File this one under: painful medicine. The struggling domestic automakers are in such poor shape in competitive terms that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just might be what it takes to make them more viable operations, says attorney attorney William L. Siegel of Dallas' Cowles & Thompson. We've all heard the staggering statistics about how much the automakers pay on healthcare and other benefits. Under Chapter 11, the companies could reject or revise collective bargaining agreements, retiree benefits and other unprofitable contracts. "No amount of money is going to change the fact that, as things stand now, the Big Three simply cannot compete with the foreign-owned automakers," he says. "They need to take the same medicine that some of our domestic airlines took in filing bankruptcy, and in doing so will come out leaner and more competitive." While the automakers might emerge a little leaner, they'll still have to work on building cars that people want to buy. For more information, contact Rhonda Reddick at 800-559-4534 or at rhonda@androvett.com.