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Planes, Cars And Pay Cuts

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 3, 2008

Detroit's automakers are making a second bid for $25 billion in congressional funding this week. CEOs from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, who were criticized last month for traveling to Washington separately by private jets and faced pointed questions about their salaries, are seeking to defuse those issues.

Travel

Ford CEO Alan Mulally left for Washington on Tuesday in a Ford Escape small sport utility vehicle that runs on gas and electricity, while General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner will travel in a hybrid Chevrolet Malibu sedan for the 520-mile trek from Detroit to Capitol Hill. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli won't travel by corporate jet, but declined to elaborate. The travel savings are significant: It costs about $102 in gas and tolls to drive roundtrip, while a chartered jet charges about $15,000.

Salaries

Chrysler's Nardelli already works for $1 a year. GM's Wagoner said he would do the same next year. Mulally said he would cut his salary to $1 a year if Ford uses any of the bailout money. Nardelli's current pay is unknown because Chrysler is a private company. Mulalley's pay is $12 million, and Wagoner's is $2.05 million, according to Forbes magazine.

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