With all of the hand-wringing, gnashing of teeth and fears over the fate of GM and Chrysler (will they or won't they file Chapter 11, what will become of taxpayer dollars, etc.), something appears to have fallen off the radar screen and out of the headlines: the Ford Motor Company.

Thanks to Bill Ford and his corporate board who had the foresight to bring in Alan Mulally when they did and give him the leeway to restructure Ford's management, finances and operations, this company has maintained its independence and has a fighting chance to make it the old-fashioned American way -- through ingenuity and hard work.

Although Ford is far from healthy and may still not survive in the long term, the employees, shareholders, creditors and other constituents of the firm deserve recognition for what they've done and the course they've charted. Unlike GM and Chrysler, they haven't become pigs at the public trough and wards of the state.

Mulally took his lumps in the congressional hearings, but he didn't take the bailout billions. I'm cheering for them, and I hope they make it.

For the record, I never worked for Ford, never purchased their stock or bonds, nor owned one of their cars. In fact, I haven't purchased an American automobile since 1984 (since it lasted just three years); but if I did or decided to reconsider my purchase options, I'd stop at Ford.

Tom Cecka

Pinehurst