>Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury struggling since Ford Motor Co. discontinued the Mercury brand
Ridgewood Lincoln dealership struggling
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011
BY RICHARD NEWMAN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Mike Smith, owner of Ken Smith Lincoln Mercury, a fixture in downtown Ridgewood for 62 years, says the business is struggling since Ford Motor Co. discontinued the Mercury brand on Jan. 1 and that the automaker is “picking on” him.
The automaker will give him no more than six Lincolns a month, he says, and even those few are hard to sell. Lincoln ranked eighth last year among all luxury brands in sales.
Loyal Mercury customers are trading in their leased vehicles and he has no replacement cars to offer in their price range, so Smith wants to add hot-selling Ford Fusions, Fiestas and Explorers to the showroom, but the manufacturer denied his requests for an additional franchise agreement that would allow him to sell Fords.
Making matters worse, the automaker wants Smith to spend about $1 million on renovations. If he doesn’t, he will lose important cash incentives, making it hard, if not impossible, to compete with other Lincoln dealers on price, he says.