By Josh Mitchell Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Ford Motor Co. (F) CEO Alan Mulally plans to make his highly anticipated return to Washington this week by car, not corporate jet, in the first step toward rehabilitating the image of him and the chief executives of his Detroit rivals among Capitol Hill lawmakers.
A Ford spokeswoman confirmed Monday that Mulally will drive the roughly 10 hours from Detroit to Washington to renew pleas for emergency aid to the auto makers.
The move appears to be an attempt to avoid the criticism leveled against Mulally and the chief executives of General Motors Co. (GM) and Chrysler LLC last month after they flew to Washington in corporate jets. Members of both parties in Congress portrayed the executives as arrogant for flying in lavish jets while requesting taxpayer dollars to keep their companies afloat. A skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live mocked the executives.
Mulally is expected to appear alongside GM's Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's Robert Nardelli in hearings before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday and the House Financial Services Committee Friday.
The hearings will be held to review plans by the companies to return to solid financial footing. Democratic leaders say they may call a special session for next week to reconsider an aid package if the plans pass muster.
-By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637; joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 01, 2008 17:03 ET (22:03 GMT)

Publié le 01 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones