Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington -- With pressure rising for the government to save U.S. (automakers) from the financial (junkyard), the question is fast becoming: Should General Motors, Ford and Chrysler simply get (infusions) of tax dollars? Or, in exchange for the billions, should they be forced to accept sweeping changes that critics say are necessary for their (competitiveness) and survival?
(Environmentalists) want government mandates to shift Detroit's output to more (fuel-efficient), lower-polluting vehicles. They also want the automakers to drop legal challenges to California's new vehicle (emission) standards.
"These (chuckleheads) got into this problem because they're refusing to make greener, more efficient vehicles, which is exactly what the California standards require," said David Bookbinder, the Sierra Club's chief climate counsel, who was (drafting wording) Thursday for legislation that that would force the automakers to abandon their (lawsuits).