Big Three CEOs Drive Hybrids To Washington (VIDEO)

CNBC's "Power Lunch" created a funny animation of the Big Three CEOs -- Alan Mulally of Ford, Rick Wagoner of GM and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler -- driving to Washington, D.C., where they're asking for federal funds.

The CEOs are driving hybrid cars after being reamed by the media for flying flashy corporate jets to plead their cases as struggling companies in need of government help.

The "Power Lunch" team are also offering joke suggestions of interesting sights for the CEOs to see along the way.

Watch the video and tell us in the comments section what you think about these CEOs driving nine hours to Washington. Here are some questions to ponder. We'll be closing comments Thursday at 1pm eastern. The most thoughtful answers will be posted in a new entry.

Is this a good use of CEOs' time during a financial crisis?

Do you think driving sends a good message to taxpayers that Detroit is willing to make big changes?

Do you think this is all a wasteful publicity stunt?

WATCH:

Comments

[Lizaxyz]

Perhaps our government should just hand the billions over to "we the people". That way we can help spend the money to keep our economy going...

[AKJM]

I don’t understand this selective outrage concerning the Detroit bailout. When Wall ST needed money to protect investors and speculators it was all good, hec they even threw smart soirees. For a fraction of the monies given Wall St, Detroit is asking for a loan to save millions of jobs. The cost/benefit is beyond debate. If we cannot save Detroit then we have lost the class war, unlimited H1 visas , open borders, unrestricted trade, those of us who work for a living will be earning third world wages next year.

[baghdadjoe]

Fortunately, a lot of companies build cars in the US, not just the failed "Big 3". Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, BMW, and VW all build great high-mileage cars in the USA with American workers. Not only that, but these companies all treat their workers very well and have worked with the unions to improve their lives.

Just because the ruling class in Detroit have run their companies into bankruptcy doesn't mean that the US won't continue to have a vibrant auto industry.

[AKJM]

You forgot the Koreans. Why do you hate America so much?

[rixter1965]

And, of course, there's that whole other issue that --for the first time going to side with Pat Buchanan, et al, regarding NYC elitists -- who pooh-pooh Detroit-company cars while embracing foreign automakers with factories in the US that...

1. take advantage of location in so-called "right to work"/anti-union states of the former confederacy
2. ignore the billions of dollars in tax-breaks, environmental set-asides, etc. that lured European and Asian automakers to Alabama, etc. (the rants of Jeff Sessions take on a new light given these facts)
3. praise Toyota and Honda for their "green cars" ignoring that they introduced alongside the Prius, etc. the Sequoia, the Tundra, the (new) Land Cruiser, the Pilot, the Ridgeline, etc.
4. continue to misrepresent real wages v. legacy costs
5. ignore national health insurance in the home-countries of these automakers
6. ignore Americans buying the trucks, SUVs, etc produced by these companies
7. do not link bad choices (houses not affordable v. salaries, living on credit) to buying foreign products with no consideration of how (cheaply) produced

[Lizaxyz]

Why didn't they just book a frig gin flight on a domestic airline. No one knows who the heck these guys are. It just seems like cheap publicity stunt for their hybrids.

[MadDog]

Cheap is not what these morons were when they flew to Washington the first time. The Three Stooges should be fired as the first condition of a bailout.

[baghdadjoe]

If GM, Ford and Chrysler cars and trucks don't sell now, and aren't going to sell anytime soon, how would a bailout help? It only delays the inevitable for a few months.

Detroit's massive gas-guzzlers are a flop, and it will take years for them to retool and build decent vehicles. And don't forget - they've been at the taxpayer trough before, told us the same lies, then delivered even BIGGER gas-guzzlers.

The free market has decided: these companies have failed to compete in the new century.

[cwhig1848]

These guys are completely hopeless. Completely.

The only way to save the auto industry is to nationalize it.

[CaptainVideo]

We saw how well government owned industry worked in the former Soviet Union.

Even China, whose government is still formally Marxist have moved away from government ownership of industry because it does not work well.

[Ithamer]

It seems odd that we are giving money to the people that were not capable of handling the management of the Auto companies in the first place.
Is that not throwing good money after bad????????????

[CaptainVideo]

No.

The auto companies have made may mistakes that have seriously weakened them, but they would not be facing bankruptcy if the economy were not in a serious recession so that many people are not buying cars that would be buying them if the economy were not in a recession, and because too many people who would be willing to buy cars cannot buy them because they cannot get financing due to the fact the financial system has frozen up.

Neither the recession nor the freezing up of the financial system are the fault of the auto companies. They are the fault of bad government policies.

[Chas53]

Fricken clueless doofuses, especially Gettle(middle)finger. Yea they'll be makin' concessions- oh wait wasn't it just a week or so ago that "middle" said that there wouldn't be any consessions????? What's up with that? Fu*k you Ron, get a life, you loser. Or better yet, get a real job.

[dadele]

34 billion seems like a small investment compared to the 700 + billion we gave, no questions asked , to the financial industry. I would submit, if these companies go out of business it will cost a lot more than 34 billion ( in just the first year).

[baghdadjoe]

But that's not a valid comparison. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve have a tight relationship with the big banks. Together they work to ensure that the US Dollar remains a viable currency.

The US Government doesn't have that kind of relationship with Detroit. But I think that the Feds should nationalize these failed auto companies, and get them to change course. Their corrupt, lazy, incompetent management couldn't figure out how to build a horse-drawn carriage, much less a decent fuel-efficient car.

[NorthernMan]

I have no problem with CEO's flying corporate, in fact if they aren't flying private they are wasting time and money. Their salaries should reflect their performance, fine, but moving them around the country in private jets is the best way to not waste stockholders money. They are paid 10k an hour for most of them, a 9 hour drive while they make 90k dollars listening to am radio or a one hour flight with no delays, internet, phone private conversations and no one coughing on them to keep them healthy? Which is cheaper?

[Revolutionary56]

Hybrids, eh???? How about doing that 20 years ago??? Screw these guys. Too little, way too late.

[anncoulter]

Get on the right page here guys. Quit whining about corporat jets. And quit treating these guys like they are criminals. The CEO's of the auto companies have huge jobs. They all work at least 60+hours a week. Their time is extrememly valuable. I am a shareholder. I don't want these guys slopping around ariports, security lines, parking lots, etc. I want them fixing the problems and getting their companies back on track and back in the profitiable mode. They might be the wrong guys, but that's not a decision to be made by the court of public opinion. The boards-of-directors of the respective companies are there for a reason. As for taking $1 a year in salary...like I said, maybe they are the wrong guys.

[Lizaxyz]

Well when they start asking for our tax payer dollars to help in their survival, then yes, the public (tax payers) should have a whole lot to say about how their money is being spent!!

[baghdadjoe]

A failed business is a failed business. In America, companies that fail file Chapter 11 and then reorganize. That is the American way. Detroit's proposed bailouts are SOCIALISM, and therefore un-American.

Detroit automakers cannot and will not survive without bankruptcy and restructuring. GM alone is burning $5 billion in cash PER MONTH just to continue operations. The $25 billion bailout proposed only puts a few more months on the clock. Ironically, if Congress is dumb enough to try to bail out these failed auto companies they may end up worse off. "Incredible Hulks" from Detroit aren't selling now. They won't sell in January, and they won't sell in February. Where are the clean, practical, fuel-efficient cars of the future?

Look no further than Honda Motor Company:

http://www.honda.com

[rixter1965]

OK, it that is the case, then let's have those Asian and European automakers located in Alabama, etc. reimburse the US for all those tax breaks, etc. they received to locate there.

[PhilipTaylor]

WHY WASTE $700 BILLION on the BANKS?

Just HOW IMPORTANT ARE BANKS IN TODAY's Age of Technology?

It is time for all Americans to have the benefit of the FED Interest Rate that the Paulson Banksters have.
The Banksters get money at 1% right now and then lend it to Americans at 6% to 30% for credit cards.

Just think about that the Banksters pay 1% and we pay 18% to 30% on credit cards and all they do is a little bit of paperwork that could be automated completely. That means they make 18 times to 30 times what they paid for almost no effort. This is why they think all the other scams they invented are OK including the TRICK adjustable Mortgages, the illegal Naked Shorts, the illegal 30 to 1 to 100 to 1 Leveraging, the TOXIC Derivatives, and the Default Swaps among other swaps.

Eliminate most of the Banksters:
1. Nearly all Banking functions are definable by a series of mathematical equations linked to databases and linked to customers.
2. Most Bank Functions can be automated via ATMs and the Internet including loans, cash, and deposits and even planning.
3. What would be lost? Middle men who charge exorbitant FEES and pay top 1,000 Executives $10's Million to $100's Million! A Massive layer of Corruption! An undeserving Industry!

Lets use the $700 Billion to create WEALTH BUILDING INDUSTRIES that EXPORT GOODS!

[EMBWayne]

If the CEOs of the Big Three were concerned about energizing the economy they would have taken the 6030 or 6048 bus to Toledo and the 30 Capitol Limited train to Washington, DC. Travel time approximately 15 hours. Cost under $100 per passenger. Estimated fuel consumption less than 4 gallons.

Let’s see what that trip added to our trade deficit,

3 hybrids @ 522 miles/hybrid = 1,566 miles. Average MPG = 35.

1,566 miles /35 Miles/gallon = 44.74 gallons, trade deficit reduction 40 gallons each way, round trip 80 gallons. A 42 gallon barrel fo oil yields approximately 19.5 gallons of gasoline plus other products.

80 gallons/ 19.5 gallons/barrel = 4.10 barrels of imported oil. The CEOs of the Big Automakers just added 4.10 barrels @ $46.79 /barrel increased our trade deficit by $ 192 and passed up an opportunity send a message to all Americans that we are in this together and look we’re constantly looking for ways to reduce expenses and our trade deficit while saving the environment.

That’s $ 192 that the United States will not have to borrow abroad. Who will be loaning us that $192?

That $192 will be circulating in the United States creating work and opportunity.

And 3 of the most powerful executives on the planet send a message that they care about the success of the entire United States and the health of the planet not just the health of their paychecks.

Ed

[Giada]

PR move ... where are the solutions?