Michigan Lincoln Dealers Down By One; Fall of Mercury Cited as Reason

July 7, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, M.I. – Michigan Lincoln dealers are learning one of their own is shutting its doors forever as Metropolitan Lincoln, formerly known as Stu Evans Lincoln Mercury is now closed after more than 50 years in business.
The dealership located in Garden City posted the following on its “Metro Minute” weblog:
“The beginning of the end for Metropolitan occurred when Ford Motor Company retired the Mercury vehicle line, which accounted for about 70 percent of Metropolitan’s new vehicle sales. Reducing the number of Lincoln dealerships across the country is one of Ford Motor Company’s goals to help streamline the Lincoln brand. After careful consideration, Metropolitan agreed to participate in the consolidation process and reached an agreement with Ford Motor Company.”
John Obeid, dealer/operator of Metropolitan Lincoln, openly thanked the nearly 90 employees of the dealership, some of which have been with the dealer for more than 20 years.
The dealership was founded in 1945 by Stu Evans of Detroit Red Wings fame. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the dealership was one of the leaders in new-car and truck sales for many years.
Last year Metropolitan Lincoln was one of seven Lincoln dealerships in the nation to receive Ford’s Triple Crown Award for customer service, but the dealership and owners were not immune to hardships throughout its history. Stu Evans’ grandson John Evans became owner of the dealership in 1993 and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. That same year John Evans was also subject to lawsuits alleging loan defaults, a repossession of his vehicle inventory, and customer complaints about a program that falsely promised to pay the balance of their vehicle leases.
Regardless of those troubles, a few comments made on Automotive News about the dealership’s closing revealed sadness to “see a long time Lincoln dealer exit the business” and feelings that “Ford made a huge mistake abandoning Mercury.” Others have shared the same sentiment of losing business since Ford ended Mercury as MI Auto Times has previously reported.
[Rewind: Michigan Lincoln Dealers Need Mercury Incentives; Mercury Owners Disappointed]
In that post, some Lincoln dealers said Ford was failing to offer the incentives they needed to transition Mercury owners to the Lincoln brand. In addition to the lack of incentives, Michigan Lincoln dealers took another hit as Ford announced it’s time to renovate or shut down.
[Rewind: Michigan Lincoln Dealers Expected to Renovate or Give Back Franchise to Ford; $1 Million Ultimatum]
It’s unlikely a flailing business will be able to spend an average of $1 million to meet the new requirements; Metropolitan Lincoln may soon be joined by more Michigan Lincoln dealers, especially with Ford’s confirmation that it plans to reduce its Lincoln dealers to 325 stores by the close of 2011.
There may, however, be some optimism moving forward as June sales numbers for Lincoln increased by 17 percent over June 2010, but many dealers may be wondering if they can sustain those numbers or if they will be the next dealer to fall.
[Source(s): Automotive News, Crain’s Detroit Business, Metropolitan Lincoln]