WASHINGTON — When Detroit’s Big Three automakers return to Capitol Hill next week to re-plead their case for a $25 billion emergency loan, they may be flanked by a posse of supporters.
A plan is taking shape for auto suppliers, dealers and factory workers to caravan from Detroit to Washington in U.S. made, fuel-efficient vehicles.
The National Automobile Dealers Association is considering flying in dealers from around the country to deliver the “message of Main Street,” underscoring the urgency of the industry’s crisis.
Discussions on the lobbying efforts began last week immediately after the top executives from Ford, General Motors and Chrysler appeared before a skeptical Congress, setting off a wave of anger and frustration within the auto industry.
“It was clear from the comments from the members of Congress that what they knew about Detroit pretty much stopped at 1999,” said Peter M. De Lorenzo, a former automotive advertising executive and editor of the Autoextremist blog, a must-read for industry insiders. “They regurgitated all the same stuff: Detroit doesn’t make vehicles anyone wants. Detroit doesn’t have high-tech expertise. Detroit doesn’t make fuel-efficient cars.”
Detroit-area car dealer Carl Galeana said he was infuriated when a CNBC reporter covering the hearing asked viewers, “Who buys these cars anyway?” Last year, about half of the vehicles sold in the United States were made by the Big Three.
Jason Vines, a former Chrysler executive, wrote a guest column in Automotive News calling for a march to the Capitol.
The idea of carpooling was picked up by Dura Automotive Systems, a Michigan auto parts maker. Then fuel-efficient vehicles were added to the budding scheme, gaining momentum over the weekend.
“Maybe this doesn’t reach fruition, but Washington needs to get the idea that this affects every small town in America,” Galeana said. “A caravan coming from Detroit might be a good metaphor.”
