By Robert Farago
November 21, 2008 -
If FoMoCo CEO Alan Mulally is disembarking The Blue Oval corporate jet and entering a Lexus, that’s one Big Ass story. It’s summer in the video (and our hearts), and the graphic says 2008. That’s long enough for Big Al to have ditched his Lexus and hooked-up with something domestic. Lincoln MKZHRG? Volvo S80? [While TTAC has long argued that Motown execs should drive their competitors' products, Big Al ain't driving here. And if it is a Lexus sedan, methinks Mr. M knew the transplant brand well enough by then.] Eddy and I aren’t sure. The headlight shape doesn’t look Ford like, but the wheels don’t look Lexian. Ed’s thinking maybe it’s a Cadillac DTS. I’m calling ABC News to try and get the video sans graphic. Meanwhile, help!
Subscribe to New Content Alerts28 Comments on “ Ask the Best and Brightest: Is That a Lexus in the Jet-Gate Video? ”
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POWERED
November 21st, 2008 at 10:31 am
It’s a Lexus LS430. Mullaly took a lot of flack for it when he arrived in Dearborn because it’s his car from when he worked at Boeing. If memory serves, he held onto it as a symbol of saying “I want to drive a good car.” Since that video is a year or so old, that may have changed.
Here’s closer look at the wheels that can help distinguish it.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lexus_LS_430_Black_Onyx.jpg
November 21st, 2008 at 10:37 am
Yeah, it definitely looks like an LS430 to me, the DTS’s tailights don’t wrap around the side of the body like that
November 21st, 2008 at 10:38 am
LS 430 for sure.
It is a good car…
November 21st, 2008 at 10:39 am
It’s a Lexus LS400/430. The short hood and headlight along with the tail light housing that doesn’t run the full height of the rear fender is the give away that it’s not a DTS.
One issue with the footage is that the guy holding the door is wearing shorts. Based on the weather this week here in Minneapolis, I doubt anyone in Detroit or Washington DC is wearing shorts.
It could be footage from when Mullaly was being courted by Bill Ford Jr. It was widely reported at the time that Mullaly drove a Lexus then.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:39 am
He probably wants to make sure he gets to his destination.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:47 am
100% positive that’s a Lexus LS430.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:49 am
It’s an LS430, with the Ultra Luxury package (it has chrome wheels). I own one, I recognize the silhouette.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:01 am
He might still have the Lexus in Washington, but that’s not what he drives in Michigan.
It was bought and paid for with his own money long before he came to Ford. There’s no story here.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:03 am
I would think Lincoln buyers would feel better knowing that Lincoln’s designers and engineers have to deal with a boss who drives an LS430, and wouldn’t swallow any “we’re just as good as Lexus” crap.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Can’t blame him for keeping his own car…not like he is getting a new one every year.
Finally, I think it does say alot about Mullaly for driving a competitor’s car…especially from Toyota. He wanted the best that was not obscenely extravagent, but was also reliable and well-made. Definitely makes him less “blind” to what Ford is offering.
Except for a Jag Super V8, Ford hasn’t offered anything since Mullaly has been there. Now Ford’s flagship car, for all practical purposes, is an S80 V8 (which would be fine with me).
November 21st, 2008 at 11:05 am
Well, looking at the front 3/4 I would say it’s that big KIA that has a different name in the US, so with that in mind, it’s probably a Lexus LS430.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
I’m gonna jump on this LS430 bandwagon. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a 460, but I didn’t imagine Mullaly wasn’t rocking the latest models. Hence the DTS guess, but I’m with ya now. 430 it is.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am
Wow, you guys at TTAC can’t tell that’s a prev-gen Lexus 430? hmmm…
November 21st, 2008 at 11:38 am
+1 on the Lexus LS430, the taillamps and headlamps say it all.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
Come on now Farago, you should know that Mullaly used to drive a Lexus LS430 while he was at Boeing. (he kept it, but started driving a variety of Ford products as his daily drivers)
Also, like others have said, one of the guys is wearing shorts, and Mullaly himself doesn’t have a jacket on. It’s 41 degrees today in Washington, and has been around that temp (or colder) since the beginning of the week. There is no way in hell that this video is recent.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:46 am
This is not the ‘Jet-Gate’ video. The guy next to Mullaly is wearing shorts, and Mullaly himself doesn’t have a jacket on. It’s 41 degrees in D.C. today, and has been that cold (or colder all week).
The video you’re looking at is at the very least from last summer, but probably is from when Mullaly first came to Ford. (because he parked the Lexus and started driving a variety of Ford products instead)
November 21st, 2008 at 11:49 am
Its a previous-gen Lexus LS430. Wasn’t that obvious?
November 21st, 2008 at 11:55 am
If I could afford one, I’d take a Lexus LS430 in a Ford Heartbeat.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:55 am
Thanks for the link love on that original post, Robert. Allow me: http://www.automobilesdeluxe.tv/is-fords-ceo-still-driving-a-lexus/
November 21st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
If that’s not an LS-430, I will buy a Ford.
*Actually, no, I won’t… But that’s still an LS-430, and a glarring addmission to the, “crapposity,” of our cars.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Nothing wrong with the guy driving a competitor’s vehicle.
Like someone mentioned above, the last thing we want Mullaly to do is to start thinking of the current Lincolns as top notch because he hasn’t driven anything else.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Yup, previous generation LS
November 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Guess he’d figured “f&*k it, the MKS looks like a cheap Lexus so I might as well show up in the real thing
November 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
For the MOT’s on the board, Ford backward is
D - Definitely
R - Returns
O - On
F - Foot
November 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I got to say that Ford has a cultural tradition of driving their own products. In fact, as a vendor, we used to try very hard to show up in a Ford when visiting Ford.
If that’s his own car, he should have traded. It’s not like he can’t afford it. There is plenty wrong with a Lincoln, and he should learn about that first hand.
As I said in another thread, the car could belong to the FBO (gas station for planes).
November 21st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I too am apt to dislike the guy but, as I recall, that ABC news clip eventually shows Mulally hopping in the driver’s seat.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Its either an S-class or a ls430.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
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