While Congress and the Bush administrations lurch toward some kind of bailout for the auto industry, we're going to take a look now at the impact if one, two, or even all three of the big three automakers should fail in the coming months.

NPR: Expert Examines Impact Of Big Three's Collapse

Or at least giving investors fears of a lurch back toward the abyss.

FORBES: Unintended Consequences Keep Coming

It seems like dozens of global economies that were on the brink of an abyss only a year ago, but are now pulled well back from the edge, are being held there by intertwined strands of hope, with each one that stretches too far or breaks giving the rest an unsettling lurch back toward the abyss.

FORBES: Unintended Consequences Keep Coming