From Tear Gas to T-tops, Lewis Thrives For 53 Years

Shortly after Lewis Ford moved into its new building on College Avenue in Fayetteville, bungling burglars broke into the dealership. They used the company’s welding torch to cut open the safe. Instead of money, they found tear gas inside, which ignited when they opened the metal door. The weeping welders immediately left the building.

“The police called me in the middle of the night,” says Tom Lewis, chairman of the board of what is now Lewis Management Inc., which oversees operation of the dealership. “I spent all night cleaning the building. I went home and took my clothes off and threw them away. Shortly afterwards, we put in an alarm system.”

That was in 1970 — basically the low point in a career that has had few lows.

“Fortunately, nobody has tried to break into the building since then,” says Lewis.

LMI owns Lewis Ford Sales Inc., Lewis Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Inc., Springdale Ford Inc., Lakeland Marine (which sells primarily Bayliners and Tracker motorboats), Lewisco (which owns the Budget Rent-A-Car franchises in Fayetteville and Springdale) and Lewis Brothers Leasing Inc, which owns the real estate for all of LMI’s businesses.

Lewis purchased the Budget franchises in 1980 and Springdale Ford in 1983. He formed Lakeland Marine in 1987 and bought Chrysler Plymouth Dodge dealership from Houston Taylor Motors in 1988.

LMI, which was established in 1983 as an umbrella organization of ownership, has annual sales of $80 million to $90 million and 275 employees. Lewis Ford alone has annual sales of about $40 million.

Lewis is the grandson of Bert Lewis, who, along with his brothers, founded Lewis Brothers Hardware on the downtown Fayetteville square in 1882. The business remained a fixture there for more than a century.

Lewis’ father, Herbert A. Lewis Sr., a banker, purchased half of Abshier-Bryan Ford in 1945 for $30,000. The name was changed to Lewis Ford in 1951, the year Tom Lewis started working there as a car washer.

“Everybody started on the wash rag,” says Lewis. “It was good training.”

Lewis worked his way through the dealership, becoming chairman in 1983, the year LMI was founded.

Lewis’ older brother, Herb, was also involved with the dealership, serving as president for several years. Lewis has two other brothers: John, chairman of the Bank of Fayetteville; and David, an investment broker.

Lewis’ sons are also involved in LMI. Tim is president of sales and marketing. Tommy is vice president in charge of marketing.

Before 1970, the dealership was on Fayetteville’s Mountain Street, on part of the land where the federal courthouse is now located.

In his current office, Lewis, 65, is surrounded by antiques.

Although he’s semi-retired, Lewis remains active in the company and in his personal life. He doesn’t oversee the day-to-day operation of the business anymore, but Lewis does “look for new projects and oversees the real estate needs.”

Lewis has raced in the annual 15-kilometer (9.3 mile) Tulsa Run for the past 18 years, all but the first two years the event was held.

Signs reading “Nothing is impossible” are sprinkled throughout the building. On a table in Lewis’ office, under a stuffed red rooster, is a sign that reads “Show me the money,” a phrase made popular by Tom Cruise in the movie “Jerry Maguire.”

Lewis says he’s not worried by talk that people are turning to the Internet to purchase cars instead of going to dealerships. Recent news articles have estimated that half of the nation’s car dealerships may not exist by 2003 because of Internet car buying.

“You can’t trust the Internet,” says Lewis. “The Internet won’t be there to help you when you have a problem. … Integrity is of prime importance. It’s the most important thing. People have to be able to know they can trust you.”

Lewis plans to open a third Budget Rent-A-Car franchise. This one will be at the site of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, which is under construction near Highfill in Benton County. Lewis is working with Hertz Rent A Car to build a $300,000 facility at the airport that will be used by both rental companies.

LMI recently donated a half-acre of land to Fayetteville so the city can build a fire station just off Milsap Road. In return, the city is going to extend Plainview Street so it will meet Longview Street and provide a rear entrance to Lewis’ Ford and Chrysler Plymouth Dodge dealerships. Work on the street is expected to begin by August 1. Construction of the fire station is expected to start by the first of the year.