The US auto industry is really sucking wind, if Steven Rattner, the Treasury’s auto adviser has it right. Bloomberg quotes him saying $21.6 billion may not be enough.

“It could be considerably higher, I won’t deny that,” Rattner said, when asked whether U.S. aid sought could rise to $30 billion or $40 billion. “What they’ve asked for depends on them achieving plans that are somewhat ambitious,” Rattner said. “Like all management teams they tend to take a reasonably, slightly perhaps, optimistic view of their business. So it could be more, I can’t rule that out.”