Lynne Mydlo and her son Nick wanted to test drive a new Ford Mustang Friday afternoon.
They ended up being among the last customers to walk through the doors at Healey Ford in Ansonia.
The dealership closed its doors Friday, after more than 60 years of doing business in the Valley.
“I’m disappointed,” Lynn Mydlo said, after a salesman told her that from now on she would have to go to Stevens Ford in Milford.
“They’ve been here for a long time,” said Mydlo, from Seymour.
The closing also came as a shock and disappointment to owner Michael Healey and the dealership’s 35 employees this week, when Ford announced it no longer needed a downtown Ansonia presence.
“I gave them every reason in the world why this is a great town, why they should stay in the Valley,” Healey said Friday afternoon, in a brief interview between last-day tasks. “It’s like all of a sudden a tornado came through and destroyed everything.”
Click play on the video above to see Healey talk about his priorities in life, as taught to him by a coach he had in high school.
Background
Healey Ford was started by Michael Healey’s father, Henry, more than 60 years ago.
The business started in a small gas station in Derby before moving to downtown Ansonia about 30 years ago.
In that time, Healey Ford has sold more than 70,000 vehicles, Healey said.
But the auto industry has faced mounting trouble in the recession and during the past 10 years, Healey said.
“Ford Motor Company went from selling over 4.1 million vehicles in 2000 to selling only a little over 1.1 million in 2009,” Healey said.
“Since 2006, Ford has closed 16 manufacturing plant in the United States,” Healey said. “Ford does not have the production available to supply what their dealers need just to break even. There is no alternative but for dealerships to close or merge together in order to survive.”
The Merger
Healey Ford will merge its customer database with Stevens Ford in Milford, Healey said.
About 12 to 15 of the Ansonia employees will find new jobs at the Milford Dealership.
Healey said he is trying to help some of his other employees locate employment elsewhere in the state, so they’re not left in a lurch.
Healey said he is a personal friend of Stevens Ford owner, Dave Stevens. He considers Stevens a “great dealer.”
“The move with Stevens is a good move,” Healey said. “The sad part about it is we’re not here. This is where we want to be.”
Reaction
Healey said breaking the news to the staff on Tuesday was “the worst thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“There was a lot of crying and a lot of bear hugs,” Healey said. “But there’s not much you can do when big brother shuts you down.”
Friday, most of the activity at the dealership was from employees getting things settled for the transfer, friends visiting Healey to wish him luck and other dealers looking at dwindling stock on the lot.
Frank Giordano, a life insurance agent for some of the employees at the dealership, stopped in Friday afternoon to talk with Healey.
“The service was always terrific here,” said Giordano, who bought two of his cars from the dealer.
Ansonia’s Economic Development Director, Claude Perry, said he was Michael Healey’s first customer in 1971, when he bought a Subaru FF‑1 from the dealership when it was located in Derby.
“Any time you lose a number of employees, a long-term employer, a business that’s a national franchise and is part of the main street … It’s been a fixture,” Perry said. “And for that to happen is traumatic.”
What’s Next?
For now, the status of the property is up in the air, Healey said.
Healey said he technically owns the land, but holds his mortgage through Ford.
He owes $2.8 million on that mortgage. Ford has decided not to renew the contract.
In this climate, it would be hard for him to get another mortgage for the land, and so a “For Sale” sign will appear at the lot in the next few days, Healey said.
“Nothing’s clear,” he said.
There was a developer looking to purchase a back parking lot from Healey several months ago, but Healey said that deal wasn’t scheduled to go through for several more months.
He wasn’t sure how the closure would affect it.
“Mike is a business person here in Ansonia,” Perry said. “He’s a survivor. He’ll move into something else and we’ll work with him to make sure the property is developed.”
