US must avoid longterm car holdings - McCain adviser

DETROIT Oct 27 (Reuters) - The next U.S. administration needs to protect taxpayer interests and ensure the government does not become a long-term owner in the auto industry, an economic adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Monday.

Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Corp (HPQ.N), told reporters at a lunch event in suburban Detroit that the auto industry "cannot be saved from its own bad bets."

She also said it remained an open question whether the U.S. auto industry needed aid beyond the $25 billion of low-interest loans already provided by Congress and said any additional aid "depends on the particulars of the circumstance." (Reporting by Soyoung Kim, writing by David Bailey)