Airlines went Bankrupt... and prospered. Why shouldn't the auto industry?

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10448813/1/airlines-could-show-big-three-the-way.html
Basically, the logic is that bankruptcy actually DOES allow you to keep working or running the business, and it also is a very good way to shed a lot of debt and obligations.

Of course, there are SOME penalties.

But in the case of Delta, and other airlines, it turned out that the benefits of bankruptcy were what allowed them to turn around. In fact, the argument is that declaring bankruptcy was the sole reason that they managed to cut costs and turnaround so drastically.

I hear it works for individuals too...

Why is everyone so scared of bankruptcy anyhow? They're afraid of tarnishing their reputation? Well, I got news for ya. Nowadays, news spreads far and fast, thanks to the new medias. So it's not like these guys don't already have a reputation as failures, deadbeats and debtors... why not wipe it all off and start with a clean slate?