Mulally to Work for $1

Finally some sense from an American automaker.

Alan Mulally strikes me as being the most competent out of the Big Three, anyways. This is a good move to shore up public opinion, and he has separated Ford from the rest of the groveling pack. If the remaining two American automakes wanting handouts don't want to be made to look foolish, they'll have to follow suit.

Smart, smart move by Ford. Very smart.

*edit* Looks like GM and Chrysler have done the same thing.

Ford still seems in the best shape:

Ford, meanwhile, is not expected to immediately seek the loans. Mulally told Congress last month that the company would only seek funding if the U.S. market continued to deteriorate. He mortgaged factories to arrange a $23.4 billion credit line shortly after taking over the company in 2006 and he has said Ford can last at least until 2010.

And haha:

Ford said that Mulally will travel by car when he returns later in the week. Chrysler and GM said their CEOs will not fly by corporate jet, but neither company has said if the executives will fly on commercial airlines or drive.

I drive a Jeep, which is owned by Chrysler. I have a fondness for American things, and I would like to see these companies succeed. But whatever my idyllic sentiments, the market seems to have rejected these three companies.