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The state is checking complaints that Ford salvage unit GreenLeaf has sold substandard parts to consumers.
By KRIS HUNDLEY
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2001
The Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating whether Ford Motor Co. sold substandard auto parts to consumers through its network of GreenLeaf salvage yards, including a location in Tampa.
Assistant Attorney General Bob Julian described the investigation as preliminary but said the claims, if true, would involve "a substantial amount of money."
A Ford spokeswoman denied the allegations and said the Dearborn, Mich., automaker has not been contacted by the Attorney General's Office.
"At no time has Ford defrauded or attempted to mislead dealers or consumers," Kristen Kinley said.
GreenLeaf, Ford's wholly-owned auto-recycling subsidiary, was started two years ago with the company's purchase of Copher Co.'s salvage yard in Tampa and quickly grew to 32 locations throughout North America.
Julian said the state's investigation into Ford originated with consumer complaints about lower-than-advertised horsepower in the 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra SVT and expanded into other arenas.
"When we started researching that complaint, looking through the Internet at car sites, we learned there were issues with GreenLeaf," Julian said. "Allegedly, GreenLeaf was selling parts as having met Ford's specifications when in fact they had been rejected by Ford."
The Internet site making the allegations was BlueOvalNews.com, which bills itself as the "Independent Voice of the Ford Community." In mid-March, the Dearborn, Mich., Web site ran a story accusing GreenLeaf of selling substandard parts at retail prices without disclosing that the parts failed to meet Ford's specifications. The article reportedly was based on two letters from an unnamed Ford employee complaining about the practice.
This week, the economic crimes division of the Florida AG's office subpoenaed BlueOvalNews.com for its information on GreenLeaf. The office also subpoenaed the Web site for any documents on the Ford Mustang SVT horsepower issue.
Kinley, the Ford spokeswoman, said the automaker has not received any subpoenas regarding either matter. She said the company recalled and repaired about 6,200 Mustang Cobras during the summer of 1999 and that the owners are largely satisfied.
Regarding the GreenLeaf allegations, she said, "Essentially the letter that was posted onBlueOvalNews.com was a fake."
Robert Lane, publisher of BlueOvalNews.com, told the Detroit News that he stands by his report. On his Web site, he urged readers with information about GreenLeaf to forward it to the AG's office via his address.
- Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2996.