The bosses of the three biggest US carmakers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, have asked Congress for a $25bn bail-out.
They told a Senate hearing that without the rescue package, their firms risked collapse, and warned of broader risks to the US economy.
GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the firm needed a loan to span the "financial chasm" that had opened up.
However, Republicans and the White House do not want to use the $700bn bank rescue to help car firms.
GM has warned it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks and cannot wait until President-elect Barack Obama - who has promised to help the industry - is sworn in in January.
The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says the last thing Mr Obama wants is to oversee the death of manufacturing icons during his first few months in office. Inefficient production
Mr Wagoner told the Senate banking committee that the industry's predicament was not due to failures by management but because of the deepening global financial crisis.
Ford's president, Alan Mulally, said a failure at even one car company would have widespread consequences."The industry is so interdependent," he said.
"We're nearly 10% of the US GDP, and if one of the automobile manufacturers gets into serious trouble, it has just tremendous implications for the entire industry."
Congressional leaders are working behind the scenes in an effort to work out a compromise that could give some financial aid to the carmakers before the end of the year, but the outlook remains poor.
In an earlier hearing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also resisted diverting funds to the US car industry.
Democrats have so far rejected the option favoured by the White House and Republicans, which is to let the industry use a $25bn loan programme designed to help the companies develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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