AUTOSHOW-UPDATE 2-GM not yet tapped Canadian gov't loans-exec

(Adds comments from GM executive, background)

By Nick Carey

DETROIT, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker General Motors Corp (GM.N) has not yet taken up an offer of emergency loans from the Canadian government as it seeks to clarify the conditions that would be attached to borrowing the money, a top executive said on Monday.

"It was not as detailed as what we've been dealing with in the U.S., so we need to engage in dialogue there before we go any further," GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson told reporters at the Detroit auto show. "We haven't accepted it."

"We want to make sure it fits into an overall viability plan for GM before we accept it," he added.

The Canadian arms of GM and Chrysler LLC, which is controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL], are eligible for short-term loans from the Canadian government of up to C$4 billion ($3.4 billion).

Last week, Ottawa said it had deferred the first payment of C$1.2 billion until mid-January on the request of GM and Chrysler

A Ford Motor Co (F.N) official said on Sunday that the No. 2 U.S. automaker has no plans to access the line of credit it has arranged with the Canadian government.

The Bush administration approved $17.4 billion in emergency loans for GM and Chrysler in December.

GM's Henderson said he was hopeful the automaker would be able to agree on concessions with the United Auto Workers union to meet conditions that the administration placed on its loans.

He stressed that the automaker's relations with the UAW have been strong even as GM shut plants and slashed some $9 billion in recurring costs in recent years.

"The UAW has been part of the solution, not part of the problem over the past few years," Henderson said.

U.S. auto sales dropped by 18 percent in 2008, pushing both GM and Chrysler to the brink of collapse. Ford Motor Co has not sought federal loans but is asking for a $9 billion credit line it could tap if conditions worsen.

Henderson said that plans to reduce GM's dealership network would be centered on urban areas rather than rural dealers. Prior to the government's decision to bail out the industry, GM said that as part of its plans to restructure if it received emergency aid it would cut its GM dealers to 4,700 from more than 6,400.

"The biggest pressure on our dealership network is in metro(politan) areas and that's where our efforts will be focused," he said.

He said that trading in GM bonds and stock -- GM shares are trading more than 85 percent below their 12-month high of $29.28 reached on Feb. 1 last year -- has been "highly speculative" recently.

"People are wondering, 'Is the company going to make it? Is the company going to be viable?'" he said. "Until we actually answer those questions more satisfactorily, we'll continue to have that kind of volatility." ($1=$1.20 Canadian) (Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Matthew Lewis)