Oct 11, 2009 4 min read

Don Krzysiak and Dave Coffman each worked for the former National Ford dealership in Uniontown long before it was sold in the early part of this decade. Today, they are the owners of the new Ford dealership at 1 Superior Drive, just off Route 40 west of Uniontown.

Krzysiak and Coffman have invested about $1.8 million to reopen the Ford dealership, which closed about a year ago when the previous owner ran into financial difficulties. The new dealership is holding a grand opening during October.

“The franchise became available. We talked to Ford, met with them and we were fortunate enough to get the franchise,” Krzysiak said.

A Uniontown native, Krzysiak is president and Coffman secretary of the new venture. Krzysiak also is vice president and general manager of Uniontown Toyota. He graduated from Uniontown Area Senior High School and California State College with a bachelor of science degree in education, teaching for three years before settling into his auto career.

Jeff Paletta of Fredericktown is manager of the new car dealership and Mike Gualtieri of Vanderbilt manages the Quick Lane, part of the Ford dealership that provides services to owners of any car, including oil change, air conditioning, battery, brakes and tires.

“We opened in mid-July,” Krzysiak said, adding he has been surprised at the sales levels.

“There was no Ford dealer here for a year. We thought that when we opened, we would be stronger in service and not on new car sales. But it was just the opposite. We sold nine new cars in July, 31 in August and (as of late September) 17.” Krzysiak said goals are to sell from 300 to 350 new vehicles annually.

Coffman, also a Uniontown Area Senior High School graduate, has a bachelor of science degree in business with a major in accounting from Duquesne. While Krzysiak began his career at National Ford in 1978, Coffman started there in 1993.

Coffman, who lives in Uniontown, said he felt there was “a lot of pent-up demand” to get the Ford brand operating again.

“People had to go out of town to purchase a new Ford and I felt it was good to get the Ford name back into Uniontown, which is the county seat,” Coffman said. Ford of Uniontown employs 15 full-time workers in its sales and service areas and the Quick Lane operation. Krzysiak said the agency is unique in that “Ford is the only manufacturer to offer a business within a business. It’s an all-around shop and it doesn’t tie up our technicians who are working on major electronic or transmission services. It’s open to any vehicle.”

Ford Motor Co. also was the only American-based automaker not to borrow money from the federal government during the economic recession. Chrysler and General Motors both sought bailout packages to help them stay in business.

Krzysiak said Ford has worked hard to improve its cars and trucks.

“Their products are not even close to what they were like in the 1990s. The finish, the fit, reliability factors, have all gotten much better. They have done a 180-degree turn from what they were like. It looks like Ford is hanging in there with (leaders in the field) Toyota and Honda,” he said.

“It’s nice to see an American car company get back to basics,” he said, adding that Ford’s customer-satisfaction index has reached 98 percent.

In addition, Ford is restructuring to achieve a savings of $5 billion, Krzysiak said.

“They can put that money into research, hybrid development and make a product that people will want,” he said.

“We need a good product if we are to stay in business,” he said.

Krzysiak said Ford of Uniontown will stock about 100 new vehicles in its on-site inventory.

He added that the Toyota dealership, 650 W. Main St., Uniontown, will be moved to a plot on Superior Drive.

“We have to build a new building for Toyota. It will be across from the Honda dealership here. We don’t know yet what we are going to do with the property on Route 40. But we have definitely outgrown the Toyota building,” he said.

He said having the different new car dealerships concentrated “on the hill here will be nice.”

Other dealerships on Superior Drive include a new Honda of Uniontown, Nissan and Tri-Star Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep.

Ford of Uniontown is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Quick Lane is open from 9 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Financing also is available through Ford Motor Credit Co.

For more information, call 724-425-5980 or toll-free, 877-302-7523.