G.M. has been negotiating with Chrysler, which is controlled by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, about a potential merger between the two companies. Both are suffering from steep declines in auto sales.
But analysts have said such a merger would require billions of dollars in additional financing, something that banks might not provide in these jammed-up credit markets.
Even before the Chrysler talks were reported in the press, G.M. announced a plan in July to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of next year. That plan included raising $2 billion to $4 billion from asset sales.