A year-end drive to win new aid for the ailing auto industry was near collapse in Congress on Wednesday, pulled down by old resentments toward Detroit’s Big Three and continued fighting between Democrats and the outgoing Bush administration.

Midwestern senators mounted a last push to try to craft a compromise $25 billion loan package to be administered by the Commerce Department and financed in a manner acceptable to the White House. But even on a day of punishing economic news, the leadership vacuum in Washington is such that many prefer to leave any bailout in the hands of the two men who have handled so many already: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

LOS ANGELES - Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., said Wednesday he foresees a big push by automakers to bring pure-electric vehicles to market, predicting that 10 percent of all vehicles globally will be electric by 2020.

"The reality today is there are zero electric cars on the market," Ghosn said. "There is a trend toward electric cars, no doubt about it. ... In many countries, people want to make themselves more independent from oil, and second, want to be able to have a more environmentally friendly product."

AP PhotoA 2009 Nissan 370Z is seen on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES - While U.S. automakers scale back their presence at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan Motor Co. was determined to make a splash, unveiling three new vehicles Wednesday.

Nissan debuted its 2009 370Z, the first redesign of the roadster since its reintroduction as a 2003 model. Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager of Nissan North America's Nissan division, said the vehicle is lighter with a shorter wheelbase than its predecessor. It's 3.7-liter V-6 engine produces 332 horsepower, 26 more than the last model.

AP PhotoThe Chevrolet Volt all-electric concept car is seen on display at the GM exhibit during media previews for the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday. The show opens to the public on Friday.

LOS ANGELES - Chrysler and General Motors are still showing off their newest vehicles at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but their displays were noticeably quiet Wednesday while Asian and European companies unveiled new models that will likely chip away at the U.S. market share.

Casting a shadow on the annual event's glitz was the absence of press conferences or new vehicle debuts from GM or Chrysler, whose top executives were in Washington pleading for $25 billion in loans they say the need simply to stay in business.

WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat has called off a planned vote this week on a $25 billion auto industry bailout.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he wanted to figure out some way to help Detroit's struggling Big Three but that efforts to do so had stalled.

AP PhotoChrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli, right, accompanied by General Motors Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner, pauses while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON -- A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president.

Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers -- and millions of Americans' jobs.

U.S. auto companies employ nearly a quarter-million workers, and more than 730,000 other people have jobs producing the materials and parts that go into cars. About 1 million on top of that work in dealerships nationwide. If just one of the auto giants were to go belly up, some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million.

AP PhotoA Senate vote on an automotive bailout plan, which would also extend jobless benefits, could come as early as Thursday, but it currently lacks the support to advance. Sen. Reid hopes to lower expectations for legislation this week.

WASHINGTON -- Top Senate Democrats suggested Wednesday that a bill to rescue the Detroit Three automakers was stalled and challenged the Bush administration to take steps to save the industry if congressional efforts falter. The White House quickly rebuffed the suggestion.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada sought to lower expectations of reaching a deal on the $25 billion proposal before Congress quits for the year.

While he told the Senate he still hoped lawmakers could agree to an auto deal in the "next day or two" of the current lame-duck session, he added: "If we can't do it here legislatively, I would hope that the secretary of Treasury would listen loud and clear because they could take this into their own hands and do what I think is appropriate from their perspective."

AP PhotoAuto industry executives, from left, General Motors Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; and Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, take their seats on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday prior to testifying before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on the automotive industry bailout.

WASHINGTON - A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for the Detroit Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president.

Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers -- and millions of Americans' jobs -- after Senate Democrats canceled a showdown vote that had been expected Thursday. President George W. Bush has "no appetite" to act on his own.