John Cena is not the only former Ford GT owner finding themselves in hot water with the automaker. Last May, a silver Ford GT with just 7 miles on its odometer mysteriously made its way to Mecum's Indianapolis auction and was ultimately sold for $1.8 million. How did this happen, especially since Ford and Cena were still involved in litigation? Fox News further investigated and, basically, turns out Ford could have potentially prevented the GT from heading to auction weeks before but for whatever reason(s) did not.
The Ford GT in question was originally sold to a guy named John Miller, who sold it for $1.1 million on May 11 to Michael. J. Flynn of Florida-based Hollywood Wheels. Flynn then immediately consigned the car to Mecum. By May 15, the GT appeared on the auction house's website stating it'll be crossing the auction block on Saturday, May 19. On May 17, Ford filed a motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to remove the car from the auction.
Ford argued the car's sale could cause "irreparable harm to the company's reputation and the integrity of the GT application process." A judge disagreed and allowed the auction to move forward. Furthermore, the judge noted that not only was Flynn not the original owner of the car, and therefore did not have to abide by the same purchase agreements Miller did, but also that Ford was apparently aware of Miller's intent to sell the car as early as last March. Why didn't Ford step in earlier? Who knows.
Mecum, however, was able to prove in court that it legally purchased the car from Flynn and because of this, it had every right to sell it. Mecum has not revealed the identity of the GT's third owner. So what's going to happen next for Ford? It's now seeking damages from both Mecum and Flynn, with the case management conferences between the parties scheduled for August 17. Mecum's position on the matter is crystal clear.
Dana Mecum, the founder of the auction house, took to the stage just prior to the Ford GT auction in May and said the following: "We had a little issue in the courthouse about this and the judge did rule in Mecum's favor that we could sell this car," Mecum said. "It's America, you can buy and sell what you want."
