London, Dec. 13: General Motors, which employs 5,500 people around the UK, is in talks with the British government to secure cash to allow it to continue operating in what the car maker admits are "critical" conditions.

A report in The Telegraph says that the talks follow a decision by the US Congress to vote down a 14 billion dollar loan package to support the American automotive industry on Friday.

The future of British workers at GM plants in Luton and on Merseyside is unclear, as does that of up to a further 5,500 people employed by parts suppliers.

Washington  - General Motors Corp announced Friday that it will temporarily close plants and reduce production because of plunging car sales, one day after the US Senate rejected a massive bail-out package for the automotive industry.

General Motors will idle 30 per cent of its North American plants for the first quarter of 2009, citing a 36-per-cent drop in sales in November and a 41-per-cent decline in 2008 from the previous year.

Washington - The White House was considering on Friday whether to divert funds from the 700-billion-dollar bail-out package for Wall Street to the automotive industry after the Senate defeated a similar package for US carmakers.

"It is disappointing that while appropriate and effective legislation to assist and restructure troubled automakers received majority support in both houses, Congress nevertheless failed to pass final legislation," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

A last-ditch effort to pass a 14-billion-dollar emergency loan to resuscitate the ailing car industry fell apart late Thursday after negotiations collapsed in the Senate, causing a wave of financial gloom to ripple through world markets on Friday.

Washington  - The White House on Friday said it would consider using funds from the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue to bail out ailing carmakers after a plan to save the industry failed in the US Congress.

"It is disappointing that while appropriate and effective legislation to assist and restructure troubled automakers received majority support in both houses, Congress nevertheless failed to pass final legislation," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

Kochi, Dec. 12 : Volvo has launched the market''s first coach with a multi-axle configuration, taking the inter-city luxury AC coach segment to its next level, which is coinciding with the Volvo Ocean Race in Kochi.

The auto manufacture company Volvo on Thursday offered a special signature series in memory of the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Kochi.

Washington, Dec. 12 : Efforts to salvage a proposed 14 billion dollar rescue plan for the American auto industry collapsed on Thursday as both Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on the timing of deep wage cuts for union workers.

They have effectively killed the legislative plan and threatened America''s carmakers with bankruptcy, the Washington Post reports.