Thompson buys Vincel's Buick line

The deal will be complete, including transfer of all vehicles, parts and other materials associated with Buick sales and service, on Jan. 30, according to Thompson co-owner Lynn Thompson. Vincel had the Buick dealership for 42 years.

Thompson declined to disclose the cost of the purchase, which will give Thompson five of the eight GM brands - Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Pontiac and Saab - at its 1555 E. Independence lot.

Thompson said the purchase was the result of a GM corporate strategy.

“One of the goals is to get Buick, Pontiac and GMC all in one showroom,” he said.

Thompson said there are no plans to add any of the other three GM brands - Chevrolet, Hummer and Saturn - at his showroom.

Susan Garontakos, manager of GM field and dealer communications, said the consolidation plan, to which there is no timeline, has the customers in mind.

“We do have some brands that can stand alone,” she said. “We combined (Buick, Pontiac and GMC) under one roof to give customers more of a range of vehicles from different segments to choose from in the same place.”

Individual dealerships can consolidate as opportunities are presented.

James Mitchell, Vincel's general sales manager, said the dealership will continue to carry new Isuzu and Infiniti vehicles and expand used car sales at its 3500 E. Sunshine lot.

“We're excited about it,” Mitchell said. “We're lamenting over the memories of Buick, but we're also excited about going a new direction.”

The Thompson and Vincel deal was the second auto dealer swap in as many days, as Youngblood Volkswagen LLC on Jan. 19 finalized the sale of its Volkswagen dealership to Lipscomb Auto Group.

Volkswagen vehicles were delivered to Lipscomb's 3145 S. Campbell Ave. lot the same day.