Ford CEO to drive Escape Hybrid to Congressional hearings

Last week we reported that executives from the Detroit 3 plan to drive down to Washington for Congressional hearings in some of their most fuel efficient models, rather than taking their expensive corporate jets as they had done for the last round of hearings. Ford has now announced that its CEO, Alan Mulally, will be driving to the hearings in an Escape Hybrid - a vehicle that gets 34mpg (6.9L/100km) in the city. The drive will take Mulally roughly nine hours, and a company spokesman has confirmed that the Blue Oval boss will be leaving Detroit today. Mulally also told reporters that he would consider taking a $1 salary as a show of support for lowering executive remuneration. A similar sentiment was made by Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli last week, and both companies are hoping that symbolic gestures such as eschewing corporate jets and high salaries will help put the government and public on their side, reports Automotive News. Ford acknowledged the public relations disaster that had ensued when the nation heard about auto executives traveling to Washington in private jets to seek government loans. A spokesman said that since Ford is an auto company, the obvious alternative was to drive to Detroit. It is uncertain whether Mulally's Ford Escape Hybrid will be a part of a larger convoy of fuel-efficient vehicles from the Detroit 3. If the original plans are going ahead then it seems likely that Ford's Mulally will be joined by a number of other auto industry executives in the drive down to Washington, with GM, Chrysler, Dura Automotive and even the UAW all expected to be undertaking similar transportation.

by HECTOR #1, Posted: 12/2/2008

There's NOTHING they can do now, even if they arrive on their knees, to erase the image of these big shot CEOs that have ran their companies into the ground arriving in Washington on private planes to almost demand taxpayer's money for a bailout.

Not that the Democrats care about that. They're so beholden to the UAW that they'll give them our money just like that.
by battousai #2, Posted: 12/2/2008

HECTOR says

There's NOTHING they can do now, even if they arrive on their knees, to erase the image of these big shot CEOs that have ran their companies into the ground arriving in Washington on private planes to almost demand taxpayer's money for a bailout.

Not that the Democrats care about that. They're so beholden to the UAW that they'll give them our money just like that.

I don't think Ford's CEO should be grouped in with the likes of Wanger and Nardelli. Mully hasn't been at ford for too long, when he got there he began to restructure, and it was working. If not for the finical crisis that made 1/3 of all car buyers disappear completely ford would have been well on track to being profitable in 09, now GM can't say that and neither can Chrysler. We don't know their finances though.

Now this is all not to say that i don't think hes overpaid. He is, so are the rest of them but he was doing a good job, ford's quality is way up recently too.

Hell i'd wager that ford would make it through the crisis without the guberment's help. They don't want to be left out of emergency funding though and I don't blame them.