La Fontaine Ford opens near Jolly and Cedar, grows staff

There’s a new kind of Ford shopping experience near Jolly and Cedar in Lansing. La Fontaine Ford opened its doors on December 14, bringing changes to the dealership formally known as the Central Truck Center. 

 

“They were selling Ford trucks and Kenworth semis,” says John Berghoefer, general sales manager for La Fontaine Ford. “They took the Kenworth sales and moved that, and we took over the truck part of it.”

 

Berghoefer explains that while semi sales used to be the primary emphasis of the dealership, the new business plans to sell a much higher volume of Ford trucks and SUVs. 

 

“We're already hoping we can sell this month what they would sell in a year,” says Berghoefer. “Our expectations for this dealership are huge. I think we can meet them.”

 

The seven-acre dealership now employs a staff of 30, and soon will hire even more. According to Berghoefer, about 40 percent of the existing staff is made up of new jobs, and the remaining positions were retained from the former dealership.