CHICAGO, USA - General Motors will take "every action we possibly can" to avoid bankruptcy, president and chief executive Rick Wagoner said Friday after warning that the US automaker could run out of cash in the first half of next year.

"We're convinced the consequences of a bankruptcy would be dire and extend far beyond General Motors and therefore we are going to take every action we possibly can to avoid it," Wagoner said in a conference call.

"We need to find a way to get through this and that is really our focus." Wagoner said one example of a way to help avoid bankruptcy is a request that he and other automakers made Thursday for 25 billion dollars(S$37.4 billion) in loan guarantees from the federal government.

"We've asked for funding support to address" the impact of the credit crisis on the automotive sector "in the spirit that significant funding support went into the financial sector," Wagoner said.

GM on Friday warned that its estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 "will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business.

"Looking into the first two quarters of 2009, even with its planned actions, the company's estimated liquidity will fall significantly short of that amount," the company said in a statement giving its starkest warning yet.

To survive, the company said it would need "significantly" improved market conditions - highly unlikely in the current economic climate - or help from the government, suppliers or other investors.