LUFF OF LEISURE: My annual vacation begins Friday, and if you've read about my past excursions, you know how vital they are to me in running a good business.
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NEXT-GEN S-550: The industry's premium luxury sedan will undergo key technological and stylistic changes for the
2013 MODEL YEAR. Luxury vehicles keep getting better and more efficient, so we may not be headed into a smaller vehicle world after all. -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
BLURRING GROUND TRANSPORTATION: Are we headed for a transportation APOCALYPSE? With the luxury-driven chauffeured transportation sector indulging such little compact brats as the Toyota Priussy, we now get word that CABBIES IN NEW YORK ARE GOING ALL-OUT LEXUS! Go figure: You can pay less for a Lexus cab ride in New York than a chauffeured ride in a Prius or a Ford Fusion Hybird. This could be cosmically consequential, and maybe we are headed for a Vehicle Rapture in the industry. That might please the always SCHEMING, SNOOTY-GREEN NEW YORK TAXI & LIMOUSINE COMMISSION, which does not exactly trend toward, shall we say, vehicle tolerance and diversity. What will be left behind? -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
Thanks to the wonderful technology of today, businesses can automate processes to become more efficient and cut costs, which is particularly vital in the current economic climate. But technology only goes so far, right? There are certain things that a computer can never do, like drive a car, right?
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CUSTOMER SERVICE: Wineries are getting stricter and more formal with their limousine access policies. Chauffeurs now need to do some planning ahead.
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ALL ARNOLD JOKES ASIDE, what better way to transport the Marriage Terminator's growing family(ies?) than in large chauffeured vehicles?
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FLAKY & FINICKY: Hollywood-types are well-know for changing gigs, swapping out spouses and partners ("
Shine On Liz, You Crazy Diamond!"), reinventing their images, "moving on". . . so it should be no surprise that the glitzy jet set, now canoodling at the annual Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, have
DUMPED THE LITTLE TOYOTA PRIUS ("I think, it's like, we each need more space, ya know?") in favor of a younger, more desirable electric vehicle. Once the darling of luminaries striving to be greener than Kermit, the Priussy ferried many a high-profile celebrity into the media-studded awards-show drop-off lanes. But if the Hollywood hipsters and their assistants truly had a clue about green luxury vehicles, they would be patronizing en masse the as-yet unrivaled
LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID and/or the
ROYALE VERSIONS of that vehicle. Those U.S.-built hybrids provide the best mileage and comfort in the green zone so far, and have thankfully, finally jettisoned the Priussy from the chauffeured curbside to its rightful place in the commuter lanes. -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
LIVELY LIVERY: One of the more challenging client bases for the industry is the prom market, which is now at fever pitch, with May being the big prom month at high schools nationwide. The prom market is a solid, reliable money-maker for operators, but it comes with more risks and watchful eyes. A generation ago, limos on prom night were the exception; now they are commonplace. One chauffeur with
ABOVE ALL EXECUTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND LIMOUSINE SERVICE in Decatur, Ga., recently was interviewed by a local newspaper about
DRIVING ON PROM NIGHT. -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
Do you really know how your chauffeurs behave? You can easily solve any mysteries.
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FACTS NOT FEAR: May is always a month with benefits in LCT Land — the kind of benefits not even our morbidly obese public sector can deliver.
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With most of my friends partying to commemorate Cinco de Mayo (doing business as Cinco de Drinko) and bombing my phone with text messages about how lame I was for staying home and having an early night, I wondered how many of them were riding with a designated driver and how many planned to drive themselves home...
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Thanks to technology, the "chauffeur bag" has gotten much smaller. Nothing reveals industry changes at the daily level more. . .
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Last week, I had the chance to get away from the monotony of Fact Book editing and enjoy the sublime Southern California weather on the back of a motorcycle limo, courtesy of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based MOTO LIMOS CLUB, a chauffeured transportation company that launched in March 2011.
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NOT THAT SPECTACLE: Another, lesser known royal nuptials, happens July 2. The couple will be
CHAUFFEURED IN A LEXUS LS 600h, demonstrating their commitment to the environment. As long as such a commitment NEVER compromises or cheats on luxury, it's a vehicle relationship worth keeping. -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor