After almost a year of being the chair of Ford Motor Company, what has happened to the Dearborn automaker with Allan Mullaly at the lead? According to Micheline Maynard writing for the New York Times, ?everything and nothing.?

Allan Mullaly exited Boeing and entered the doors of Ford Motors last September. His appointment made him the first outsider to run the Detroit Auto Company, known for competitiveness both with external and internal rivals.

He recently put up the sale of Ford?s British nameplates, the Land Rover, Jaguar and the Aston Martin. On the other hand, he revived the Taurus Sedan nameplate which had been relegated to a rental car. He is also responsible for mortgaging Ford?s entire asset to get the needed billions of dollars for the company?s restructuring.

Allan Mullaly, 62, is leading the troubled US automaker at a time when everyone is doubtful of its future. Ford Motors (also maker of Ford catalytic converter) is now second to Toyota in the American Market.

?Ford?s turnaround is still in its infancy,? said Gimme Credit senior analyst Shelly Lombard in an interview with the New York Times.

After the ousting of Ford of executives like Lee A. Iacocca and Jacques A. Nasser, Mullaly?s moves have been closely watched by the scrutinizing eyes of the press and people from the automotive industry.

After all the criticisms made on his management, Allan Mullaly plans to continue the on-going restructuring program during his arrival a year ago, saying ?I believe we have a really good plan? in an interview.

Unlike other new executives who also appoint a number of new officers, NY Times reports that Mullaly has only recruited one Boeing official to be his consultant. Most people in his team are Ford officials even before he arrived. He promoted Derrick M. Kuzak and Susan M. Cishke to be in charge of global product development and senior vice-president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering respectively.

According to the company?s executives, the biggest change Mullaly has caused in the company is Ford moving forward to competition not just with General Motors and Chrysler.

Upon Mullaly?s entry late last year, Ford has held 16 percent of the US market which lowered down to 13.5 percent mid this year, according to statistics from Autodata, a firm that detects industry statistics.

Will Alan Mullaly succeed in turning things around for Ford? Let?s hope he does, and does it soon.

When people talk about off-roading and how much fun it is, it?s highly likely that you?ll also hear them mentioning the famed Jeep in the same breath, as Jeep is world-renowned for its mud-plugging potential.

Now the iconic off-roader comes in an even more fun package, not to mention a survivalist gear that?s guaranteed to make any zealous outdoorsman jump with glee.

EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles, says its website, are designed to travel to four-wheel drive accessible, remote locations and provide a comfortable year-round camping experience without dependence on external power or utility hook ups.

EarthRoamer has recently introduced a tweaked Wrangler ? one that will definitely be the object of desire for off-road enthusiast yet. The XV-JP comes equipped with the usual upgraded suspension, winch, high-intensity lighting and other necessities for a serious off-road excursion, but there’s more. There?s also the complete camping setup, including a tent mounted atop the roof offering users three different material choices to match the elements, along with a queen-size bed, a solar power battery backup, an engine-heated hot water tank and a cassette toilet. Now that makes for a dream camper, doesn?t it?

Here are more details from the company?s website (www.earthroamer.com/):

EarthRoamer XV-JP

The Jeep Rubicon Unlimited based EarthRoamer XV-JP is designed to carry two adults on technical four-wheel drive trails to remote camping locations. Once in camp, the XV-JP’s Loftop? can be deployed to provide nearly 9 feet of interior stand up height and a queen-size bed in the loft. Underneath the cantilevered loft, the rear tent can be dropped down for an additional bug free living space. The XV-JP comes equipped with 25 gallons of fresh water capacity, an inside cassette toilet, inside shower, sink and cooking facilities. Plenty of light and ventilation is provided by an abundance of screened windows. An electric fan provides additional ventilation when needed and the forced air furnace will keep you cozy on cold nights and when winter camping.

About EarthRoamer

The company says its website, places high importance in preserving the environment for generations to come. This is the primary reason why they design renewable energy sources like solar and biodiesel into their systems. All of their vehicles utilize solar energy as a primary power source for lights and appliances.

About Jeep

Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. The marque, like all other Chrysler subsidiaries, became part of DaimlerChrysler when Daimler-Benz merged with the Chrysler Corporation in 1998. Jeep is also maker of top of the line Jeep parts like the Jeep catalytic converter.

The Ford Motor Co. will be giving workers bonuses tied to company performance. This will be made in return for union concessions.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Dearborn-based automaker is proposing annual bonuses for union workers based on the company’s performance as part of its effort to win more favorable contract terms from the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Detroit News reported the bonuses would be similar to those CEO Alan Mulally authorized in March to reward workers for their efforts to turn around the company’s struggling U.S. automobile operations. The automaker intends to formalize the bonus system so hourly workers are evaluated by the same criteria as salaried employees.

Ford?s new system is aimed at replacing the current profit-sharing formula of the company. Nonetheless, Ford?s workers will still receive the same annual lump-sum payouts that the union negotiated with General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

If the bonuses become part of the Dearborn automaker?s contract, it would mean a significant break with terms offered by both GM and Chrysler. But the Dearborn automaker will also be demanding more in return. It would not be putting a halt to the issue as swift as EBC Redstuff.

The report said that Ford wants more restrictions on its jobs bank program, which continues to provide pay and benefits to idled workers. Additionally, the automaker wants to make sure the retiree health care deal that was the backbone of the GM and Chrysler agreements is structured to give it as much relief as possible as fast as possible.

Ford also wants to make some provision for approximately 7,500 former Visteon Corp. workers that it agreed to take back as part of a 2005 bailout of its former parts subsidiary. That is likely to cover another round of voluntary buyouts for UAW members.

“Both Ford and the UAW are indicating that these discussions will be to the point and that they will be able to avoid a strike,” said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California-Berkeley. “The union wants to see a successful Ford. There is no question about that.”

Analysts say a successful Ford turnaround will require significantly different contract terms than the UAW agreed to with GM and Chrysler. They added that it will take a couple of years for the real benefits of that deal to kick in.

“I don’t think Ford has that kind of time. They need the money now,” said Sean McAlinden, the chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. “There has to be a significant change in the pattern to get Ford out of the hole.”

He said that it is unlikely Ford will be able to completely close the approximately $30-per-hour labor cost gap with its Asian rivals with this contract, but it likely will be able to narrow it even more than GM and Chrysler have with their agreements.

The plan is easy to comprehend. Bonuses would be based on the company’s progress on four goals ? profitability, market share, cost performance and quality.

Those bonuses were seen as nothing short of revolutionary in an industry where the partition between hourly and salaried employees has been deep and wide. “One of my priorities is to bring us together as team,” Mulally said at the time. “Only as a team will we achieve what we all desire – a new, more competitive and more viable Ford Motor Co. that works for everyone.”

No final date was set for resuming formal negotiations with Ford. Ford execs said that they want time to study the terms of the tentative agreement the UAW reached Wednesday with Chrysler and compare them with the ratified GM pact.

Whether street racing, drag racing, or track racing, one thing is for sure – the winners know they need the best performance race car parts as part of their winning strategy. As part of the massive auto racing sport industry, the race car parts companies that design, build, and continue pushing the limits of what was previously possible, are as essential to the street and the sport as the race car drivers are themselves.

For starters, many beginners in racing decide to begin their hobbies with a stock, off the street, automobile and add performance-tuned race car parts from there. This is a fantastic way to get going in racing. Whether just seeking enhanced street performance or thinking about taking a car to the track, a few simple modifications can take even a standard stock-model vehicle to a whole new level.

For example, one of the most popular race car part inspired performance boosting accessories for almost any type of car is the cold air intake and easy-breathing air filter. An add on that generally takes just an hour or two for the shade tree mechanic to install, a cold air intake is an easy way to score 5 to 10 extra horsepower with ease (and better gas mileage too).

Other popular racing parts that are popular among high performance street automobile enthusiasts include performance enhancing engine control computer chips, race ready lightweight engine components, low flow exhaust systems (from the catalytic converter and back, also known as “catback,” for remaining street legal), and of course cross-drilled brake discs to help the car stop as quickly as it goes. Common accessory body components such as body kits and rear spoilers are inspired by race car parts that improve aerodynamics and stability.

Beyond enhancing street performance, when a racer is really serious about racing, there are certain race car parts that are not only essential, but also required by official sanctioned rules and regulations. This is where on-track racing really starts to get pricy.

Safety race car parts like roll cages and fuel cells go hand in hand with serious racing. The bottom line is clear – they’re just a required part of playing the game. Beginners to auto sports would be wise to understand this from the very beginning as they build their garage full of race car parts and equipment.

When it comes down to it, a variety of race car parts are part of the performance-minded automotive enthusiast’s arsenal. It doesn’t matter if a car will never exceed the speed limit or if it’s the record breaking top fuel dragster, cutting-edge race car parts are an essential part of the winning car strategy – from improving fuel economy to winning serious races.

We all accept the fact that the lighter the backpack, the easier and quicker the climb to the top of the mountain. We all understand that the lighter the load on an airplane, the higher and faster it can fly. We pay extra for high octane fuel so our car will operate more efficiently. Then why don?t we apply the same wisdom to our bodies and our dreams?

The Need for Speed

We know that the cleaner the gasoline we feed our car, the faster, further and longer our car will run?and with less wear and tear. Gee, what would our Earth adventure be like if we tried this same approach with our personal lives?

Clean, Lean Energy Machine

When we feed our bodies and goals with clean, lean fuel, we have the strength and stamina to create our dreams with ease, speed and longevity?and look good doing it to boot!

Shamanize Your Life

A shaman eats to live, rather than living to eat. A shamaness uses food to fuel her dream, rather than to be her dream. A shaman knows that the true purpose of food is to give us the energy to express our unique spirit fully and gracefully.

Food is Not Only Physical

I?m not talking only about the eating of physical food. Everything we take into our energy field is food?for our body and for our soul. Every thought, conversation and activity either gives us energy, or takes energy away from us.

Self-loving people only eat?take in?those interactions and pursuits that nourish them and increase their level of aliveness. When a relationship, job or belief leaves you drained, tired or confused, that fuel is not nurturing. But when you have a friend who inspires, encourages and validates you, you prosper by hanging out with that person. When you go to a livelihood each day that allows you to fully express your true spirit, you?re enriched by that calling. When you have a conviction that bears beauty and bounty in your life, you?re served well by that point of view.

Eat What is Most Digestible

Take in those foods, people and endeavors that you most easily digest, assimilate and integrate. The less energy it takes to absorb a certain fare, personality or enterprise, the more energy you are ultimately going to get out of it. This is the good judgment of choosing ?low maintenance? lovers and friends versus the ?high maintenance? of demanding, discontented partners.

Eat Only What?s Necessary

Take in only the amount of worldly nourishment, resources and social exchange that is ideal for peak performance. When Jesus advises us to ?fast from the world,? he?s not suggesting we refrain from eating altogether, or cease interacting with the world totally. The savvy sage uses the word ?fast? to mean ?fast from excess.? Eat only the amount of physical fuel you need for optimal efficiency of your body. Interact with the turbulence of social affairs only to the degree necessary to accomplish your goals. Lean and clean.

This is the strategy shamans refer to as ?touching the world lightly.? Be involved with cultural conventions only to the degree necessary to function socially. Overeating physical food can cause sluggishness, nausea and constipation. Over-absorption with the limitations and contradictions of cultural mores can cause you to get confused, drained, overwhelmed, emotionally backed up?and, consequently, very ineffective and unhappy. Be in the world, but not ?of it.?

Go to Bed Empty

Go to sleep with an empty stomach, clear mind, and peaceful heart, so that your body and being have the greatest opportunity to rest and recharge. When the body has to spend the night digesting a stomach full of food, then it doesn?t have the time or energy to heal and balance. When we go to bed with a troubled mind or heart, we have a shallow, unrestful sleep with many fitful dreams or nightmares. And our spirit has no time to connect with its highest self and intuit creative solutions to our worldly challenges.

Eat Only from True Hunger

Our physical body has biological needs that food can satisfy. Our emotional and spiritual bodies have emotional and spiritual needs that food can never gratify. When choosing what to eat, it?s helpful to be able to distinguish the difference between true hunger (physical need) and ?false? hunger (emotional and spiritual need).

When you learn to discern emotional and spiritual hunger (emptiness) from physical hunger, you can then adopt the attitude and actions to attract the right people and activities that will truly fill the hole of soul emptiness.

Chew Life Well before Swallowing

An astute Eastern adage suggests: ?Chew your liquid and drink your food.? The guidance is to chew your beverages so that your liquids mix well with saliva and, therefore, are predigested by digestive enzymes in your saliva before you swallow. In the same manner, chew your solid food until it breaks down into a consistency that it can be drunk as a liquid. This chewing mixes your food with the same helpful saliva pre-digestive juices?and saves your stomach the chore of breaking down chunks of food.

Chewing your liquid and food well leads to good digestion by making your body?s job easier. The less energy the body needs to expend to digest, absorb and utilize your food and liquids, the more energy you have available to create, play and enjoy life!

In the same manner, the recommendation is to chew or contemplate well any experience or information before you swallow or believe it?that is, take it in as part of you. With this approach you?re intuitively prescreening ideas, interactions and events before you allow them to become part of your belief system?and, therefore, part of your personal reality!

Yummy in Your Tummy

Only eat foods and hang with people and pursuits that excite you!

The insightful Japanese observe, ?Digestion begins with the eyes.? When a meal is attractively presented in a way that makes us excited to eat it, the energy activated by the excitement will actually help the body to digest the meal more efficiently. In the same respect, when you choose the kinds of foods that excite you, you?ll digest and absorb these foods more easily. Yummy looking and tasting meals yield a net increase of energy for you.

The same principle applies to your choice of people, career and life ventures. The more exhilarating your friends and endeavors, the more flowing and full-filling your relationships and pursuits will be. Joy in, joy out!

It?s Your Party!

You may not be experiencing life as a party. Perhaps because you?re not living your own life in your own way, according to your unique nature and spirit.

Whether you?re aware of this truth or not, life is your show. It?s your body and your dream?to do with as you choose. You have a right to manage who, what, where and how your energy field is entered and affected. Steer clear of any person or philosophy that does not honor that right. You?ll be the healthier and happier for it.

If you don?t steward your energy well, what will you have available to share with others?

Drink in the nourishment of each moment! It?s your party!

Napleton?s River Oaks Chrysler Jeep Dodge is happy to inform you that Chrysler has announced a schedule of a new Competitive Chrysler Leasing Program, breaking away from the no-lease policy of the last one year. Chrysler has teamed with their new “preferred lender,” GMAC Financial Services, to offer the leases. Chrysler customers will be able to get all 2010 model-year vehicles on lease now.

Chrysler has also announced “special lease rates” on Chrysler Town & Country minivan, the Jeep Wrangler and Liberty SUV. The resurrection of the leasing options was to ensure improvement in the market share by providing more financing options for customers as access to good credit is still difficult. Napleton?s River Oaks Chrysler Jeep Dodge had been informed of the leasing moves earlier in September.

Napleton’s River Oaks Chrysler Jeep Dodge is ideally located at 17225 Torrence Ave Lansing, IL 60438. We serve our customers who reside in and around various places such as Oaklawn, Orland Park, Oak Forest, Oak Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, Hyde Park, Joliet, Elgin, Naperville, Wheaton, Schaumburg, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Lansing and Chicago.

Apart from leasing, Chrysler is also offering various incentives for buyers choosing to purchase cars and trucks, such as zero-percent financing or thousands of dollars in rebates on 2010 model-year vehicles. Since leasing customers basically rent vehicles for just two or three years, their monthly payments are naturally lower than they would be if the customers took out loans to purchase the cars. With additional rebates for loyal lease customers and a FREE LIFETIME Powertrain Warranty on all new vehicles, this is a great time to drive into the 2010 with a new Chrysler, Jeep, or Dodge! Do get in touch with Napleton?s River Oaks Chrysler Jeep Dodge for more information on Chrysler?s competitive leasing program.

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