Our History
In the 1920s, John Lloyd Tysinger ran the Economic Meat Market on Queen Street. However, his true passion was in automobiles. He took pride in being able to identify cars just by the sound of their engine. In 1926, he turned that passion into a career, opening up shop as a General Motors dealer. Tysinger eventually switched to a Chrysler dealer in 1932, becoming a Dodge and Plymouth distributor for the region. In 1964, Tysinger took a huge risk in becoming a Mercedes-Benz dealer in a blue-collar town. Naysayers tried to convince him otherwise, saying a Mercedes-Benz dealership would never be successful in Hampton. Tysinger proudly proved them wrong, becoming a very successful and well-respected business in the community.
In 1977, upon J.L. Tysinger's death, his son Lloyd Tysinger inherited the family business with his brother, Bob. Tysinger Mercedes-Benz stayed in old Hampton until 1988, when it moved locations to make room for the Virginia Air and Space Museum (picture below). The ownership of Tysinger has since been passed to Lloyd's son, Mark Tysinger, who is the acting president of the company today. Mark continues to run Tysinger with the same values as his predecessors. He is actively involved with the dealership, putting his name on every vehicle sold and actively greeting his customers.
At Tysinger Automotive Family, we hold true to the values and ideals on which we were founded. We're proud to offer exceptional service to our clients.
