NEW ORLEANS -- General Motors Corp. said today the Saturn brand could survive a broad restructuring plan being developed that involves selling, shrinking or killing half of its eight brands.

All possibilities are being considered but the options will be narrowed next month when the cash-strapped automaker submits a restructuring plan to Congress, said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North America sales, service and marketing, while talking to reporters during the National Automobile Dealers Association convention here.

"If we just wanted to shut it down, we could have announced that," he said. "Saturn may very well have a place" within GM.

Meanwhile, a decision on a possible sale of the Hummer brand could be announced this quarter. The automaker's restructuring plan must be developed under requirements of a $17.4 billion federal loan package that is keeping GM and Chrysler LLC afloat during an industry-wide sales slump caused by soaring gas prices, low consumer confidence and a credit crunch that ushered in a market downturn described as possibly the worst since the Great Depression.

Last year, U.S. car and light truck sales plunged 18 percent to 13.24 million vehicles, while GM's sales fell 31.2 percent last month and 22.7 percent for the year.

Detroit's automakers are all restructuring their businesses to better match production with demand, but they also need the economy to improve so consumers can buy cars and trucks again.

"Our collective goal has to be to turn this economy around and profitable growth for all of us," Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally told dealers during a. speech today.

Ford is not seeking government aid. GM and Chrysler, which both got loans, must file the plans by Feb. 17 and show significant progress in becoming viable companies by March 31 or the U.S. Treasury Department could recall the loans.

"We'd like to have clarity and narrow our options in February," LaNeve said. "We don't want it to drag on forever."

Saturn dealers have complained that sales have stalled since GM said the brand was under review. "When the industry declines 40 percent, that messes with them more than anything we've done," LaNeve said. "There is nothing I can say that is going to calm dealers down now."

The possibility Saturn could survive, however, offers a sliver of hope for the brand's roughly 400 dealers.

"It would be nice if they realized the strength of Saturn," said Dan Jonuska, a Scottsdale dealer who is a member of Saturn's Franchise Operating Team, which is in talks with GM about the brand's future. "It's a strong brand without a lot of dealers. We know how to sell small cars, which are perceived as green," or more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

"Maybe there will be a little groundswell with our brand," Jonuska said.

GM executives are scheduled to meet with dealers tomorrow afternoon during the convention.

GM has about 6,400 U.S. dealers and hopes to dramatically slash that number as a way to cut costs and return to profitability.

GM wants to eliminate 1,750 dealers within three years. Chrysler and Ford are also working to shrink their U.S. dealer networks.

The number of dealer cuts is not as important as shaping the profitability of the dealers that remain, executives said today.

GM wants to have the right number of dealers in the right areas generating enough sales to compete with foreign rivals.

"Dealers are not the problem," LaNeve said "It doesn't help in the short term to take them out. If I could have half the number of dealers tomorrow, I wouldn't want to do it.

"We have an obligation to manage the business and make sure we end up with the right dealers in the right location."

GM wants the average sales of Chevrolet to match Toyota Motor Corp. Cadillac sales should be competitive with Mercedes and BMW and dealers who sell Buick, Pontiac and GMC brands need to compete with Nissan dealers. Saturn, meanwhile, should generate sales that fall somewhere between Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen.

Consolidating dealers, particularly in metro areas, will help.

That's a direction Ford also is moving.

Ford is not targeting a specific number of dealership closures or consolidations. The automaker has about 3,700 dealerships, which is down about 300 from a year ago. A priority is boosting volume at each dealership and "protecting rural dealers because of our truck business," said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of sales and marketing.

Instead of simply paying dealers to close, GM officials try to serve as financial advisers for dealers and help them make a decision whether to stay open, consolidate with other dealers or close, said Joseph Chrzanowski, a GM executive who specializes in dealer network planning and investments.

Dealers might decide they need to close once realizing how much they will have to spend renovating facilities or to keep operating in the long-term, he said. About 900 dealers industrywide went out of business last year and about 1,100 are expected to close this year as they cope with the sales slump, tight credit markets and a lack of cash for their operations.

The slumping real estate market is helping convince some dealers they may need to close, said Chrysler President Jim Press. About 287 Chrysler dealerships consolidated last year, leaving the Auburn Hills automaker with 3,300 dealers.

Property values are no longer rising, Press said.

"A big factor is what has happened to the value of that asset," Press told reporters in a roundtable meeting today.

The automaker has previously encouraged dealers to consolidate Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands into a single retail location.

"We still want to consolidate, but not at the risk of losing volume or losing dealers we want," said Chrysler sales and marketing chief Steve Landry.

There is no specific number of dealership reductions being targeted by Chrysler as part of its restructuring plan, Press said.

Part of the automaker's strategy is helping dealers cut costs by revamping service operations and cutting training expenses by 30 percent. The company also can save time and money by having technicians assess a vehicle's repair needs by using laptops that connect wirelessly to the vehicle. That cuts assessment times by up to 15 percent.

Press said he expects the automaker to be viable by springtime after a restructuring, the introduction of new and improved vehicles, loosened credit and sweetened buyer incentives.

Press defined "viable" as remaining solvent and continuing to invest in new products, with an ability to repay the $4 billion government loan it has received.

But he told reporters that he doesn't know when Chrysler will return to profitability.

Meanwhile, GM's LaNeve said it was unclear whether the federal loans could be spent buying out dealers. GM has received $9.4 billion so far in federal short-term loans. The remaining $4 billion for GM is contingent on Congress opening the second half of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package and could be awarded on Feb. 17.

Eliminating dealers isn't easy. Strong state franchise laws make it difficult because automakers must buy them out. When GM eliminated Oldsmobile, for example, it cost the company about $1.2 billion to settle with dealers.