Ford boss says he will work for $1 - and drive rather than fly

America's Big Three cars makers are seeking US$25 billion in loans to help them through the financial crisis but they were attacked by lawmakers two weeks ago for arriving in Washington for talks in company-owned jets and for paying huge wages to executives.

The round trip from Detroit by corporate jet cost an estimated US$36,000 and Mulally has decided to make the trip by road in a Ford Escape hybrid SUV - taking nine hours each way.

He also tells the Wall Street Journal that he will agree to cut his annual salary to just $1. Mulally, who joined Ford from Boeing Co. two years ago, previously said that the carmaker would consider executive compensation limits in return for the loans. According to news reports his salary is around US$21 million a year.

Ford also says it is considering selling its fleet of five corporate jets while General Motors has put four of its fleet of seven aircraft up for sale. GM, however, has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to remove its jets from flight tracking services so that people cannot see when and where the aircraft are being used.

Data recorded on flight tracking services, publicly available on websites like flightaware.com, revealed that GM CEO Rick Wagoner flew from Detroit to Washington on a Gulfstream jet for last month's bailout talks.

Credits: JRC