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General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler's desperate pleas for government aid were heard. Over the weekend, legislation to provide the big three with short-term loans to get them through the new year is being drafted, following an agreement between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President George Bush on how to fund the rescue.

Pelosi on Friday agreed to go the White House route and use loans from the Department of Energy originally intended to insure the companies would develop green cars in the future, rather than tap Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.

Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's Economy.com told the Senate that an automaker's bankruptcy would be "cataclysmic." With unemployment at 6.7%, gross domestic product in a tailspin and the banking sector wobbling like a newborn doe, the White House and Congress remain understandably averse to cataclysms.

"We must first prevent additional job loss from occurring. We cannot let the auto industry collapse, which would be catastrophic to our economy," said a Friday statement from Sen. Chris Dodd, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, signaling his support.

President Bush's remarks Friday were much the same: "It is important that Congress act next week on this plan. And it's important to make sure that taxpayers' money be paid back if any is given to the companies."

It's a much better outcome for the automakers than after their first trip to Capitol Hill, where they flew in on private jets, presented vague plans and were sent home empty-handed. But before Detroit starts cheering, they'd be smart to recall a similar situation a couple months ago. If the $700 billion bailout of the financial system holds any lesson it's this: The car companies are not out of the woods yet.

Paulson's request for $700 billion two and a half months ago is fresh in the minds of those on Capital Hill. Deny him the money, he said, and the economy would implode. Any future economic problems (which by September were inevitable) could be blamed on the inaction of Congress. Despite the threat of apocalypse, they balked for two solid weeks as volleys of constituent disapproval filled the e-mail inboxes of Congress. At one point, the House's Web server crashed from the load. He ultimately got his money, but only after a political brawl unparalleled in recent memory.

America's automakers may be even less loved than America's bankers. All of this has the strong ring of deja vu, and just as rank and file Congressmen balked at bailing out Wall Street, embarrassing party leaders and forcing a dramatic showdown on the Hill, the deal for Detroit is far from done. The challenge is not writing the legislation this weekend. It's getting it passed next week. Are Pelosi and the Democrats up to the challenge? Detroit sure hopes so.

General Motors, an icon of American manufacturing and the world's largest automaker, yesterday threw itself at the mercy of Congress, saying it needed $4 billion to avert a cash crisis by the end of the month and as much as $18 billion in federal loans over the next year.

GM and its U.S. rivals Chrysler and Ford all pleaded for government loans, promising in return to use the opportunity to slash costs, jettison brands, restructure their finances and speed the introduction of fuel-efficient vehicles widely considered crucial to their future.

Together the three auto giants sought at least $28 billion and as much as $38 billion in government assistance, more than the $25 billion they requested just two weeks ago. Battered by the lowest car sales in a quarter century and tight credit conditions, the companies said they needed the money just to survive the next year.

"There is no plan B," said Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer.

It was a humble moment for the three auto behemoths, which once were synonymous with American ingenuity and industrial might. Over the past three decades, they have lost ground to more agile foreign rivals that favored smaller cars built by non-unionized labor at lower wages.

This year the combination of high fuel prices and the paralysis in the credit markets has brought the U.S. companies to the brink. Chrysler yesterday sought $7 billion by the end of the month. Ford, which is in stronger financial condition, asked Congress to set aside as much as $13 billion to help the company if the economic downturn deepens.

The companies presented their plans yesterday, a deadline set by Congress, but there was no guarantee that wary lawmakers would agree to pump taxpayer money into firms that might not be financially viable.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday that Congress would not adopt a loan package for the automakers unless the ailing giants presented "a new business model, a new business plan" that was "worthy of the support that the taxpayers will invest in it."

But she also said that "bankruptcy is not an option" and predicted that either Congress or the Bush administration would intervene to prevent a collapse of the industry. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters he expects to call the Senate back into session early next week with the aim of passing a bill by next Friday.

The chief executives of the three companies all seemed mindful of the drubbing they took two weeks ago when they sought taxpayer assistance. Excoriated for traveling by corporate jets to testify in Washington, all said they would make the 500-mile return trip by car this week for the new round of hearings. Ford and GM even said they would part with the aircraft permanently.

Ford chief executive Alan R. Mulally and GM chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. also offered to cut their salaries to $1 a year if the government provides aid. Chrysler already pays chief executive Robert L. Nardelli that sum in salary. GM said it would also roll back other executives' pay.

The magnitude of the crisis, as portrayed by the companies, is daunting. Though the three companies described a dire situation two weeks ago, the situation seems even more grave now. GM said will need $12 billion by late March to keep operating. If the recession drags on, it might ultimately need up to $18 billion.