ANDERSON, Ind. — While some U.S. auto makers have filed bankruptcy or struggled and required bailouts, local Ford dealerships say they’ve not only stayed steady through the economic struggles but they’ve also grown.

“Our sales are up 40 percent,” said Mary Jamerson, president of Anderson’s Ford Autoworld. “There is no doubt that the success of Ford is reaching all the way from the boardroom in Dearborn, Mich., to the showroom in Anderson, Ind.”

The past two years have been the most challenging for the automotive industry, Jamerson said. But even through those challenges Ford came out ahead.

“They have one of those exciting stories,” she said. “It is an exciting time to be a part of that story. We did come through it with some strength.”

Mark McCrocklin, sales manager of Middletown’s McCrocklin Ford and Mobility, said Ford’s success without the government’s help has increased consumer interest in the brand.

“The main thing we are hearing from customers is that they are looking at Ford because they didn’t take any bailout money,” he said. “People feel strongly that these bailouts are bad and want to support a company that isn’t a part of it.”

The “great American Ford story” may be what is getting people through Ford dealerships’ doors, but what is getting them to walk out with a set of keys is a commitment on the part of the company to continually to improve quality, fuel efficiency and safety, Jamerson said.

“People are still buying vehicles based on need, quality and safety,” she said. “We are expecting even more growth because of the product offering that Ford has pro-actively planned for. This year there are a lot of new products on the market. There’s the new designed Ford Edge and the all new Ford Fiesta.”

Ford reported a net income of $2.1 billion — or 50 cents a share — for this year’s first quarter. That is a $3.5 billion improvement from first quarter 2009, as strong selling new products, improvements in its global Automotive operations, and higher profits at Ford Credit boosted results, according to Ford.

Excluding special items, Ford reported pre-tax operating profit of $2 billion, or 46 cents per share, an improvement of $4 billion from a year ago. It marked Ford’s highest quarterly pre-tax operating profit in six years.

GM reported a $1.3 billion profit in the second quarter.

Brian Lawton, sales manager at Ford Autoworld, said that Ford is staying on top of new technology and improvements that is helping their success.

“I think Ford overall has persevered and come out on top each year,” he said. “Everyone wants to be a part of that great American success.”

Both Jamerson and McCrocklin credit much of Ford’s success through the dark times for the auto-industry to Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer of Ford.

“We didn’t have to lay off a single employee during the entire recession,” McCrocklin said of his dealership. “Actually we started with 23 employees and now we have 29. We’ve grown through all of this. And I think the number one reason is Alan Mulally. He is a god in the auto industry right now. They are comparing him to Henry Ford himself. He has done so many good things for our company. He’s the difference. In 2006 when things started to get shaky, he started to restructure back then. He saw the writing on the wall.”



Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle @heraldbulletin.com.