The US government, now directing the turnarounds of General Motors Corp and Chrysler, has said bankruptcy for both could be fast, clean and targeted - like surgery or a "quick rinse".

But bankruptcy has been described by those who pass through it as a world of pain and regret, and skeptics question whether the developing plans for bankruptcies at the cash-strapped automakers could hit unforeseen snags down the road.

"They could get delayed in kind of a knock-down, drag-out bankruptcy with every problem they have," said Roger Frankel, chairman of the restructuring group at law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, who is not advising the automakers.