With the property that houses the dealership up for sale, Cook Ford in Craig will close April 30 as the owner plans to merge parts of the business with his other dealership in town, Cook Chevrolet.

According to Scott Cook, the owner of both dealerships, Cook Ford will close next month because the property owner is looking to sell the building.

“They want to sell the building, and we don’t want to buy the building, so we just decided that maybe this is the time,” Cook said Tuesday over the phone.

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After the closure of Cook Ford, Cook Chevrolet will absorb the Ford-certified technicians and Cook Chevrolet will still be able to work on Ford automobiles — though the Chevrolet dealership will not sell new Fords and will only be able perform non-warranty work on the brand.

“Up until (April 30), we want to try to get all of our customers’ warranty work, recalls and repair work done,” Cook said of winding down his Ford dealership. 

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According to Cook, the property owners put the property up for sale about two months ago. He said that move was coupled with the Ford company looking to increase the number of cars sold at its dealerships across the country, and that means Ford either has to sell more cars nationally or cut down on the number of dealers.

“They feel like that makes them more efficient, apparently,” Cook said of Ford’s efforts to streamline its dealerships nationwide.

Cook said he’s also noticed a trend in which dealers are being told there will come a time when only electric vehicles are being sold at the dealerships, and Cook said he thinks some of the Ford closures across the U.S. are because they operate in markets where EVs are less desirable than other automobiles.

Regardless, the owner said he hopes the customers who’ve done business at Cook Ford will continue to use the services at Cook Chevrolet.

“We’re hoping that all the good customers we’ve had at Ford will either buy Chevrolets or get their Fords worked on here,” Cook said.

Next week, Cook Ford will also work to start liquidating its inventory, as Cook explained that the dealership will be cutting prices in an effort to unload all of its vehicles and parts by the end of April. 

Cook was careful to say the closure of Cook Ford is not related to anything at the local Ford dealership nor any expected economic shifts in the local economy, but it was rather a result of the property owner wanting to sell the building combined with changes in the industry and recent efforts within the Ford company.

“I want everybody to know that this is not one of those things where I feel like there’s not going to be anybody in Craig in two years; that’s not the case at all,” Cook said. “This has nothing to do with that, and personally, I see the new people in our service department and the new people in the store, Craig is not going to dry up and blow away — it’s just going to change a little.”