Dealership History

Our Dealership had a humble beginning. In the heart of Old Hampton during the 1920's, John Lloyd Tysinger ran the Economic Meat Market on Queen Street. His real love was automobiles - he claimed he could identify an oncoming car just by the sound of it's engine. He started selling Pontiacs, Oaklands and Diamond T trucks from an adjoining vacant lot on King Street.

The recounting of the story of John Lloyd Tysinger, the butcher who became an auto magnate, involved a friend, Jack Morgan, who later became the president of Morgan-Marrow Insurance Co. As the story goes, Morgan remained on the car lot until a potential buyer came along. Morgan then fetched Tysinger, who untied his apron, kicked the sawdust from his shoes, slipped into his suit coat and stepped outside to sell someone a car. Morgan stayed behind to watch the butcher shop.

J.L. Tysinger's sales ability was legendary. "When daddy put his arm around a man's shoulder, he might as well sign the papers because he had bought that car", recalled Lloyd Tysinger, our founder's son who, with this brother Bob, inherited the family business upon their father's death in 1977.

Tysinger started in 1926 as a General Motors dealer but switched in 1932 to Chrysler, becoming a Dodge and Plymouth distributor for an 11 county region. In 1964 we became a Mercedes-Benz dealer defying naysayers who considered the Peninsula a blue-collar town and who didn't believe a Mercedes-Benz dealership could be successful here.

The Tysingers stayed in old Hampton as one of the last survivors of businesses established there when it was the center of Elizabeth City County. We moved to our present location in 1988 to make room for the Virginia Air and Space Museum.

The Tysinger torch was passed to Mark Tysinger, Lloyd's son who is the president of our company today. Mark continues to manage our company with principles that have stood the test of time... hard work, honesty and integrity. We offer Mercedes-Benz, Dodge and Hyundai vehicles along with millions of dollars of pre owned vehicles to fit in any budget. With a changing history as rich as ours, the tradition of excellence has remained the same. Visit us today and see why Tysinger is a better way to buy a car!