The failure of one or more of Detroit’s Big Three automakers would put a huge initial dent in American manufacturing, but in time foreign car companies would pick up the slack by stepping up production in their plants here, many industry experts and economists say.

Whether Washington should let that play out — risking hundreds of thousands of jobs — is a central question Congress will weigh this week as it hears testimony from Detroit leaders who are pushing for immediate federal intervention, before the next administration takes over in January.

Many industry experts say the big foreign makers are established enough to take control of the industry and its vast supplier network more quickly than is widely understood.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/business/economy/17impact.html?_r=1&oref=slogin “Read the Article”) (New York Times)