Tony Bruce, whose Aussie accent was often heard on Hudson ValleyMonroe airwaves a few years back pitching “Miracles happen at Ford,” has been noticeably silent since turning the dealership over to Anthony Bruce Jr. of Campbell Hall.
Now, employees and mechanics at the dealership on Route 17M are looking for work, locked out and scrambling to make ends meet after showing up for work on Thursday, Sept. 25, and finding Monroe Ford was not open for business.
The dealership opened in 2000, overcoming community opposition to the size and scope of its 43,000-square-foot  footprint. Its lot, bulging with SUVS and trucks, was large enough for salespeople to take prospective buyers down the rows of vehicles by golf cart to show inventory. The lights are off now, a handmade  scrawled sign hanging in the entrance letting people know Monroe Ford is “closed.”
Several people were coming and going over the September 26-27 weekend with tow tucks, loading their disabled vehicles and taking them to other destinations. Other than that, there were no signs of life at the once bustling dealership.
Familiar billboards along Route 17 have disappeared, too.
Monroe Ford, whose motto was, “Expect Miracles,” could certainly use one now. Several Ford dealerships ”“ Leo Kaytes in Warwick, Sunshine Ford in Newburgh and Healey Brothers in Goshen ”“ have offered their support to locked-out customers and those with leases through the Monroe dealership.
Ford”™s public relations department in Michigan said nothing more than that the dealership is “up for sale.”Â
Monroe Ford is not the first in the area to find trouble. Harriman Chevrolet on Larkin Drive has closed doors and been taken over by Orange County BMW, while Ralley Suzuki  owner Mark Treiber merged that store in with his Chrysler Jeep dealership a few doors down on 17M.
