I am writing with a completely different opinion of Whaling City Ford/Mazda and especially owner Filippo Marchionne, "Whaling City dealership mum on pleas from Sen. Blumenthal and AG Tong to honor warranty," (Aug. 3). I have been a customer of Whaling City for decades. I met Marchionne when he was the general manager, later to become an owner. In a dispute with Ford Motor Company over a warranty issue, Marchionne examined the case and covered the $1,200 warranty issue in-house with limited assurance of a warranty payment. I have heard from other customers that Marchionne was extremely helpful in resolving warranty and other issues.

My confusion is why this change of attitude as reported by David Collins? Do we know all the facts regarding the claim? Does anyone really know what was actually said by the car owner or by Mr. Marchionne? I hope for both parties concerned that some equitable settlement can be reached. I would hope that Collins would meet with Marchionne one on one to get a sense of how this could be resolved. Clearly these are two bright men who could help resolve this issue.

John Bailey

Old Saybrook