As Congress debates whether to give the Big Three automakers a $25 "bridge loan" to help finance their operations in 2009 and stave off bankruptcy, I'm curious how you feel about the issue.

There's a lot of rhetoric about how the Big Three deserve to fail after years of making inefficient gas guzzlers — exactly the kind of vehicles Americans wanted before the rise of $3 and $4 gas.

It brings up that age old question: Do you own a vehicle made in America by an American car company?

I surveyed the entire Springfield News-Leader newsroom and found there are 20 employees here who drive American vehicles and 27 who own a foreign automobile (some of which are assembled in the U.S.).

(For transparency purposes, I drive a Chevy Impala and my wife drives a Chrysler Sebring)

That means 57 percent of employees in the Springfield News-Leader's editorial department (the folks who write and edit stories) drive a foreign vehicle.

I'm curious what the percentage of foreign verses American vehicles is in your place of employment.

Ask around at your workplace today and then post your findings here or e-mail me at clivengood@news-leader.com.