Top-Paid USA auto execs

Executives at the top U.S.-based auto companies received compensation packages worth an average of $4.2 million in 2006, a year in which two-thirds of their companies failed to post profits, according to a Detroit Free Press analysis.

Rules for reporting executive compensation changed for this year's filings, but a comparison of similar categories showed that total compensation for these executives rose 22% from 2005 when the average compensation was $3.5 million.

Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally ranked first in the analysis with a total compensation package of $39.1 million, which included an $18.5-million bonus for leaving the Boeing Co. to take the top job at the Dearborn-based automaker. Ford executives accounted for six of the top 15 spots in the rankings, which looked at 80 executives for 14 publicly traded companies.

Name Company Pay
Alan Mulally Ford Motor Co. $39,128,100
John M. Barth Johnson Controls $30,756,614
James Padilla Ford Motor Co. $15,489,659
Stephen A. Roell Johnson Controls $14,514,725
A. M. Cutler Eaton Corp. $12,096,994
Keith E. Wandell Johnson Controls $11,461,499
Mark Fields Ford Motor Co. $10,858,886
John C. Plant TRW Automotive $10,376,215
Rick Wagoner General Motors $ 9,573,556
Don Leclair Ford Motor Co. $ 7,992,593
Richard E. Dauch American Axle $ 7,541,367
Lewis W.K. Booth Ford Motor Co. $ 7,425,983
R. Bruce McDonald Johnson Controls $ 6,745,781
Mark A. Schulz Ford Motor Co. $ 6,590,366
William Clay Ford Jr. Ford Motor Co. $ 5,343,841
Michael F. Johnston Visteon Corp. $ 5,271,987
Timothy M. Manganello BorgWarner Inc. $ 5,153,799
José Maria Alapont Federal-Mogul $ 5,101,314
Bob Lutz General Motors $ 5,086,120
Steven Lunn TRW Automotive $ 5,066,441