Ford Probe.....A Recession Horror Tale!

As a sign of the terrible bad times in the American automobile industry, a new Ford dealership in Gladstone, Oregon suddenly shut it's doors on Monday and hired a security guard to kick angry customers off the lot who had complaints about service, contracts, unhonored warranties and other serious product issues. The Oregon State Attorney General's Office has opened a legal probe into this car dealership that suddenly shut it's doors, leaving many angry customers who now claim the dealer started to fail to honor new car warranties and other important services recently as auto sales tumbled nationwide. It hardly inspires much confidence among many potential new car buyers for a dealership like Joe's Ford to suddenly close it's doors and leave customers in the lurch, but this is exactly what many customers are claiming happened at this new Ford dealership.

What happened at Joe's Ford on Monday had an eerie similarity to the sudden bank closings during the Great Depression, where customers had a huge financial stake at the banks, but doors were suddenly closed and hired security guards held off angry customers. It is a disturbing scene so identical to so many terrible dramas during the Great Depression.

It also appears that the new car inventory at Joe's Ford will likely be taken over by the Ford Motor Company's credit division as well. This local dealership is apparently simply giving back the new car inventory to the car company rather than pay for this stock that was offered on credit to the dealer.

While new car dealerships have become virtual ghost-towns recently despite some terrific sales deals and bargains that abound, the shocking story of the sudden close of Joe's Ford in Gladstone should send a cold chill up the spines of what few new car customers there may be out there. Some car buyers used to wonder whether a car would last until it's paid for. Now you have to wonder whether the car dealer will last until tomorrow to honor the warranty. It's all very disturbing.

It's yet another recession horror story.