Big Three Open to Ideas -- Including Merger

Corker, who advocates Chapter 11 bankruptcies as the most efficient method for automakers to restructure, questioned why Chrysler is seeking a bailout when private equity investor Cerberus, which owns 80% of the company, "has cash they are unwilling to put into this company."

This is like a flier for you guys," he told Nardelli. "This is life again. I have a little trouble with that."

The 1979 Chrysler bailout, which involved an oversight board that awarded funds only if Chrysler stakeholders made concurrent concessions, appears to offer a model. But Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said it may be more efficient to have a single person oversee a program this time around.

True to form, the Detroit CEOs acceded to the senator's suggestion. "It would be very helpful to have someone to work with on this, a board or an individual," said Wagoner. "If that person were to have the strong power to execute, that would be OK with us."