Ownership change in the works at recently relocated luxury car business

A Springfield-based luxury and exotic car business in operation for nearly five decades is making two big changes this year: an ownership change and a relocation.

Jim Montgomery, who has been a co-owner of Motorcars International LLC for nearly a decade, said he is set to take on full ownership of the business at the end of the year from founder Bob Cann. Declining to disclose the financial terms of the deal, Montgomery said he became a co-owner of the business in 2016 with the goal of full ownership when Cann retires.

"I was a customer first and then bought half the company in 2016," Montgomery said. "We tell people we sell everything from Ford to Ferrari."

Motorcars International relocated Oct. 1 to a facility at 2841 E. Industrial Drive, Montgomery said, noting the building spans 20,000 square feet and can hold up to 50 vehicles for viewing. He declined to disclose the purchase price for the property.

"We were in a warehouse-type atmosphere that was less than 50% the size of this," he said of the company's former nearby facility at 555 S. Cavalier Ave.

Montgomery said roughly 150 attended Motorcars International’s Nov. 20 open house for the new building. Motorcars International employs eight, he said.

While vehicles are available to view at the new facility, Montgomery said many Motorcars International customers of high-end vehicles buy the cars online and then receive them through shipping.

Motorcars International was founded in 1979, according to its website. The company's current online inventory includes a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon and 1993 Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL.