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General Manager William Farmer, left, and Operations Officer Bryan Berman are two of the new faces at the top at Springfield Imports, formerly Lipscomb Auto Group.
General Manager William Farmer, left, and Operations Officer Bryan Berman are two of the new faces at the top at Springfield Imports, formerly Lipscomb Auto Group.

Best Automotive completes buy of Lipscomb Auto

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Springfield has a new player in the automotive industry.

Best Automotive, an auto dealership holding company based in northern Arkansas, on Dec. 1 finalized the purchase of Lipscomb Auto Group for an undisclosed amount.

Bryan Hunt, son of Arkansas trucking magnate J.B. Hunt, is CEO of the company, and automotive veteran Bryan Berman is chief operating officer. Bryan Hunt was expected to be in Springfield to help close the transaction, but he was unavailable due to the sudden hospitalization of his father after injuries from a fall. J.B. Hunt died Dec. 7 at a northwest Arkansas hospital, according to a release from J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

Best Automotive has changed the dealership’s name to Springfield Imports and plans to update the Volkswagen showroom to dealer standards, Berman said.

The renovation will create separate showrooms for each of the 3145 S. Campbell Ave. dealership’s four car lines: Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Porsche.

Future plans also include the addition of one or more new car lines within the next two years, though it’s uncertain which ones. Best Automotive’s other dealerships – one in Bentonville, Ark., and another in Jackson, Miss. – carry Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Pontiac, Buick and GMC trucks.

Lipscomb Auto Group founder Gary Lipscomb, 76, announced in September that he was selling the 13-year-old business in order to retire and spend more time with his children and grandchildren. At that time, the Best Automotive investment group tabbed William Farmer acting general manager; he will continue in that role.

Berman said Best Automotive became interested in the dealership about a year ago after an agent for Lipscomb approached his company.

Best Automotive had been looking for an opportunity to get into the Volkswagen and Porsche markets in southwest Missouri or northwest Arkansas – the company’s Bentonville dealership sells GMC trucks, Buick and Pontiac. The Springfield market and Lipscomb’s product lines sealed the deal, Berman said.

“It’s an opportunity to get involved with Suzuki and Mitsubishi in an environment that had a substantial customer base – one that the Lipscomb dealership has built for a long time,” Berman added. “We know the area very well, the city has an excellent economic base and is growing, and it’s the perfect fit for these vehicle makes.”

Berman also said that, in an effort to continue customer relationships that Lipscomb had built over the years, most of the 60 employees will stay with the company.

The Volkswagen line was the newest addition to the Lipscomb dealership; the company had purchased it from Youngblood Volkswagen LLC in January.

Renovation is not new to the dealership, or to the automotive row on South Campbell. Lipscomb spent $1 million on new showrooms for Suzuki and Porsche in 2005, while Youngblood finished a new car and truck showroom in August, Don Wessel Honda completed similar renovations in April, and May Motor Co. moved to a new Campbell facility in August 2005.[[In-content Ad]]

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