DETROIT — This city does not normally embrace the idea of carpooling. But these are not normal times in Detroit.
Car dealers, parts makers, union leaders and others hoping to convince lawmakers that the industry is an indispensable piece of the economy are planning a caravan to Washington in early December. The 525-mile drive will occur as auto executives make a second plea for federal assistance. The caravan participants are not asking for money directly, but are among those who would suffer if the industry collapsed.
As of now, the three executives — Rick Wagoner of General Motors, Alan R. Mulally of Ford Motor and Robert L. Nardelli of Chrysler — are not planning to join the carpool, though they are trying to burnish their image on Capitol Hill. The three executives were chastised for traveling to Washington last week by corporate jets. (“Couldn’t you have downgraded to first class or something, or jet-pooled or something to get here?” asked Representative Gary Ackerman, Democrat of New York.)
It is unclear how the executives might get to Washington when Congress reconvenes Dec. 8 to consider an aid package, but “it can be safely assumed it will not be by company plane,” a G.M. spokesman, Greg Martin, said.
The automakers, which are seeking a $25 billion bridge loan to help weather the downturn and the tight credit markets, have expressed support for the caravan, though they are not organizing it. Both Chrysler and General Motors have said that they are rapidly running out of cash.
“We think it’s a very important opportunity to tell the story of the role that dealers and suppliers play in the auto industry and the U.S. economy,” a Ford spokesman, Mike Moran, said. Mr. Moran noted that no Congressional committees had specifically asked the executives to offer more testimony.
The idea for a giant carpool to drive home Detroit’s importance, so to speak, came from discussions involving Timothy D. Leuliette, the head of Dura Automotive Systems, a parts supplier; Jason Vines, a former public relations executive with Chrysler and Ford; and dealers like Carl Galeana, who sells domestic and foreign brands at showrooms in Florida, Michigan and South Carolina.
Mr. Galeana said the browbeating that the executives received in Washington last week indicated to him that Congress did not comprehend the auto industry’s true breadth and had an outdated perception of Detroit.
“There was a groundswell of frustration after the hearings, not just here in Detroit but from dealers all over the country,” Mr. Galeana said. “We’re not saying this is going to be some explosive ‘Walk on Washington.’ It’s nothing radical, just a quiet show of support just to say we’re here and this is who we are, and to put a face on the automotive industry. It’s more than so-called Rust Belt factories.”
Initially, organizers intended to assemble a convoy of numerous fuel-efficient, American-made vehicles to demonstrate the innovation coming from Detroit, but it might end up being more about the people involved than the products.
“From an efficiency standpoint, getting a bus or two would probably be the best way to go,” Mr. Galeana said.
The group is planning a quick trip, perhaps leaving Dec. 7 and heading back late the next day, with no stops for rallies or demonstrations. During the approximately nine-hour drive, they will undoubtedly pass much evidence of the industry’s troubles — foreclosed homes in Michigan, vacant lots where dealerships recently closed and G.M.’s Lordstown assembly plant along the Ohio Turnpike. G.M. is laying off more than 1,000 workers at Lordstown and doubling the length of its annual holiday shutdown to four weeks because of slow sales.
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