Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

A sign of the times marks the passing of Vinton Motor Co.

Vinton Motor Co. owner Billy Vinyard says he'll have to close on Aug. 15 because of slow sales. The company started up 77 years ago, when Vinyard's father, Bill Vinyard, opened it as a way to get off the family farm.

Customer service representative Ricky Spradlin (on phone), helps longtime Vinton Motor Co. customer Tim Greenway with service on his Mustang. Vinton Motor Co. is closing Aug. 15 because of slow sales, especially of trucks and sport utility vehicles. The company's owner said he's not sure what he will do with the company's property.

A collage of pictures of Vinton Motor Co.'s customers decorates the wall of the dealership's service area. Despite customer satisfaction with the local car seller, owner Billy Vinyard said he was steadily losing money trying to keep the place open in the face of declining Ford sales nationwide. Its doors will close Aug. 15.

The venerable Ford truck isn't selling like it used to. Just ask Billy Vinyard.

He is closing the Ford dealership his father started on a Vinton street corner during the Great Depression.

After 77 years, Vinton Motor Co. is folding because of slow sales. A major reason is declining consumer interest in trucks and sport utility vehicles -- the traditional profit maker for dealerships such as this one -- as consumers flock to small sedans to conserve fuel.

"We used to sell three to four trucks and SUVs to every car," Vinyard said. "Now it's reversed."

Plus, he added, the automotive tastes of an important age demographic are working against him.

"These kids think that Toyotas and Hondas and Nissans are the only things going," Vinyard said. "What do you do when your generation dies out?"

Thirteen people will lose their jobs on or before the last day of business, Aug. 15.

Vinton will lose an established merchant with a large downtown footprint. Its red, white and blue building stands at the gateway intersection of Pollard Street and Gus Nicks Boulevard. Vinyard hasn't decided what to do with the property.

Vinyard, 63, said the decision to close was voluntary -- and came only after multiple efforts to save the company with his own money -- but Ford Motor Co., which supports consolidation of dealerships, had informed him the corporation wanted it closed.

Vinyard said his company is the oldest auto dealership in the Roanoke Valley and second oldest in the state.

"Hate to see you go," customer Tom Hogan told Vinyard. Hogan was in for a repair on his Ford Escape, which he bought at Vinton Motor Co.

"It's no pleasure. It's eating me up," Vinyard told Hogan.

Vinyard said the company, which he described as a mom-and-pop auto dealership by virtue of its selling one brand of vehicles, is stuck in a financial rut with no sign of a tow coming.

Sales peaked between 250 and 300 vehicles a year. But about five years ago, the monthly operations report swung to a loss. The net assets are now gone and Vinyard is paying the last of each month's bills with his own money.

"It's not a cut. It's a hemorrhage," Vinyard said. "I'm not going to tell you the amount but you wouldn't believe it. I personally have lost about half of what I worked for for the 40 years. About half of that has gone back into the company to no avail."

Ford also has its troubles.

The company last month posted a $8.7 billion quarterly loss. Its July auto sales fell 13 percent on a year-over-year basis as U.S. auto sales hit a 16-year low.

Vinyard said his father, Bill Vinyard, started the business because he didn't want to work on the family dairy farm. Vinton Motor Co. opened in 1931 at the northwest corner of Pollard and Gus Nicks. It shifted diagonally across the intersection in 1945 and has been there ever since.

Billy Vinyard went to work for his dad at age 23, first washing cars, graduating to sales and later taking charge. His father died in 1979.

Customers who heard the news of the closing late last week flooded the business with calls, according to Vinyard.

"Good luck," several told him.

Monday, the sales lot was nearly empty after most of the new-car inventory was shifted to another dealership. Parts waited in boxes in the sales department to be shipped to another party for credit. Two men stepped inside and asked to buy a neon Ford sign hanging in the window. Vinyard said no.

It will be saved for an auction to liquidate fixtures, equipment and what-not.

"It's hell to do," Vinyard said.

The worst part, he said, is "letting go of something my father gave me. I guess I don't feel like a failure. I can't control the economic situation we're in now throughout the country.

"What's that old saying? Know when to hold them and know when to fold them."