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Miller, Ford still spinning wheels

By Mike Conley | The McDowell News

Published: November 2, 2009

Local businessman and philanthropist Ford Miller tried again Monday to keep Legendary Ford-Mercury in operation. However, his efforts were unsuccessful as of late Monday afternoon.
Tommy Calhoun, dealer principal for Legendary Ford-Mercury, told The McDowell News that he is still talking with Ford Motor Co. about a way to keep his dealership open. "I have got Ford Miller coming out today," he said on Monday.
Ford Credit held the mortgage on the dealership and the company insisted that it be refinanced. Calhoun tried one bank after another but was unable to get new financing for the dealership. Ford representatives told him to shut down the business last week.
Miller, owner of Miller Engineering and the old Marion Manufacturing plant, and benefactor of the new Ford Miller Training Center on Baldwin Avenue, made an offer to pay off the mortgage and buy the building, if Calhoun would be allowed to run the dealership as before.
However, the automaker would not accept the offer to buy out the mortgage. After additional talks on Monday, the answer was still no.
"That is kind of the way it stands now," said Miller. "They said no. As far as I know, it is still no."
Miller said he's still hoping Ford will change its mind about the Marion dealership.
"If enough people get behind them, they would," he said. "I don't know if we've got that kind of power. There's a lot of Ford automobiles in this county."
He added the owners of those Ford auto would want to keep a dealership here rather than traveling outside of McDowell.
Legendary Ford-Mercury and its predecessors have been operating in Marion since 1968. The business employed 22 full time workers.
Meanwhile, Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011.
The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 68 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $7.68 in morning trading.
The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.
Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year.
Ford's key North American car and truck division posted a pretax profit of $357 million, the division's first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement.
Excluding one-time items, Ford earned 26 cents per share, blowing away analysts' expectations of a loss of 12 cents.
The earnings came despite an $800 million revenue drop. But Ford said it cut costs by $1 billion during the quarter, accomplished through layoffs in North America and Europe, reduced pension and retiree health care costs and improvements in productivity and product development.
Chief financial officer Lewis Booth said the company took in $1.3 billion more than it spent in the quarter, an improvement over its $1 billion cash burn in the second quarter.
"That's a huge deal," Booth said.
Ford's plan to create demand and get better prices for its products, coupled with cost cuts, gave the company confidence that it will make money in 2011, Booth said.