WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top auto executive warns that an automaker collapse could send the economy spiraling into a depression.

Chrysler vice chairman Jim Press says the U.S. auto industry is "on the brink" of failure. He says a "catastrophic failure of one of these car companies" would affect the entire economy.

Detroit's Big Three automakers have sent Congress separate survival plans in advance of hearings that start tomorrow. They are requesting a $34 billion bailout.

The president of General Motors says he hopes automakers can get their message across to Congress better this time around. Fritz Henderson admits the automakers' last Capitol Hill appearance was "not our finest hour."

A White House spokeswoman says the latest plans seem to show the car companies have given the matter "a lot of thought" and "are willing to make some tough decisions."

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