Patti Tantillo / Brumos Automotive
This year marks a notable milestone in the history of Brumos Automotive. Twenty-five years ago, a partnership between Dan Davis and Bob Snodgrass was formed under the name of Brumos Motor Cars, Inc., marking the end of the Gregg family’s era of ownership and consolidating the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche dealerships under the Brumos name.
Since then, Brumos Motor Cars has continued to evolve, now including five stores — Brumos Porsche, Brumos Motor Cars (Mercedes-Benz including Sprinter) and Brumos Lexus of Jacksonville; plus Mercedes-Benz of Orange Park (including smart) and Brumos Lexus of Orange Park. Also located in Jacksonville is the Brumos Collision Center. The Brumos of today remains fully dedicated to the principles on which the company was founded.
The Brumos story began in 1953 with racing enthusiast Hubert Brundage. Brundage owned a Volkswagen shop called Brundage Motors in Miami Springs. After relocating to Jacksonville, he became the sole VW distributor in three states. Brundage continued racing, driving the first Porsche to compete outside of Europe in 1955. Awarded the Porsche distributorship for the Southeast, he named his new operation Brumos, for his company’s Telex address (BRUndage MOtorS). He drove the first Brumos Racing Porsche at Sebring in 1960, but his life was cut tragically short in a highway accident in 1964.
Peter Gregg, who was a friend of Brundage, purchased the company the following year, retaining the Brumos name for the Porsche dealership. Under Gregg’s ownership, the company acquired a Mercedes-Benz franchise, named Gregg Motor Cars. In 1966, Gregg earned his first major sports car race win. When a young Hurley Haywood bested Gregg in a local autocross event, the two became friends. They teamed up to make racing history, dominating the world of sports car racing and making the Brumos name known around the world. After Gregg’s death in 1980, his widow, Deborah, assumed ownership and kept Brumos Racing in operation.
Bob Snodgrass, General Manager for Gregg, joined with Jacksonville businessman and racing enthusiast Dan Davis to purchase the company in 1990, merging the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz brands under the Brumos name. In 1991, Davis and Snodgrass were awarded the Lexus franchise for Jacksonville, originally named for third partner, Danny Sullivan. The dealership’s name was changed to Lexus of Jacksonville after Sullivan’s partnership ended.
Snodgrass kept the racing tradition alive, immediately returning Brumos to competition.
In 1991, Hurley Haywood won his fifth Rolex 24 at Daytona, followed by SuperCar Championship titles. Snodgrass was also instrumental in founding the GRAND-AM Rolex Series in 2003.
Following Snodgrass’ death in 2007, Davis continued his support, never missing a race.
Two years after Brumos Racing won the 2009 Rolex 24, Davis returned race operations to Jacksonville.
Deciding to ‘race what we sell’, a #59 Brumos Porsche 911 GT3 made its debut in the GT Class in 2011, winning the GRAND-AM Rolex Series GT championship that same year.
President and CEO Charlie Tomm’s vision for Brumos Automotive is to build on the heritage of the company’s past, and partnership with the Ponte Vedra Auto Show is a great way to celebrate that heritage.
“This show is a great event for our area,” Tomm said.
“Each year it attracts a great collection of unique automobiles in a beautiful setting, and offers something for everyone to enjoy. We see many of our customers at the show and are proud to be a sponsor again this year.”