Ford Chief to Drive to Washington for Hearings on Aid

[Robbien]

Source: Bloomberg

Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally will drive to Washington for hearings on an industry loan package after members of Congress criticized automaker CEOs for flying corporate jets last month.

“He’s driving,” a Ford spokesman, Mark Truby, wrote in an e-mail today about Mulally’s plans for sessions set to start on Dec. 4. A General Motors Corp. spokesman, Tony Cervone, said “it is safe to assume” CEO Rick Wagoner won’t use a company plane, while a Chrysler LLC spokeswoman, Katie Hepler, declined comment on Robert Nardelli’s travel plans.

Avoiding private jets would allow the CEOs to show they heeded critics of their Nov. 18-19 testimony, when opponents said the planes symbolized industry arrogance from executives arguing that their companies need $25 billion in aid to survive.

. . .

Whether executives drive or fly is “a no-win situation,” said Jason Vines, a former Chrysler spokesman who is helping organize a lobbying effort for the automakers. “If you do what people think is the right thing, then they’re just going to be reminded that you came in corporate jets before.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aBjgRZOAgTTc&refer=canada

[Robb]

1. Worse still, he's driving a Toyota

OK, I just made that up. :D

[LynneSin]

36. You're a dingbatt

:pals:

[Parche]

2. He Is Driving His Honda

:rofl: :hi:

[TomInTib]

3. What, he's flying into Baltimore and driving to DC? nt

[CatholicEdHead]

4. Will he drive in the top of the line Jaguar model?

Since Ford owns them.

He should come in a Focus or Taurus.

[nolabels]

8. In a 70's Pinto with a big sign on the back that says"HIT ME HARD"

As mechanic who has had to repair a few of the P.O.S.'s i think that seizing all of their personal assets and deporting them to China should be the only option

[bluecollarcharlie]

22. Sure, wish him a fiery death. That would teach him......

..even though he had nothing to do with the Pinto.
Boy, that's about as smart as attacking a country that had nothing to do with attacking you.
Ins't it?

[nolabels]

25. You really think these bastards have some redeeming value?

Something that needs to be kept around that we could learn from? They where the people who were told keep their finger on the button (milgram)and they did. I worked on enough of the junk they were responsible for making to know it's junk. The foreign car makers innovation (that Detroit stole from) only looked good because of their lack of. These bastards did everything for the effing buck and they now wish the rest of us to pay for their contempt.

A death by fire would be too good and grandiose for the worthless trash they are, better for them to keep on living and keep on suffering like the rest of us

Milgram experiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

[Romulox]

28. You have really lost the plot. Mullaly has ZERO to do with the Milgram experiments...

:crazy:

A lot of you seem to be making Detroit the scapegoat for everything wrong in America without realizing that scapegoating (and the concomitant lack of any personal accountability) itself is one of the worst problems we face as a nation...

[nolabels]

32. Yea, I should just forget about all those in the bed with beltway ads........

when * was telling people to just go shopping. While at the same time D.C. was occupied by oligarch of the oil cartel. Just buy these three mile to gallon monster SUV's we were told, it's the American thing to do. They tried their damnedest to shove this idea down our gullet. This idea that we would be unpatriotic if we didn't find some way to waste our money more exuberantly. People that make those Detroit P.O.S. should get a clue, move, find a new way of making living, etc.


B.t.w. Detroit with it's attitude and it's historic approach is what is WRONG with America. The idea of "we make it and we will tell you when to buy it" is dead and floating down the river.

[Romulox]

33. Here's a hint: George Bush ain't from Detroit, and there are no oil wells here.

Go scapegoat somebody else for your own sins. Your rant is just the modern version of "The Devil made me do it!"

[Fenris]

15. Um...yeah...not so much.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=a.XK349nwyYI&refer=india

[Oldtimeralso]

16. No Ford Already Sold Off Jaguar

To TaTa Motors of India

[jmowreader]

Tata Motors?

Uhh...is Temeah planning to buy a Jaguar any time soon?

[jmowreader]

18. Dupe

Sorry.

[TlalocW]

5. Perfect Schadenfreude would have his car break down

After about a hundred miles into the trip.

TlalocW

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

7. Damn that would be great. He can hitchhike the rest of the way.

[tclambert]

14. If Congress doesn't do the right thing this time, he may have to hitchhike back.

[Selatius]

6. I suppose if these executives were arrogant, then the same charge can be leveled at the bankers.

Bankers gave more money to congress critters than auto companies did. It may be why they got an easier time with simply flying into Washington than did these car company executives.

[Kolesar]

23. This criticism of the Detroit execs for owning private jets is B/S

The flexibility of having an airplane available would be indispensible for somebody who often has to work through the weekends. You can't hold a commercial flight for an hour because one of your meetings is running late.

[eilen]

26. No, you just have to take the next flight

like everyone else. Being hotshot executives they could probably hang in the first class lounge and Blackberry each other until boarding is announced or horrors, stay an extra night at their luxury hotel.

Wait for the next bus.

[Kolesar]

31. No, you take the next flight

I fly as seldom as possible.

[man4allcats]

9. For maximum schmooze effect, he might consider driving

there in an Edsel. There are still a few around. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[doc03]

10. Be nice, my Ford is 10 years old

and I have 127,000 miles on it and it has never let me down.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Let these bastards take a bus.

Let them know what real suffering is.

[TrogL]

12. Wasn't there a documentary on some people driving their lemons to Michigan

One of the car companies, I forget which one, created an absolute utter lemon. A group of people decided to drive to Michigan(?) to protest. They almost didn't make it - the cars kept crapping out of them.

I wonder what he's going to be driving.

I dare him to drive a Windstar. He'll probably blow a head gasket and the transmission will self destruct (problem with 2nd gear). Been there, done that - twice.

[Kolesar]

24. What is that, a thirty year old story?

could be irrelevant

[Tesha]

34. Probably not; our '95 Taurus ate two transmissions before we junked it. (NT)

[fascisthunter]

13. oh brotha...

...very good dipshit... you've given Congress adequete cover to now give you what you want.

[Inkyfuzzbottom]

17. Why can't he just fly coach

like the rest of us?

[depakid]

19. Better yet- carpool

and use the time to share some ideas about common interests and how to get out of the mess that you've helped to make.

[bluecollarcharlie]

21. And Toyota, Honda and Nissan didn't?

I suggest you go and look at the Tundra,Seqouia, the RAV4 and the CRV, the Ridgeline and the Titan and Armada.
You might open your eyes.

[Blue_Tires]

20. if there are any left around FoMoCo HQ, he could drive a

GT and arrive in style

[snooper2]

27. Is there a Ford that will make it that far?

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

[Romulox]

29. Ford's quality is on par with Toyota now. Welcome to 2008. nt

[indio55555]

30. This sounds fun and all but

do you realize that everyone around the world is laughing at this. It's turning into a circus. Next the'll tell them to walk on hands to DC. I mean big three are going down (not that I support them) but we are more worried about how they come to DC than what's at stake.

[Critters2]

35. If he really wants a government bailout, he'd do the prudent thing

and get into the banking business.