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Washington - General Motors, the world's biggest auto maker, is nearly 100 years old. Ford, the number two behind GM in the United States, has already passed that milestone.
But for all their proud history, the US companies are now struggling financially with sales down and competition, especially from Japanese rivals, up.
Their difficulties were laid bare on Thursday when credit risk appraiser Standard and Poor's cut their ratings to junk bond status, imperilling the credibility of their corporate debt on international markets.
Founded in 1908, General Motors has been in the driving seat of global car production since 1931, although Japan's Toyota has been making strong inroads into its lead.
GM has factories in 32 countries, sells its vehicles in more than 200, and employs 324 000 people. It is partnered in Italy with Fiat, with Isuzu and Suzuki in Japan, and with Daewoo in South Korea.
Aside from badging cars with its own name, the GM group operates several brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer and Pontiac at home, Opel, Vauxhall and Saab in Europe, and Holden in Australia.
The Ford Motor Company, established in 1903, lies second behind GM in US sales but Toyota is snapping at its heels.
Ford's US sales in April were down 1.5% from a year earlier to 281 292, showing the effect of waning interest in big sports-utility vehicles.
Toyota Motor meanwhile reported its best-ever overall sales month in the United States, a 21.3% increase and a total of 210 466 vehicles sold.
This put Toyoto ahead of the Chrysler Group, the third member of the Detroit "Big Three" which is now a unit of a combined company dominated by Germany's Daimler.
Chrysler's decline is a reminder that even the proudest names in US car making can be laid low.
In Ford's case, the sales fall marks a startling deterioration for a company that invented modern car production in 1908 when the first "Model T" rolled off a revolutionary new factory line in Detroit.
The company founded by the celebrated Henry Ford has been a family concern for four generations. Since 2001 it has been led by William Clay Ford junior, Henry Ford's great-grandson.
Ford employs 350 000 employees worldwide and controls famous marques including Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo and Mazda.