History of Long-Lewis™

The name Long-Lewis™ dates back to 1889 and first appeared on a hardware store in Bessemer, Alabama.   In 1915 Henry Ford began granting Ford franchises to dealers and one of the first granted was to the Long-Lewis™ Hardware Company.  Its owner, William J. Long, was interested in the "horseless carriages" about four years earlier when he purchased his first Model T from a man who won the car in a raffle. Although a train destroyed Mr. Long's Ford after it stalled on a railroad track, he was still convinced that the "automobile" was the vehicle of the future. Fords were shipped to Long-Lewis™ in boxcars, and the train stopped in Birmingham to unload the new automobiles.  The wheels were put on at the railhead, and they were then driven to the hardware store in Bessemer.  In 1921 a two-story addition was added to the hardware building to house the "Ford Division" of Long-Lewis™ Hardware.  In 1929, a second hardware store was opened in downtown Birmingham.

In 1965 the Ford Division moved from the hardware store in downtown Bessemer to a separate location on the Bessemer Super Highway.    In 1982 the Bessemer site of Long-Lewis™ Hardware closed for good.  Vaughn Burrell, the long-time General Manager bought out William Long in 1986 to become the sole owner of Long-Lewis™.  In 1999 Mr. Burrell moved Long-Lewis™ Ford from Bessemer to its new facility in Hoover, Alabama.

In September of 1996 Vaughn Burrell agreed to a partnership with, long-time, valued employee, Todd Ouellette in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.  After a 5-year successful partnership, Todd bought out Mr. Burrell and is the current Owner and CEO of the Long-Lewis™ Automotive Group.  Since that time, Long-Lewis™ has further expanded throughout the State into other communities such as Florence, Montgomery, Prattville and Selma.  They now represent multiple manufacturers including Ford, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Honda & Mitsubishi.  Future plans include adding multiple locations and other manufactures throughout the State.

Long-Lewis™ is by far the largest automotive retailer in Alabama.  They retail 11 times more than the average dealership.  Long-Lewis™ excels in customer satisfaction.  Their honesty, integrity and no-nonsense way of doing business has led to them being awarded more Presidents' Awards for customer satisfaction than any other dealer in the Nation.  In fact, Long-Lewis™ was recently recognized as the #1 Dealership in the Nation in Customer Satisfaction by Ford Motor Company.

And Long-Lewis™ also excels in Employee satisfaction.  They focus on creating a work environment that promotes a family atmosphere and employee longevity.  As a result, Long-Lewis™ has been recognized multiple times by Automotive News as one of the Nation's Top 100 'Best Dealerships to Work For' out of over 17,000 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada.

The Long-Lewis™ Auto Group firmly believes in giving back to the community and to those less fortunate.  In 2013, the Ouellette family formed The Long-Lewis Foundation, a privately funded foundation setup to support local evangelical causes and to help those less fortunate in the community.

If you haven't already, please come see how we are different.   You will see and feel the difference as soon as you walk in our door. You are always welcome, and we sincerely appreciate to opportunity to earn your trust, business and support.