Creepy? Hardly. To the founder and CEO of indiGO Auto Group, it’s 7,000 square feet of pure heaven — a treat to stare into those 36 “eyes.” The Porsches themselves were as varied as they were beautiful, running the gamut from vintage greats like his 1954 356 Speedster and early 911 Turbo to late-model legends-to-be like his brand-new 911R. Porsche’s latest hypercars — the Carrera GT and a 918 Spyder — were present and accounted for, looking every bit the million-dollar masterpieces they are, while outside the door was one of fewer than 350 Porsche 959s ever built, none of which could be legally imported to the United States until a 2001 “Show and Display” law opened the door to them. Blue owns two of them, with this one being the beneficiary of a recently developed $2 million “Canepa” performance upgrade package that nearly doubles the 959’s power output. Oh, and every one of these sensuous and sculptural speed machines was rendered in a fetching shade of blue.

Of course, that’s his name. So, too, have Blue’s businesses been azure-themed, at least in name, including Cobalt Ventures LLC, a real estate and financial services enterprise he co-founded in 1998, and indiGO Auto Group, a collection of new and classic car franchises Blue created in Houston in 2010, with 14 franchises in greater Houston, St. Louis, Missouri, and the Coachella Valley, where it represents Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati, Lamborghini, Land Rover, McLaren, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce.

While Blue’s favorite color may surprise no one, his ascent to prominence among automotive retailers during the last nine years has been remarkable. Like most enthusiasts, Blue had loved cars since he was in pre-school, but he never considered dealing in them as he graduated from George Washington University in 1992 or during most of the next 15 years that followed. During that time, Blue enjoyed

success in financial services and real estate, as well as in his Kentucky-based family’s steel business. Only after profiting from restoring and selling a classic Maserati did he consider becoming an automobile dealer, albeit a vintage automobile dealer — and in 2006, indiGO Classic Cars was born.

“Let’s be absolutely clear,” Blue says. “That was definitely a business to justify my desire to collect in the beginning. I would buy postwar European sports cars and sell them and kind of say, ‘That’s a business.’ I kept doing other things like real estate because I couldn’t feed my kids like that, but that’s how I got started.”

In 2009, amid the economic recession, the opportunity arose to purchase the Houston, Texas-area Porsche dealership, and despite knowing little about the inner workings of a new-car dealership, Blue took control of Porsche North Houston, which he combined with indiGO Classic Cars to form indiGO Auto Group.

“At first, I had no idea how [to be a car dealer],” he says. “I immediately recognized I needed to get good people around me. That was job one.”

Just as helpful, Blue adds, is that as an outsider, he had no bad habits or staid sales practices to unlearn. “It was the perfect way to learn. I sat across from salespeople and service people and learned the car business.”

What he did know was how to be his customer. As someone who had bought numerous luxury-brand automobiles and lived the lifestyle from childhood, he knew what his customers were looking for in a car-buying experience. “One of the reasons why I think we are so successful is credibility. I was my customer, genuinely, legitimately.”

And he hasn’t been afraid to invest. Blue moved his 13,000-square-foot Houston dealership into a state-of-the-art, 60,000-square-foot facility; acquired and revamped a nearby Lamborghini franchise; and acquired and consolidated two St. Louis–area Porsche dealerships into one similarly spiffy new facility of their own.

But when Blue stumbled onto Desert European Motorcars in Rancho Mirage while exploring prospects in Southern California, a business mentor helped him recognize the unique opportunity, which led him to become the owner of the multi-franchise business in 2013.

“He told me, ‘You need to understand the desert. You need to understand how much people love to celebrate their success out there. They’re different, quite frankly, than even other communities in this kind of region. People are proud of their hard work and they want to celebrate it.’

“And this is true whether they have a steel service center in Detroit or a dog food company in Missouri or something else in Seattle,” Blue says. “When they go to their second or third home in the desert, having gotten out of, say, a Tahoe in Detroit, they get to drive their Porsche, Rolls-Royce, BMW, Bentley, or Lamborghini.

“I also think the desert is a unique place for the car business and for the celebration of the automobile for other reasons: People are in a more relaxed state of mind, whether they have played golf that morning or bridge or worked out or had lunch. When they come to shop for a car in the desert they are truly in a different mindset. Calm. Enjoying the experience. It’s everything you [as a dealer] want. And overall, it truly is a great lifestyle in this area for car culture. You don’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of big cities yet you have access to great opportunities very close by.”

All of this makes doing business here different than in his other markets. “We aren’t just selling transportation; we’re selling dreams. We’re selling a celebration.” And this mantra applies to a $29,000 Audi as much as a half-million-dollar Rolls-Royce, he says. “We’re not trying to win sales championships or anything but to create that excitement.”

But sales have increased — a lot. Since indiGO acquired its first Porsche store in Houston, sales have rocketed from 180 cars in 2010 to almost 4,000 vehicles, comprising well over $750 million in revenue, in 2018. The company’s footprint has expanded in the Coachella Valley with a newly constructed Jaguar/Land Rover dealership in Rancho Mirage, ongoing renovations of its other prestige brand facilities there, and, significantly, construction of the world’s first “Destination Porsche” dealership on South Palm Canyon Drive that Blue worked closely with Porsche executives in Stuttgart, Germany, to design and build as a stylistic model for other Porsche dealerships worldwide.

In so doing, Blue has contributed massively to the local economy, employing 317 full-time and five part-time personnel, according to the company.

Besides being among the largest contributors to the Rancho Mirage tax base, indiGO has spent more than $30 million in construction projects alone since 2016 and has another $10 million of projects on the way after the company’s dedicated service facility breaks ground near Audi Rancho Mirage. IndiGO also moved its annual Drive for Kids fundraiser from Houston to the Coachella Valley, which has brought tens of thousands of dollars to local youth charities over the past few years — including the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children and the Ray of Hope Retreat.

Blue also serves on several advisory boards, and last January, the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce nominated indiGO for the Large Business of the Year Award while recognizing Blue with its top honor: 2018 Business Person of the Year.

For all his success and status, Blue projects surprisingly little ego. Enthusiastic without being loud, proud of his achievements without being boastful, Blue’s down-to-earth countenance was summed up perfectly when, after all we had discussed, I casually praised some members of the Porsche Palm Springs sales staff whom I met when I stopped by unannounced and asked for a tour of the beautiful new building on a weekend morning. “Oh, thank you for that,” he beams. “It makes me so happy when I get compliments for my team. We really are a family. That’s the greatest compliment I could ever get.” — S.S.