Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. asked Congress for a credit line of as much as $9 billion, saying it expects to break even or be profitable before taxes in 2011.

The automaker said it hopes to avoid using the credit and doesn’t anticipate a 2009 “liquidity crisis,” barring a competitor’s bankruptcy or more severe economic slump. Ford plans to sell five jets and would pay Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally a $1 annual salary if the loan is used. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC were to submit plans later today.

“We hope that we can work something out” with the automakers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters. “We don’t want to throw them a lifeline if the lifeline doesn’t get them to the shore.” Lawmakers set hearings for Dec. 4 and 5 and may vote on an aid proposal next week.

Ford, GM and Chrysler must convince a divided Congress their plans to shrink are severe enough to ensure repayment of $25 billion in proposed loans. Lawmakers are split on whether aid should come from a $700 billion bank-rescue fund or Energy Department loans approved in September.

“Our expectation is that they go and duly genuflect and appear to be repentant,” said Eric Noble, president of Car Lab, an Orange, California-based consulting firm for automakers including GM, Chrysler and Toyota Motor Corp.

GM, which along with Ford and Chrysler was criticized for using corporate jets to get to Washington last month, said in a statement it will halt travel on such aircraft starting Jan. 1 and is pursuing the sale of four planes.

Rick Wagoner, GM’s chief, will drive to this week’s hearings in company vehicles such as a gasoline-electric Malibu sedan, said Tony Cervone, a spokesman for the Detroit-based company. Wagoner also would work for $1 a year, he said.

‘Learned a Lot’

“We all learned a lot at the last hearing,” Mulally said today in an interview. “We’re going to focus this time on what our plans are to create a viable, profitably growing Ford.”

Mulally left for Washington today in a Ford Escape hybrid sport-utility vehicle, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company’s marketing chief, Jim Farley, said on a conference call.

The auto companies must show that their plans will enable them to repay the proposed U.S. loans, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today.

“We are sticking to our guns in that these companies need to prove they are viable,” Perino told reporters traveling to Greensboro, North Carolina, with President George W. Bush.

Ford rose 9 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $2.64 at 2:57 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. GM gained 1 cent to $4.60.

November Sales Decline

GM, Ford and Toyota said today that November U.S. sales tumbled more than 30 percent as the recession and congressional aid pleas kept buyers away from showrooms. Sales fell 41 percent, at GM, 31 percent at Ford and 34 percent at Toyota.

Ford’s proposal includes investing about $14 billion in the next seven years to improve vehicle fuel efficiency. The second- largest U.S. automaker in its statement also calls for focusing on its namesake brand through efforts such as exploring the sale of its Volvo unit.

“There is very little in the way of new initiatives” in the proposal, Credit Suisse Securities analyst Christopher Ceraso said in a note. “Most of the document submitted to the Congress is an outline of the company’s existing plan.” He rates Ford shares “neutral.”

The company reiterated that it’s canceling management bonuses worldwide in 2009, and for all employees in North America. Ford also said it’s in talks with the United Auto Workers union on further labor-cost reductions.

The UAW called an emergency meeting for tomorrow to consider concessions that make it less costly to cut jobs, people familiar with that session said. The companies report November sales today that probably extended a 15 percent slide through October.

‘Taxpayer Protections’

Should Ford use the loan, its plan backs “taxpayer protections” through stock warrants. The price at which they could be exercised and the number of shares would be determined by the price of Ford shares when the financing is tapped.

“Government loans would serve as a critical backstop or safeguard against worsening conditions,” Mulally said in the company’s statement.

Ford, which isn’t as desperate for cash aid as GM and Chrysler, said that as of Sept. 30 it had $19 billion in cash and $11 billion in available credit lines. The company is taking steps such as reducing capital spending to improve its cash position by $14 billion to $17 billion through 2010.

The automaker also said the number of U.S. Ford dealers by the end of this year will be down 14 percent from 2005 “to increase efficiency and promote mutual profitability.”

GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, has said it may be short of cash to pay monthly bills by year’s end. Wagoner will cut debt and shuffle U.S. brands, people familiar with the matter said.

GM has no plan to file for bankruptcy, said Mark LaNeve, its North American sales chief, on a conference call today.

To contact the reporters on this story: John Hughes in Washington at Jhughes5@bloomberg.net; Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 2, 2008 14:58 EST