Chrysler president and vice chairman, Tom LaSorda, is leaving the carmaker immediately, it has been announced.

General Motors Corp chairman and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, and new directors will make up the majority of GM’s board in a major management shake-up of the US’s largest carmaker, GM confirmed today.

The three biggest US carmakers pleaded with Congress for a $25bn (€19.7bn) lifeline to save their once-proud companies from collapse, warning of broader peril for the American economy as well.

Wall Street ended a stunning second quarter quietly today as fund managers spent the day repositioning their holdings, but the narrow losses didn’t stop the Standard & Poor’s 500 index from achieving its best quarterly gain since the final three months of 1998.