Detroit's business community spoke up in a big way when the Detroit Three needed them most. On Detroiter Online, the Vote4Biz blog and in several Web communities, professionals expressed support for the automakers, shared personal stories of the challenges they and their businesses face in the current economic climate and discussed the situation as it unfolded and its potential consequences for the region and the country.

During this time, the Detroit Regional Chamber demonstrated critical leadership. The chamber advocates on behalf of over 20,000 businesses that employ over three-quarters of a million workers in Southeast Michigan. Through the efforts of an extensive viral marketing campaign, the chamber was able to impact the passage of the bridge loan legislation by collecting over 24,500 messages from professionals residing in 43 out of the 50 U.S. states. These messages were sent to federal government. As a result, the Detroit region's collective voice encouraged the Bush administration to act.

In response to the significance and  ongoing interest from the metro Detroit business community, as the Detroit Three prepare to face Washington D.C. again next month, the Detroiter Online has created this timeline to put the auto bridge loan time table into the greater context. Click through to learn more about how events unfolded.

To read the full analysis of the chamber's impact, please visit the Detroit Regional Chamber case study: Providing a Voice for Businesses of All Sizes; Advocating for the Detroit Three.