When Todd Blue, CEO of LAPIS Auto Group, closed his purchase of Ferrari of Rancho Mirage a few months ago, he told WardsAuto that the next dealership franchise he would most like to acquire was a Porsche store.
Well, Blue has done it. On March 17, LAPIS acquired four dealerships from Umansky Automotive Group. The stores are Audi Livermore, Land Rover Livermore, Livermore Honda and — drum roll — Porsche Livermore.
It’s the latest move for Blue as he builds out LAPIS Auto Group. Expanding helps extend the unique customer experience he aims for at the group’s dealerships, Blue told WardsAuto on a Zoom call.
“For me, LAPIS is automotive authenticity,” he said. “That’s really what I feel like I stand for. And that is to be able to connect with my customers, not be too big, but be big enough.”
Connecting with his customers means providing special experiences, such as giving them access to a race facility that LAPIS is building at The Thermal Club racetrack near Palm Springs in Thermal, California.
It’s not just for Ferrari owners.
“It’s multi-brand,” Blue said of the new facility. “It’s open to all our brands.” So, for example, LAPIS wants to take its Porsche customers to Thermal for a track day.
A return to his roots
The first dealership Blue acquired was a Porsche store in Houston in 2010 as owner of IndiGO Auto Group. He subsequently acquired three more Porsche stores including Plaza Porsche in St. Louis, which Blue bought from Asbury Automotive Group in 2015.
In some ways, that led to his recent acquisition. George Karolis, now president of The Presidio Group, an M&A-focused investment bank, sold Blue that dealership when Karolis was with Asbury.
“We’ve been friends ever since,” Blue said.
The Presidio Group represented seller Umansky Automotive Group in the transaction.
Presidio considered other buyers, but Blue’s history as a luxury owner made him a “good fit” for the Umansky purchase, Karolis told WardsAuto in a Zoom call.
“He’s luxury-minded, and this fits the exact mold of him getting back into business with Porsche,” Karolis said.
Blue “has automotive in his blood, for sure,” Karolis said.
A Honda Racing jacket
The acquisition wasn’t entirely luxury brands, of course. It also included a Honda store, the first volume brand franchise Blue has owned.
Owning a volume brand on the same campus as three luxury brands fits in well, Blue said.
“We’ll be able to put customers in, you know, from arguably their first car to ultimately, one day, their dream car,” he said.
He’s excited about the Honda brand because of the quality and diversity of their product portfolio.
To be sure, Honda’s vehicles are popular. They won more Kelley Blue Book Consumer Choice Awards than any other brand in 2025.
The thoroughness with which Honda evaluates potential franchise buyers made him respect the brand more, Blue said. “You really feel like you earned the spot,” he said.
Then there’s Honda’s racing history, which Blue is super excited about. It includes numerous Formula 1 and IndyCar victories.
“When I was approved by Honda, I went out and bought myself a Honda Motor racing jacket because I really have studied their Honda Racing and everything they have accomplished,” he said.
An in-touch boutique dealer
The Porsche and Land Rover dealerships are image compliant and “good for many decades,” Blue said. The Honda store will need work in the next couple of years, he said, and Audi will also need a refresh “sometime soon.”
Blue hired Keith Goldberg, who has a background in luxury from his time with the Rusnak Auto Group in Los Angeles and also has been general sales manager of a Honda store, to manage the Livermore campus.
Now, he wants his general managers and sales managers to start putting the LAPIS touch on the dealerships, including carrying inventory with “enthusiast builds” for all the brands.
“We will not be a commoditized luxury dealer,” Blue said. “We will be a very in-touch boutique dealer.”
While Blue isn’t looking to acquire more dealerships soon – his recent purchases are “a good chunk” to absorb, he said – he left the door open for future acquisitions.
“I don’t ever want to grow just for growth’s sake,” Blue said.
If an acquisition fits his growth strategy and adds value to the communities where it is located, he is interested, Blue said, adding, “but for now, I think there’s plenty here to improve on and work on.”
