Is there any hope left for the auto giants?

G.M.'s $15.5 billion second-quarter loss—a stunning $27.33 per share—was expected, but reports from Europe that BMW was further scaling back its sales expectations for the U.S. market is chilling as well. Friday afternoon's dismal auto-sales numbers only mocked the afflicted.

G.M.'s C.E.O Rick Wagoner told CNBC:

"Challenging market conditions aren't going to go away tomorrow." He'd better hope, for the sake of investors and his own hide, that they do go away the day after.

And even though there are enough one-time charges in the mix that make G.M.'s operating loss closer to $6.3 billion, the company's North American auto sales fell to roughly $19 billion from $29 billion in the same period last year.

The world knew that G.M. was in dire straits. It said yesterday that Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra was one of several potential buyers for its gas-guzzling Hummer brand, and that it, along with Ford, was scaling back its leasing business. Chrysler had already said it was ending all leasing deals in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.

The cruel numbers also include G.M. burning through $5 billion in cash during the quarter, something that's sure to spark worry on Wall Street. Wagoner told CNBC that the results were "fully contemplated" in the company's credit plan and that its position is covered through 2009, including taking into account the weakness in the U.S. market.

In Europe, BMW, the biggest maker of luxury cars, said rising costs for not only oil but steel and plastics combined with a weak U.S. market sent its profit forecasts into a ditch.

Bloomberg reported C.E.O. Norbert Reithofer plans to cut production by more than 20,000 vehicles, raise prices, and ship cars produced for the U.S. to other markets after sales "deteriorated sharply over the past weeks." His prediction of "another difficult year" in 2009 comes seven days after Daimler AG lowered its forecast.