DETROIT — General Motors says that merger talks have not started up again with Chrysler. A report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday quoted unnamed sources who said merger talks have reopened between the embattled Detroit automakers.'We are not in merger talks with Chrysler,' said GM spokesman Tony Cervone in response to an Inside Line query Thursday morning. 'We stated in November that any talks related to a potential merger were tabled so we could focus on our liquidity situation. That remains the case.'In the meantime, the Associated Press reported on Thursday that the Bush administration is considering 'orderly' bankruptcy as an option for helping the ailing domestic automakers.'The president is not going to allow a disorderly collapse of the companies,' said Dana Perino, White House press secretary. 'A disorderly collapse would be something very chaotic that is a shock to the system. There's an orderly way to do bankruptcies that provides for more of a soft landing. I think that's what we would be talking about.'She would not say when an announcement would come about the fate of the Motor City.Inside Line says: The rumors continue to fly as the patients in the intensive-care unit wait for life support. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent