Florida Attorney General Looking at Green Leaf

The Florida Attorney General’s Office is investigating whether Ford Motor Co. sold substandard auto parts to consumers through its network of Green Leaf salvage yards, including a location in Tampa.

According to Robert Julian, assistant Attorney General for Florida, the contention is that Ford was selling parts that did not meet the specifications for its manufacturing, but were sold to consumers through Green Leaf as meeting Ford’s specifications.

“Parts aren’t necessarily defective,” Julian stresses, although they were actually rejected by Ford Motor.

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.

Julian did say his office has spoken with Ford Motor in this regard.

The investigation is a continuation of work the Florida Attorneys General office has been following upon complaints from consumers about problems with the company’s Mustang Cobra SVT.

According to local press reports, a web site, BlueOvalNews.com, has posted articles accusing Ford Motor of selling substandard parts while failing to mention that the parts were rejected by Ford.

Kinley says that letter from Ford Motor that was posted on the web site is false.

Green Leaf, 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.