Twenty-eight-year-old Arthur Clowney is facing several charges including arson and criminal trespass.
Investigators say Clowney first hit the 6100 block of Roosevelt Boulevard where he set several cars on fire.
He later went to the Hessert Chevrolet dealership a few blocks away and torched more cars.
Police arrested Clowney after he approached investigators at the second scene pretending to be a curious passerby.