Greg Darnell Ford

[Brett]

I was wondering if Greg Darnell Ford has closed? Traveling to MWC yesterday, I exited I-40 at the SE 29th St exit and noticed there were almost zero vehicles on the dealership's lot. Did a bank take back all of the inventory? Just curious if someone has more information. Thanks!

[Ward]

Well I called their phone number. Was told they are "closed from now on".

I didn't ask any more questions.

Their facebook page has a statement they are closed (post by a customer it seems)

[OKrunner405]

This location was bought by the Factory at an offer Greg Darnell couldn’t refuse. The location was not ideal, but GD was profitable at this location, but the building didn’t fit the model of future Ford Dealerships. GD was looking to build a new location at I-40 and Douglas, construction costs and the impending construction of that interchange nixed that deal.

[therhett17]

This location was bought by the Factory at an offer Greg Darnell couldn’t refuse. The location was not ideal, but GD was profitable at this location, but the building didn’t fit the model of future Ford Dealerships. GD was looking to build a new location at I-40 and Douglas, construction costs and the impending construction of that interchange nixed that deal.

So is Ford planning to do anything with this dealership or is it gone for good?

[Ward]

So why did Zeck in Purcell, Mainer in Okarche, and the one in Kingfisher close? Too small to make a profit? Seems odd to have that many in a short time period.

It's a dog eat dog business and many are wearing Milk Bone underwear.

[DowntownMan]

So why did Zeck in Purcell, Mainer in Okarche, and the one in Kingfisher close? Too small to make a profit? Seems odd to have that many in a short time period.

It's a dog eat dog business and many are wearing Milk Bone underwear.

I think Ford/Lincoln is buying out dealerships who don’t want to go forward with the electric model. It is a big cost to retrofit to sell and service that many dealerships aren’t willing to pay or justify.
That’s my guess and ford sees it as a way to reduce dealership counts which makes it easier to go to direct order model with having just fewer showrooms and service centers.

[OKrunner405]

So is Ford planning to do anything with this dealership or is it gone for good?

Joe Cooper still owns the building. As far as it being a Ford dealership again it will not.

[NavySeabee]

They are painting the building gray and it looks like the remaining blue lettering has had a fresh coat of blue. I'm wondering what is being planned for this location?

[TornadoKegan]

google maps has a image from may of this year

[therhett17]

Noticed the other day this dealership is now Joe Cooper Hyundai.

[bombermwc]

I'm a bit out of the loop, but wasn't there some effort to allow manufacturers to sale directly to customers, and bypass the dealership model? like Tesla?

It's not necessarily good for the consumer since there will be less competition. But it would make the sales process more efficient in terms of fewer of these little dealerships. Again, I'm not sure that's a benefit to the consumer though.

As far as electric goes, unless they can fix the charge time, I really see this being a struggle that hybrids are going to really take over from. People with e-vehicles have to plan their trips around where the charging stations are already. There are more than there used to be, but there are not 1/10 of the number of gas options yet. And to know you have to stop at least 30 minutes to charge up, well that's going to add a lot of time for a cross-country trip.

If i had to stop 30 minutes to charge on a 12 hour trip, i just added a couple hours to that journey. Yes, I would have stopped for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and refuel anyway, but not 30 minutes. Even if my family of 5 does all that plus make a sandwich in the gas station parking lot, we're not there 30 minutes. The technology just isn't quite there where it needs to be. But i will say that on my recent trip that was very much off the main interstate, I was surprised that the little town i was in had a charging station and there were some e-vehicles there. They didn't belong to residents, rather only the toursists. So somehow, at least some people are making that investment and effort.

[GaryOKC6]

I'm a bit out of the loop, but wasn't there some effort to allow manufacturers to sale directly to customers, and bypass the dealership model? like Tesla?

It's not necessarily good for the consumer since there will be less competition. But it would make the sales process more efficient in terms of fewer of these little dealerships. Again, I'm not sure that's a benefit to the consumer though.

As far as electric goes, unless they can fix the charge time, I really see this being a struggle that hybrids are going to really take over from. People with e-vehicles have to plan their trips around where the charging stations are already. There are more than there used to be, but there are not 1/10 of the number of gas options yet. And to know you have to stop at least 30 minutes to charge up, well that's going to add a lot of time for a cross-country trip.

If i had to stop 30 minutes to charge on a 12 hour trip, i just added a couple hours to that journey. Yes, I would have stopped for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and refuel anyway, but not 30 minutes. Even if my family of 5 does all that plus make a sandwich in the gas station parking lot, we're not there 30 minutes. The technology just isn't quite there where it needs to be. But i will say that on my recent trip that was very much off the main interstate, I was surprised that the little town i was in had a charging station and there were some e-vehicles there. They didn't belong to residents, rather only the toursists. So somehow, at least some people are making that investment and effort.

It stalled out. Lots of opposition by the Oklahoma Auto Dealers Association. Looks like Tesla found a work around. I am guessing that you buy a Tesla in Texas and everything else is done here.