As next week’s deadline approaches for the Obama administration to decide whether to grant GM and Chrysler’s requests for additional aid, almost two-thirds of Americans oppose giving more loans to the automakers.

According to a new survey by R.L. Polk & Co, 62 percent of Americans opposed further aid to the automakers, and one-third were strongly opposed. The automakers have said they would have to declare bankruptcy without further aid, and that the cost of bankruptcy would be far more than the almost $30 billion they’ve requested in bailout money so far.

Despite their apparent unwillingness to help GM and Chrysler any further, Americans are not unaware of the pitfalls of letting automakers fail, according to the poll. Among the same people who told Polk they opposed further loans to the companies, 59 percent said that “allowing any U.S. auto company to go into bankruptcy would be a major blow to the U.S. economy.” Apparently they just don’t consider saving the automakers to be the taxpayers’ job, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. 

Nevertheless, 72 percent of U.S. consumers said that given Detroit’s economic problems, they would consider buying an American-brand car for their next vehicle purchase. Perhaps they didn’t consider whether they might still have that choice without further Detroit aid. Unfortunately for Detroit, the majority said that given their own financial hardships, it would be some time before they buy another car anyway. Fully 92 percent said it was likely or very likely they would hang onto their current car longer than they originally expected: 60 percent said it would be more than a year before they bought a new car; 36 percent said it would be more than two years. Another 19 percent said they were unsure. That leaves a hard road ahead for Detroit to increase its sales and keep restructuring plans on track.

-- Eric Evarts