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Whoopee? Oopsie!
© St. Petersburg Times The words, written in shoe polish, come off Suzanne Rowles' Chevy Trailblazer every time she washes it. But as soon as the SUV dries, she puts the message back on: Gordon Chevrolet service employees were caught committing adultery in my vehicle by sheriff. It is a story that begs to be told, and Rowles is willing to tell it. On Dec. 16, she took the Chevy to the service department at Gordon, a dealership on N Dale Mabry Highway. There was a problem with the passenger-side lock and the engine was making a funny noise. She said the dealership asked to keep the Chevy overnight so they could hear the noise in the morning when the engine was cold. On the evening of Dec. 17, just before she and her husband Jeffrey left their Wesley Chapel home to pick up the SUV, she said, she got a call from Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Dale Russell, who said he found two nude Gordon employees in the SUV behind the shuttered Hollywood 20 Theater at Dale Mabry and Van Dyke Road. "He asked us if the dealership called us and we said, "No,' " Rowles said. "They were going to let us pick it up without telling us that the sheriff found our vehicle with two of their employees naked, committing adultery in the back of it. We called the (general manager) and demanded the vehicle be cleaned and that we would pick up a loaner." As they went to remove Christmas gifts from the back of the Chevy, she said she noticed the back headrests were down and the presents had been shuffled. She said her two children "inadvertently found out" what happened and refused to sit in the car for a week and a half. "I had to put a small TV in the vehicle just so they would ride with me," Rowles said. Rowles said the dealership gave them a loaner and cleaned the car, but Rowles wants more from Gordon general manager Art Smith. She'd like an apology and a show of remorse, and proof that the employees were reprimanded. She doesn't think that's too much, considering they have purchased four cars from Gordon. The only record of the incident at the sheriff's office is a brief report indicating authorities received a call about a suspicious vehicle behind the theater. The vehicle was the Rowles' Trailblazer. Smith was not at the dealership Thursday and could not be reached for comment. A Gordon office manager said she knew nothing of the dispute and declined to comment. Rowles said she drove through the Gordon parking lot shortly after she put the attention-grabbing message on her Trailblazer. One of the employees ran out and started taking photos. Rowles said other drivers were honking, giving her the thumbs-up sign and yelling, "Good for you." "I just want to let everyone be aware of what can happen when you take your vehicle in there," Rowles said. "It's just my way of venting about being blown off." My advice: Think twice before you anger Suzanne Rowles. Honk-honk. That's all I'm saying. -- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com .
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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