Fire, wind & water
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Natural disasters, fires and protests affected dealers and automakers in 2012. Here are some.
'Fire! Fire!' An October disaster
Oct. 3 started out like any other morning at Valley Auto in Fort Kent, Maine. Then, around 8:30, dealer Carl Theriault heard someone in his parts department yell: "Fire! Fire!" Theriault watched his Chevrolet, Buick and GMC store burn to the ground. An electrical problem had sparked the blaze.
Photo credit: BLOOMBERG
Sandy's devastation
When Superstorm Sandy struck, a Ford Motor Co.-owned dealership in Manhattan lost 160 Transit Connects and Crown Victorias it had planned to sell as yellow taxis. The dealership, Manhattan Automobile Co., stored more than 500 vehicles across the Hudson River in Hoboken, N.J., in an area that was overrun by storm waters.
Photo credit: BLOOMBERG
At Plaza Auto Mall in Brooklyn, 220 new Hyundais and an unknown number of Toyotas stored on a lot were destroyed in a fire started by an electrical transformer as Sandy passed through.
Photo credit: REUTERS
Hot issue
Workers stand near car bodies that were set ablaze during an employee protest in October at the Ford assembly plant in Genk, Belgium. Financially troubled Ford of Europe plans to close the factory in 2014.
