Elk Grove Ford closing really no surprise

Elk Grove Auto Mall loses first dealer, city loses another sales tax source

When word passed Friday that Elk Grove Ford has closed it's doors, it really wasn't surprising.

Elk Grove has been at the epicenter of a national housing foreclosure that has slowed spending on everything, especially gas-guzzling SUV"s which had become Ford's lifeline. More than any other auto producer, Ford has been dependent on the ubiquitous F-150 truck.

Other glaring local signs of the slow economy most prominently included the twice-delayed opening of the much anticipated Elk Grove Promenade shopping mall. To date, The Promenade has only one anchor tenant.

Ford Motor, which for years has been beset with numerous problems, had earlier announced several planned closures of under-performing dealerships nationally. Last month Senator Ford on Florin Rd closed it doors to new car sales.

With the Elk Grove closures, South Sacramento now has no new Ford dealership.