from the automaker rescue was included in legislation introduced in the House of Representatives last week.

The UAW has said it is open to making some changes to help GM and Chrysler lower costs, but has vowed to try and get the administration of President-elect Barack Obama to amend the giveback targets. Obama, a Democrat, takes office Jan. 20.

GM and Chrysler are under tight deadlines to show progress. The automakers must demonstrate to the government within several weeks that they are lowering costs and making other changes required under the Bush administration’s bailout plan.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner has said the automaker could seek further loans from the government at the end of March if the U.S. auto market does not improve. 

Corker also made a point during his tour of saying he had flown a commercial plane to Detroit for his visit. “I came Northwest Airlines and I want you to know it was right on time.”

The CEOs for GM, Chrysler and Ford were criticized by lawmakers in November for separately flying company jets instead of less costly commercial planes to Washington as they sought billions in bailout funds from Congress.

(Photo/Reuters)

Automakers are in a new race to be the first to market with an all-electric car so they can claim the mantle as the world’s greenest automaker.

General Motors again rolled out its Chevy Volt electric concept car at the Detroit auto show as a reminder that the struggling U.S. automaker intends to have it on sale by the end of 2010.

Cheering employees (above), as well as Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, waved signs that read: “We’re electric,” “Charged up,” “Game changer” and “We’re here to stay” as they walked ahead of th Volt. GM has said the electric car will have a 40-miles driving range on one battery charge.

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said the Volt launch remains “very much” on track and a U.S. economic stimulus package could include “heavy federal incentives” for buying fuel-efficient cars. Research chief Larry Burns added that government backing for electric car technology should be modeled on support for the semiconductor industry in the 1980s.

U.S. rival Ford said it will have a small electric car ready for launch in 2011 that would get 100 miles to a charge, as well as a plug-in hybrid by 2012. It also will offer an electric commercial van in 2010. It said electric care sales would focus on urban markets with an initial sales target of 5,000 to 10,000 units.

Not to be outdone, Japan’s Toyota, the current king of green in the auto sector thanks to its Prius hybrid sedan, showed off its FT-EV electric concept and said it would launch an electric car for city commuting by 2012 in the United States.

Japan’s Nissan is promoting plans to commercialize electric cars, but Toyota has stressed such cars, including its own, would be suited only for short-distance travel for the time being given the limitations on battery storage technology and recharging infrastructure.

(Photo/Reuters)