Just a short four years ago, GM was considering buying a major share in FIAT, but FIAT was not so attractive to GM.

Autonomics refers to the changing landscape of automobile economics. Broadly speaking, autonomics embodies the current zeitgeist of the car manufacturing industry and how it relates to global macroeconomics. Some of the topics it covers are:

• The financial crisis, the credit crunch, and bailouts
• Globalization, outsourcing
• Technology and technomics
• Consumer expectations and needs

Like many of the massive financial institutions in the US that collapsed in the Fall of 2008, General Motors is said to be "too big to fail". However, declining sales and profits have lead to talk of the US government bailing out General Motors. This is in addition the the colossal $25 billion loan the US Congress gave the Big Three, GM, Chrysler, and Ford. Now, the Big Three are asking for $50 billion.