(Updates throughout, Previous DEARBORN)
DETROIT, April 28 (Reuters) - Detroit auto makers threw their weight on Monday behind President George W. Bush's call for tax cuts to help revive the shaky U.S. economy, a top industry official said.
The chief executives of General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG met Bush after he delivered a speech on Iraqi reconstruction to Arab-Americans in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.
Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said Bush received unanimous support for his tax cut plan during the closed-door talks, which lasted about half an hour.
"I'd say there was no disagreement between the four people in that room, that we all were hoping for the same outcome," Zetsche told Reuters.
"We'd definitely appreciate some kind of kick-start for the economy," he added, referring to Bush's plan, the centerpiece of which would eliminate taxes paid by shareholders on corporate dividends.
Zetsche said Bush acknowledged during the meeting that consumer incentives, such as interest-free loans, had helped sustain auto sales and provide important support for the economy in recent months.
He said Bush also understood that Detroit's profit-gouging price war had its limits. "He understands that you only can go so far down that road," Zetsche said.
With the war in Iraq winding down, Bush has launched an all-out effort to round up votes for his tax cut package. He plans to meet on Tuesday with congressional leaders and travel to California later this week to drum up public support.
The president has little choice but to compromise after the Republican-led Congress scaled back the $726 billion package he proposed in January. The House of Representatives set a $550 billion cap on new tax cuts; the Senate drew the line at $350 billion.
$550 BILLION MINIMUM
Bush has seized on the $550 billion House bill as the minimum needed to revive the economy and is stepping up pressure on the few moderate Republicans who have joined with Democrats in blocking its passage in the narrowly divided Senate.
In a bid to win them over, the White House is considering implementing half of Bush's proposed dividend tax cut up front, with the rest phased in over a decade. The White House may also propose a seven-year tax cut -- rather than a 10-year tax bill -- to reduce the price tag.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said on Sunday a tax-cut package of up to $450 billion could be obtained by offsetting a further $100 billion in tax cuts with unspecified reductions in spending and by plugging what he described as corporate tax loopholes.
But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush would continue to fight for a 100 percent dividend exclusion, "not scaled back."
"We're pleased to see a willingness from the various parties on the Hill to come together so that the economy can grow and jobs get created," Fleischer said. "We will continue to work with Congress on the exact details of it."