At the Geneva auto show, General Motors is getting down to the business of convincing European governments to pump state funds into its Opel/Vauxhall arm. Europe has long been considered one of the more profitable corners of the globe for GM. The company is talking about closing three plants there and warning officials that there will be liquidity problems at Opel/Vauxhall early in the second quarter if they don’t pony up.

Leveraging similar tactics it used in the U.S., GM is telling European leaders that the aid it needs — whatever the final price tag — will cost less than an Opel/Vauxhall failure. This is an argument likely to find more traction in Geneva than it did in Washington, where socialism is not a word used in polite company.

Meanwhile, the great race for global funding is picking up speed. Toyota, the world’s biggest auto company, is looking for dollars to keep its loan business competitive in the shrinking global auto market. Ford is again reported to be shopping Volvo in China. At speeds like these, avoiding a huge smash-up before the next big turn would be a miracle.

Deals News:

* Air France-KLM will launch a tentative bid for Czech Airlines (CSA) within weeks as European carriers regroup in the face of a downturn that so far shows no signs of easing, its chief executive said.

* Royal Dutch Shell said it plans to accept BG Group’s improved offer for its stake in Australian coal seam gas firm Pure Energy in the absence of a higher bid, helping the British firm move closer to a takeover.

* Bespoke furniture maker Smallbone said it is considering a sale of the company as its shares were suspended pending clarification on its funding.

* China Life has withdrawn from bidding for the Asian unit of embattled U.S. insurer American International Group over worries about its quality, chairman of the Chinese insurer said.

* First Solar said it would pay rival OptiSolar $400 million in stock for its pipeline of solar projects, including a major installation for California utility PG&E Corp and other nascent deals that will rapidly expand the company’s presence in the U.S. utility market.

* BCE Inc, Canada’s biggest telecom company, is moving to vastly expand its retail presence by buying electronics chain The Source from Circuit City Stores Inc for an undisclosed sum.

* Danish insurer TrygVesta A/S said it would buy Swedish peer Moderna Forsakringar for 810 million Danish crowns ($137.1 million).

(PHOTO: A worker cleans a Insignia type car at the exhibition stand of General Motors Corp’s (GM) German unit Opel during a preview day of the 79th Geneva Car Show at the Palexpo in Geneva March 2, 2009. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)

The Detroit Three automakers go to Washington today, armed with fresh restructuring plans they hope will convince federal lawmakers to open the bailout spigot. For General Motors, Ford and Chrysler the stakes couldn’t be higher.

GM has been reviewing its already revamped business plan and may take steps that include dropping or selling off the Pontiac, Saab and Saturn brands. Ford, seen as the strongest bet to survive of the three because of its better cash position, is considering the sale of Volvo. And Chrysler, seen as the most vulnerable of the bunch, finds itself having to spell out the reasons it needs federal funds even though it’s also looking to hook up with foreign automakers.

As IHS Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman says: “Just as General Motors is too big to fail, Chrysler is too small to survive on its own.”

GM, Ford and Chrysler have all declined to discuss their restructuring plans before submitting them to key lawmakers today.

The cap-in-hand CEOs will be making their cases against a dire background for automakers globally. Consumers, shocked into hiding by the credit crisis, are reluctant to part with cash. Sales have registered double-digit drops in Germany, Europe’s largest car market, and South Africa, Africa’s top economy. U.S. auto sales, due later on Tuesday, are expected to be just as bad. Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest auto manufacturer, has unveiled new production cuts to deal with the slowdown.

The last time the Detroit Three visited Washington to beg for help, they were heavily criticized for flying in on their corporate jets. Not quite the image of a sector under siege. It’s going to be different this time. Ford’s CEO, Alan Mulally, will actually drive to Washington from Detroit. That’s a 500-mile haul. Talk about trying to make an impression.

More Deals of the Day:

** Coca-Cola Co said it had filed an application for anti-trust approval in China for the company’s $2.5 billion bid for top domestic juice maker China Huiyuan Juice Group.

** Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) will pay state investor Temasek up to US$333 million for control of Singapore Food Industries (SFI), and said it was open to making more acquisitions.

** Memory chip maker Numonyx delayed a purchase of a small stake in its Chinese joint venture with Hynix Semiconductor, Hynix said, as chip makers grapple with a major industry downturn and cash shortage.

** The owners of fast-growing Russian lender Ursa Bank and top-30 bank MDM are eyeing a merger that would create Russia’s second largest private bank, Vedomosti reported, quoting members of the banks’ boards.

** Kuwait’s troubled Gulf Bank has received “numerous” merger offers but believes the time is not right for a deal, its chairman said.

** French advertising giant Publicis announced the latest in a series of acquisitions in China as it looks to boost its presence in fast-growing emerging markets.

** Banks that lent money to the core shareholders of Spanish property firm Metrovacesa have taken a 54 percent stake in the company in exchange for debt, the Sanahuja family said in a statement.

** South Korea’s third-largest steel maker Dongkuk Steel Mill said it would ask a government agency to delay sealing Dongkuk’s $321 million offer for a small domestic builder for “at least one year.”

** French utility Electricite de France said it had made commitments to European regulators as part of its proposed 12.5 billion pound ($18.55 billion) takeover of nuclear operator British Energy Group Plc.

** Sierra Wireless Inc said it was launching a friendly 8.50 euros per share offer for Wavecom, topping a hostile 7 euros per share bid by France’s Gemalto .