In a literal “sign of the times,” the old Springfield Ford signs are coming down and Effingham Auto Sales signs are taking their places as Joe Pope and his team make the move across the street.

Effingham Auto Sales has moved into the old sales offices of the Springfield Ford location on Highway 21 and Goshen Road — a very familiar location for Pope. Before opening his own business, he worked for more than 18 years for Harry Mahn and his team with Ford.  

Now, Mahn is working for Pope at the new/old location.

“I think it’s a great move for Joe, a great opportunity for him,” Mahn said. “I think the future looks pretty bright. My future’s so bright, I’ve got to wear shades.”

The Springfield Ford shuttered earlier this summer. Mahn had cleared the lot of cars earlier this spring in anticipation of a sale that did not go through.

“We are sensitive to the impact that all of our dealerships have on their respective employees, families, customers and surrounding communities,” Ford spokesman Steve Kinkade said in an e-mailed statement. “While we consider discussions with our dealers to be internal, it is important to note that we have been collaboratively working with our dealers since 2005 to resize our network to match our sales, market share and dealer sales objectives — this continues to be an ongoing process.

“Ford is not single-handedly mandating consolidations and is committed to a collaborative approach with our dealer partners to ensure we have a strong dealer network able to meet the needs of our customers.”

Pope emphasized that he is taking only a part of the property as Eddie Coleman has his car-washing business going on one end, and Joe Taylor with J&S Auto Repair has the shop end, with Effingham Auto Sales in the middle.

In addition to changing out the signage, Pope is also installing more efficient outdoor lighting for the car lot.

“Used to (be) one person would own everything,” he said, “but now, you just can’t afford it.”

He said he didn’t plan on any “opening hype” for his Monday opening.

“I’m not a big believer in hype,” he said. “The best way to do business is to keep the costs down. The American public’s a little smarter than they used to be. The hype doesn’t work like it once did.

“I’m carrying used cars — they’re the best used cars I can find,” Pope continued. “We make sure they’re good and clean. We’re not a little used car lot, but we’re not a new car lot. We try to check everything out — we fix it before the customer ever sees it.”

He said that he’s never seen anything like the recent Ford restructuring in all his years in the automobile business.

“Everything changed after 9/11,” Pope said. “Gas prices went up – we used to sell 25-30 new Expeditions but after 9/11, we might sell two or three. Out of desperation, the whole car industry has changed the way it’s doing business.”

Pope and his business partner Charlie Rahn also have Bobby Haydon Myers on their sales team.