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“Couldn’t you all have downgraded to first class or jet pooled or something to get here?.

That question, from Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) to the chief executives of GM, Chrysler and Ford during Congressional hearings, has come to define the debate over a proposed Congressional bailout of the auto industry. Tone-deaf CEOs flying into Washington in corporate jets to ask for a handout to save their businesses have become a symbol of all that is wrong with Detroit. Or, as the Big Three’s defenders would put it, the incident serves to solidify myths in the minds of millions of Americans that might doom an industry.

Either way, it’s a mistake they won’t make again. The Washington Post reports, “A plan is taking shape for auto suppliers, dealers and factory workers to caravan from Detroit to Washington in American-made, fuel-efficient vehicles” for another round of bailout hearings. Congress has asked automakers to return on Dec. 2 with detailed plans for how any bailout money would be spent.

The AP adds, “The aim is to build grassroots support for a federal aid package in the wake of criticism that executives from General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and the United Auto Workers did not make a convincing case at congressional hearings last week.” The idea, first proposed by executives of the auto supplier Dura Automotive, “soon gained support from the Big Three and the UAW.” The caravan would “hold a rally in Detroit and then set off on a road trip to Washington with stops along the way for rallies and news conferences.”

None of the three CEOs involved in last week’s hearings has committed to riding in the caravan yet, but all are said to be entertaining the idea. GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told the AP, “As for our mode of transport, it can be safely assumed it will not be by company plane.” A spokesman for Chrysler “said the automaker was reviewing the plan and had not yet taken a position while Ford spokesman Mike Moran said ‘We absolutely support their effort. But we are not involved in putting it together.’”

Newsday asks, “How funny (or fitting?) would it be to see the chief executives of the Detroit Three crammed into a Chevrolet Aveo and bouncing along the interstate on their next trip to Washington, D.C.?” They note, “The trip is 524 miles and takes almost nine hours, according to Mapquest.com,” so “auto experts say the three would be wise to leave the Escalades, Expeditions, Corvettes, V-8 Mustangs and most certainly the Vipers at home and go with their most fuel-efficient models.”

They suggest that perhaps the motley crew head to the emerald city in a line of Ford Fiestas — a fuel-efficient small car due in showrooms in 2010. Or perhaps, for Chrysler’s executive team, “the experimental electric minivan it showed off in Los Angeles last week.”

Edmunds Inside Line comments, “Put the Chevy Volt in the pole position for that caravan.”

Of course, Chevy has never shown the press a fully working Volt prototype that can get up to highway speed. And the automaker has said repeatedly that it would lose money on the first Volts, but is willing to make that investment in order to get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. Perhaps showing up in an unprofitable vehicle you hope to build in three years to submit your business survival plan might not be their best move – even if they had one that worked.

Detroit-area car dealer Carl Galeana tells the Post the point is symbolism. “Washington needs to get the idea that this affects every small town in America,” he said. “A caravan coming from Detroit might be a good metaphor.”

He may have a point, but let’s hope it’s a caravan of functional, profitable, fuel-efficient cars. But the fact that Detroit might have difficulty pulling that off without resorting to experimental cars 2010 or 2011 models might discourage Congress more than the corporate jet incident.

While the bailout debate goes on, automakers are trying to sell cars as fast as possible with deep discounts. Research the best car deals for November with U.S. News’ Car Reviews.