WASHINGTON (AP) -- Embattled auto company chief executives scored some points with Congress by driving -- instead of flying -- to the hearings on a possible federal assistance package.
Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, remained dubious, though.
"I wonder if they're going to drive back?" he asked, to the sound of chuckles in the Banking Committee hearing room Thursday.
"It depends on what we do here," speculated committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
All three company heads subsequently told the committee that they, indeed, would return home by car.
The heads of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC had taken a hit last month when they traveled to the capital on their private jets to plead for a federal bailout.
The auto executives this time made the 520-mile trip to Washington in hybrid cars. Underscoring the different approach, GM chief executive officer Rick Wagoner and other executives with his company ate lunch Wednesday at Quiznos at a Pennsylvania rest stop along the way.