Alan Mulally caught a lot of flack when he took over at Ford Motor Company in September of 2006.
He stated publicly that he would continue to drive his Lexus LS430 until such time as Ford built a car comparable to the Lexus.
My how times have changed.
Lambasted in front of Congress two weeks ago for flying in corporate jets, Alan Mulally is driving to D.C. with the intention of begging Congress for bailout money.
But the bigger question lingers, will Alan make the trip in his Lexus - or will a new Ford car or truck (scratch the truck, aren't they part of the problem?) be his vehicle of choice.
Of course spending 10-12 hours in a car probably isn't the best use of Mr. Mulally's time or resources either given his hourly rate is on par with some peoples annual salaries, but at least the corporate jet won't be vilified.
I suggest Mr. Mulally drive a Ford Focus to D.C., perhaps some quality time in the entry level product will offer some insight as he makes the drive as to what part of the problem in Detroit is. Perhaps the fit and finish which we ALL KNOW is not on par with comparable Toyota products will annoy Mr. Mulally into sweeping changes that actually make a difference to product versus a "quasi bailout" for the UAW which most of the Big Three's problems can be traced to.
Of course I seriously doubt the Focus will be the car of choice for this trip. I suspect a Lincoln MKS would make a good travel companion, and with the all wheel drive option having to deal with the incremental weather he is bound to hit on his journey, the MKS would probably be the safer bet.
I do think it would be funny to see the expression of the many faces of Congress if Mr. Mulally actually showed up in a Focus, don't you?
Click through to read the article, should be interesting to see how much money the Big Three
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