Washington - The auto industry and US government are working to avoid bankruptcy for General Motors (GM) and keep the US auto industry afloat, officials said Tuesday.

Steven Rattner, chief adviser to the Department of the Treasury's auto industry task force, said the Obama administration was "open minded" about giving more aid to GM and Chrysler, and planned to use "all the resources" of the US government to avoid bankruptcy.

Washington - German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg met with top managers of General Motors Corp on the future of the US carmaker's German subsidiary Opel.

No details were released from late Monday's talks in Washington, which lasted more than two hours.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner was the top participant from the struggling US carmaker.

Brussels - European Union member states which host subsidiaries to General Motors on Friday closed ranks to protect jobs on their territory after talks with the firm, vowing to coordinate all their actions rather than going it alone.

The ministers of 12 EU member states linked to GM and its subsidiaries "agreed to ensure that no national measures should be taken without prior information and coordination with other involved countries," a statement from the EU's executive, the European Commission, which hosted the talks, said.

Brussels  - The European Union's executive body on Friday hosted high-level talks between representatives of General Motors (GM) and politicians from EU states where GM has subsidiaries, in a bid to defuse the growing crisis over GM's financial troubles.

"First of all, we expect an update from GM representatives on their current plans. Secondly, we want the chance to sit down and discuss the situation with the other (EU) countries involved," Germany's junior economics minister, Jochen Homann, told reporters as he arrived at the talks.

Tata Motors has announced that it has signed up a vehicle finance tie-up with State Bank of Travancore.

With this, India’s biggest automobile company aims to offer an added facility of car finance to its clientele.

The bank offers car loans up to 85% of invoice, for term ranging up to 7 years, at a very competitive rate of 10% up to May 15, 2010 for loans sanctioned on or before April 30, 2009.
 
The facility will be available at SBT divisions and 470 sales touch points of Tata Motors.

Barcelona  - The McLaren-Mercedes team of world champion Lewis Hamilton have a lot of work to do with less than three weeks to go until the start of the 2009 Formula One season, if this week's testing at Barcelona is any indication.

"We aren't yet where we want to be," admitted Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"We are far too slow at the moment but are going to work hard to get back to the front."