The Phil Long family of automobile dealers is moving westward with the acquisition last week of the Honda dealership in Glenwood Springs.

The Colorado Springs-based company closed Thursday on the purchase of the now-former High Country Honda from founder David McDavid, who opened the dealership three years ago on U.S. 6 in West Glenwood following a several-year absence of Honda from the Glenwood market.

Founded in 1945 by the late Phil Long, a renowned pilot during World War II, the dealership has been owned for several decades now by the Cimino family partnership, including father and son Jay and Mike Cimino, respectively.

“We’re a native Colorado company,” Mike Cimino, vice president, said of the dealership chain that includes 23 locations across Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, with 14 franchises offering Ford, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Toyota products.

The Glenwood business will be the company’s first Honda dealership, and is its farthest west location in the state.

“Our family has been coming up here to Glenwood Springs as tourists since I was 5, and we’ve always appreciated the area,” Cimino said. “Glenwood Springs is an exclusive market with its own customer base, and when we heard that David was selling we jumped at the opportunity.”

In addition, the company purchased the vacant lot immediately to the east, where it will open what will be the chain’s fifth ValuCar dealership, specializing in pre-owned vehicles and a variety of makes from the other Phil Long dealerships.

“Whatever people are looking for, we can have it delivered right here in Glenwood from any of our locations,” Cimino said. “It’s something we’ve been very successful with.”

Joining the Glenwood dealership as general manager is Albert Risch, while the sales and service staff will remain the same. Cimino said he and his father will also make regular visits, as they do to all of the dealerships.

Community involvement and support for various local organizations is also a big focus for the Cimino family, he said. The Ciminos helped to found the Mt. Carmel Center of Excellence in Colorado Springs to help military veterans transition to civilian life, and earlier this year they renovated a former church building in Trinidad and donated it back to the community to serve as a health center. The company has also sponsored numerous playground and ball field projects.

David and Kim McDavid purchased the local Honda franchise in 2012 that had been held by the former Vista group of dealerships out of Summit County before it pulled out of Glenwood Springs in 2011. The McDavid family of Texas had entered the automotive business in 1936, and the David McDavid Automotive Group was started in the 1960s.