RSSLimo Rental Tips | San Francisco Travel Blog - Part 10
Young Driver Who Damaged Rolls-Royce Faces Severe Financial Hardship
All of us have bad days every once in a while, but a recent day experienced by a young Chinese man puts most peoples’ bad days in perspective. The 21-year-old man was driving along a road near the Lukou International Airport near Nanjing when he swerved off the road slightly. Under normal circumstances, this small incident would be easily forgotten. However, this was not a normal day at all. The young man happened to swerve into a Rolls-Royce Phantom, which was parked along the side of the road and suffered around $158,000 in damage when the driver struck it with his car.
The Rolls had been parked there while the chauffeur waited for VIPs to arrive so it could transport them to their destinations. The police report states that the unfortunate driver struck the front left side of the Phantom, crushing the fender, grill, bumper, hood, headlamp assembly and support structure of the $1.9 million vehicle. If that wasn’t bad enough, the young driver admitted that the accident was his fault, which allowed his insurance company to deny paying for the damage. The driver, a chef by trade, has little in savings, certainly not enough to cover the $158,000 repair tab. He is planning to appeal directly to the Phantom’s owners to see if they can reach an accommodation on how the repair bill will be paid.
Yikes. That was a bad day. Hopefully, the driver and the owner will be able to figure out an arrangement that will work for both parties. On a much brighter note, if you’re looking for San Francisco Rolls-Royce rentals, you have come to the right place! We offer one of the widest selections of Rolls-Royce limousines from which to choose in the Bay Area. From classic Silver Wraiths to vintage Silver Cloud convertibles, no other Bay Area limousine service offers a better selection at affordable rates. Our beautiful Rolls-Royce limousines are perfect for the following:
- Birthdays
- Anniversaries
- Weddings
- Sightseeing tours
- Gift ideas
- Wine tours
- Employee rewards programs
- Many other special occasions
For images and information about the Bay Area Rolls-Royce rentals in our fleet, please browse the pages of our site. For answers to your questions and to reserve one of our Rolls-Royce limos for your special event, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936!
World’s Largest Custom Limousine Manufacturer Latest Victim of Economic Downturn
We received some bad news recently that does not affect our San Francisco limousine service directly but affects most limousines services across the country directly or indirectly. Krystal Koach, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of custom limousines, will halt production and close down in the near future. In a press release, Krystal officers reported that their company “doesn’t have the cash to purchase parts to continue manufacturing vehicles.” Ed Grech, Krystal’s founder and CEO, cited the global economic downturn as the reason that his company was closing its doors and reorganizing.
The company had recently moved into the burgeoning Chinese market and had invested heavily in developing its custom stretch Lincoln MKT limousine specifically for that market and other clients in Asia. The company currently has around 51 vehicles in various stages of completion. Grech has told creditors that if they give him time to finish these projects and sell them, along with liquidating some real estate holdings, he would be able to pay them in full with funds leftover to pay other outstanding debts.
When he recently announced the closure and reorganization of his company, Grech told reporters, “Unfortunately, operators are still hurting and demand has been tepid. During the first quarter of 2012, these projects were halted due to the current economic climate both domestically as well as in Asia. We will not be idle during this time. Rest assured that Krystal is still committed to developing the most innovative and cutting-edge vehicles you can buy for luxury ground transportation, and the excellent customer service you expect from us will never waver.”
Grech founded Krystal in 1982 and grew the company from a small Southern California body shop into a company posting annual revenues of $50 million with clients all over the world.
While we don’t conduct any business with Mr. Grech, as we do all our own customization work, we were certainly sorry to hear this news. We hope that he is able to finish and sell his remaining vehicles in production and reorganize to square his debts with his creditors and begin the long process of rebuilding his company.
The economic downturn has affected us all, but NLS Limo is still here, and we plan to keep on serving the Bay Area with custom limousines, party vans and other luxury vehicles for a long time to come. We believe that a big part of our success is our customer service, attention to detail and offering a superb San Francisco limo experience at an affordable price. If you are looking for Bay Area limousine rentals for an upcoming special event, please give us a call today at 800-339-8936 to find out for yourself why our customer service helps us stand out from the hyper-competitive San Francisco limo rental market.
Limousine Service Suspends Wedding Limo Service to Avoid Serving Same-Sex Couples
A limousine company in Annapolis, Maryland has stopped offering wedding limousine service altogether to avoid serving same-sex couples. Discover Annapolis Tours recently announced that they would discontinue this part of their business as of Jan. 1, 2013, when Maryland’s same-sex marriage law goes into effect. Matt Grubbs, owner of Discover Annapolis Tours, told reporters that he decided to stop offering wedding limousine services and would forego the $50,000 expected revenue from renting wedding limos. He told reporters that he preferred to stop renting wedding limos altogether instead of “compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland in less than a week.”
From a legal standpoint, Grubbs is asking for larger problems than simply lost revenue. Limousine services in other markets that have refused wedding limo service to same-sex couples have been the targets of discrimination lawsuits and have lost. However, some legal experts say that Grubbs’ company will be somewhat shielded from discrimination suits, as they are avoiding providing limo services to all weddings.
Same-sex marriage is not yet legal in California, but it is very likely to become legal in the near future. Whether that day comes sooner or later, it won’t change our policy on providing San Francisco wedding limousines to happy couples. It is and always has been our great honor to help all couples celebrate this important milestone in their lives. Mr. Grubbs can elect to offer – or not offer – limousine services to weddings and other types of gatherings as he so chooses. It’s his company and his prerogative. However, we think that he will find that this decision will cost him a great deal more than $50,000 in lost revenue every year. After all, money is a pretty poor unit of measure for most things, particularly most of the things that have real value in life.
If you’re planning an upcoming wedding and you would like to reserve one or more of our San Francisco wedding limousines, party buses, classic cars, luxury coaches or other luxury vehicles, call us today at 800-339-8936. We offer the Bay Area’s best selection of luxury vehicles at the best rates and also offer special money-saving wedding packages! For more information about our wedding limo rental options, rates, availability and all other questions, please give us a call at NLS Limo today, and let one of our reservation specialists make this part of your wedding planning fast and simple!
Great San Francisco Wedding Limousine Ideas
If you’re planning a wedding in the near future and are thinking about renting a San Francisco wedding limousine to make your day extra special, we have some ideas for you to consider. No matter what type of wedding you have planned, from an understated elegant wedding with a few family members and friends to fun theme weddings to destination weddings and all points in-between, we have the perfect San Francisco wedding limousine for the occasion! Some of the great wedding limo ideas that we have helped happy couples experience include these:
- Cable Car Transportation
San Francisco’s iconic cable cars can give your wedding an unmistakable Bay Area feel, but they run on fixed tracks and can’t take you everywhere you want to go. But ours can! Our cable car rentals look and sound just like our city’s famous cable cars, but ours can carry you and your wedding guests to your wedding ceremony, the reception and anywhere else you’d like to go! They are available as closed or open-air models for guest comfort in all weather conditions. - Antique Car Rentals
We have a wide range of San Francisco antique car rentals for you to choose from, including antique Rolls-Royce limos and vintage Plymouths and Oldsmobiles, which are all perfect for theme weddings. - SUV Wedding Limousines
For roomy comfort for you and your wedding party, it’s tough to beat our Bay Area SUV wedding limos. You and your party will enjoy the extra head and legroom and plenty of luxurious amenities on the way to and from the ceremony. - Wedding Limo with Hot Tub
After the hustle and bustle of the ceremony and reception, you and your new spouse will surely want some time to relax and enjoy each other’s company, and there is no better wedding limo for this than our San Francisco hot tub limo. Have us ice down some champagne so that it is perfectly chilled when you are ready for some alone time together while you relax in your hot tub and glide through the city.
It’s not too early to make your San Francisco wedding limo reservation for the best selection for your special day. Just give us a call at 800-339-8936 and let us handle all the details. If you want to customize your wedding limousine experience, we would love to help! Just let us know what you would like, and we will go above and beyond to make it happen! Call us today to find out why so many happy couples rely on NLS Limo for all their wedding transportation needs.
Reserve Your San Francisco Valentine’s Day Limousine Now
Those of you who are planning to rent a Bay Area limousine for Valentine’s Day still have time to make your reservation, but the window of opportunity is closing for the most popular models. The most romantic day of the year will be here before you know it, and, if you’re planning something extra sweet for your sweetheart, like a San Francisco limo experience, for example, there’s no better time to make your reservation. Some of our most popular limousines for couples have already been reserved, but we still have some great options available, such as these:
- Stretch limos available in white or black
- Our famous and very romantic San Francisco hot tub limousine
- Hummer SUV Limos
- Expedition SUV Limos
- Lincoln Navigator Limos
- Limousine buses
- Party buses
- Classic Rolls-Royce limousines
- Other luxurious options!
No matter which luxury vehicle you select for your San Francisco limo experience, they all come with our legendary customer service and many perks that are included in the very affordable rate. Unlike other Bay Area limousine services, we include lots of amenities in the price we quote instead of nickel-and-diming our guests and surprising them with additional charge at the end of the evening.
Although your thoughts may be focused on the upcoming holidays and get-togethers with friends and family, make your Valentine’s Day limo reservations now for the best selection at the best rates. For more information about your limousine options, our affordable rates and ways that we can help you customize your limousine experience, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936. If you’re planning on going out for New Year’s Eve, ask us about renting a San Francisco limo for the second-biggest date night of the year, too!
State Regulators Issue Fines for Ride-Sharing Services in San Francisco
We have written extensively about legal and regulatory problems for Uber, a smartphone application that helps people arrange San Francisco limousine and taxicab rides, but they and other services that arrange ride-sharing are facing new troubles with state regulators. One ride-sharing service called Sidecar, along with new a new arrival called Lyft, have received $20,000 fines from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the agency that regulates all for-hire ground transportation services in our state.
Not surprisingly, the founders of the ride-share services are crying foul about the fines, saying that they are facilitating a valuable service for their clients and the Bay Area.
"This is about community members who have extra seats in their car, sharing those with people who need a ride," Lyft co-founder John Zimmer said. "It helps drivers cut the cost of owning an automobile."
Lyft and Sidecar help car owners earn a bit of money by arranging rides for people who need them. However, state regulators see this for-hire arrangement in a different way entirely.
"We regard these operators as essentially the same as limousine companies, drivers for hire," California Public Utilities Commission Counsel General Frank Lindh said. "We do believe they’re operating outside the law right now; they don’t have proper insurance, their drivers are not properly screened and so we do have concerns about public safety of these operations."
Admittedly, we have a biased opinion on this topic, but we agree with Mr. Lindh on this. Under state regulations, our Bay Area limousine service is a for-hire passenger carrier, and we must adhere to strict regulations about insurance coverage, proper licensing of our luxury vehicles and chauffeurs, safety equipment, regular maintenance for our vehicles and other rules. These are all in place to protect our guests, and, if you have rented a San Francisco limo, party bus or other luxury vehicle from us in the past, you know that we place the safety of our guests above all other considerations. If one of these ride-sharing vehicles is involved in an accident, the person receiving the ride could be put in a very difficult position.
We understand that someone needing a ride to the grocery store or doctor’s office doesn’t need one of our San Francisco limo rentals. However, as a locally owned and operated company and longtime residents of the Bay Area, we are very concerned about how ride-sharing services could have unintended consequences for riders. If you need a ride, call a friend, a cab or call us at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936 to rent one of our vehicles for as long as you need it. When you do business with a CPUC-compliant business like ours, you’re purchasing a lot more than just a limo ride.
Centenarian Celebrates Birthday on Party Bus With 26 Friends
Harriet Bump of Eldridge, Iowa, celebrated a very special milestone recently and did so in grand style. Twenty-six of her closest friends celebrated her 100th birthday by renting a party bus for a tour of holiday lights and a stop at a local ice cream parlor and confectionary. The resident of Grand Haven Retirement Village did not know about the special excursion or its destination until friends told her to dress extra warmly for her birthday party. When the appointed time arrived, she was escorted out to her waiting party bus for an hour-long tour of the Quad Cities, which straddles the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois.
When the tour was complete, she and her friends enjoyed ice cream treats at Lagomarcino’s, a local ice cream parlor and confectionary that has been owned and operated by the Lagomarcino family since 1908. When they arrived, the birthday girl and her guests were greeted by “Happy 100th Harriet” on the parlor’s marquee. Harriet wasted no time on deciding what type of ice cream treat she would enjoy on this momentous occasion.
“I know just what I want,” she said. “I want a strawberry sundae!”
“She didn’t say it, she exclaimed it,” says Tom Lagomarcino, one of the owners.
After ordering her sundae and settling into one of the parlor’s wooden booths, she sat with a wide smile on her face while the staff and her friends sang “Happy Birthday.”
Self-effacing and modest even on this extraordinary occasion, Harriet coyly mentioned that she wasn’t sure what all the hoopla was all about.
“Such a fuss,” she said. “I’m only 100.”
Birthdays are some of the most popular reasons why our guests rent our San Francisco party buses, which can comfortably and affordably accommodate groups of 26 family and friends and many more! If you know someone who is celebrating an important milestone and you would like to make it extra special, rent a Bay Area party bus from us, and let us take care of all the details! They are roomy, comfortable, loaded with luxury amenities and more affordable than you may think! For more information about rates, availability and the wide range of different party bus options available, call us today at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936. Cheers, Harriet!
Mercedes Announces Self-Driving Limousine
The next version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine will offer a most unusual feature, according to a recent press release from the luxury automaker. The new S-Class limo will reportedly have a self-driving feature that will allow the chauffeur to put the vehicle on a kind of autopilot, using a network of 26 cameras, radars and sensors to maintain speed, direction, distance from other vehicles and other controls. However, Mercedes was quick to point out that the self-driving feature will not be able to operate the vehicle safely without being monitored by an actual driver. Like the autopilots used on aircraft, the driver will still have to observe and control the safe operation of the limo, but the self-driving feature will help to reduce driver fatigue and help avoid collisions.
Mercedes says that limousines equipped with Distronic Plus, the radar-based cruise control system, will not be available until late 2013, and prices will begin around $200,000. The system works by matching the speed and movements of a lead vehicle and maintaining a predetermined distance between the limo and the lead vehicle. While the system can take control of the steering, the driver will need to keep his hands on the wheel at all times. A torque sensor located in the steering column monitors pressure on the steering wheel, and, if it is unable to detect the pressure of at least one hand on the wheel, an array of buzzers and lights on the dashboard will alert the driver and disable the steering function of the system.
Mercedes claims that the Distronic Plus system will help “relieve motorists when driving is more of a burden than a pleasure – on the monotonous daily commute, for example, or in stop-and-go traffic”. Calling the system a “gradual introduction to autonomous driving,” Mercedes says that it is merely the first stage of a long developmental process to the driverless cars seen in science fiction movies and the next generation of accident-avoidance systems.
The system includes several important safety features, including vehicle and obstacle avoidance and a pedestrian detection system that Mercedes claims can completely prevent vehicle-pedestrian collisions at speeds up to 30 mph.
There may come a day when truly driverless cars are safe, reliable and a common sight on Bay Area roadways, but there will never be a day when we offer chauffeur-less San Francisco limousines to our guests. Without a nicely dressed, polite and professional chauffeur to greet our guests warmly, open their doors, answer their questions and transport them safely, a big part of the San Francisco limo experience would be missing. We are always on the lookout for new ways to enhance our guests’ limousine experiences, but we’re certain that automation is not the way to go. So, if you’re thinking about renting a San Francisco limo, party van or other luxury vehicle for a special event, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936. No extra charge for the chauffeur. We promise!
Thief Hires Limousine for Getaway Vehicle
A New Hampshire man was recently indicted on charges of burglary and grand larceny after he allegedly stole cash from the motel where he was living and hired a limousine as a getaway car. The 27-year-old Concord, N.H. man was apprehended in a nearby town after allegedly taking a lockbox containing between $2,000 and $3,000 from the office of the Shore Lodge in Onley on Oct. 7. Arresting officers also found that he was in possession of a six-pack of Corona beer with one of the bottles mostly empty. The allegedly stolen cash was stuffed in the six-pack carton along with the remaining bottles of beer.
The Onley Police Department was alerted after the motel manager discovered that someone had broken into the office and taken the lockbox. The manager and motel employees told police that they thought the suspect’s room would be a good place to begin their investigation. When police entered the suspect’s motel room, they found the empty lockbox but few other clues as to where he might have fled with the money. Later that evening, police received a tip that the suspect had been seen near a local convenience store. Shortly thereafter, they received another call saying that the suspect had been seen getting into a white limousine that stopped briefly at the convenience store before heading south on U.S. Route 13.
Olney police alerted other police departments along the suspect’s likely escape route. The limo was stopped, and the suspect apprehended in a short period of time. The suspect tried to use an alias during his arrest but provided his real name during the arrest interview. Police found that the suspect has quite a criminal record, including convictions for being a habitual offender, credit card fraud, a protective order violation, reckless conduct, driving after license revocation, unauthorized use of rented property, resisting arrest, breach of bail and other charges.
This thief may be a thoroughly unsavory character and a criminal, but he does have a sense of style. If you and your family and friends are planning an adventure and need a Bay Area limousine for your own limo getaway vehicle, we can definitely help, provided you’re getting away from everyday responsibilities and your sense of style does not include larceny, of course! All of our San Francisco limousines, party buses and other luxury vehicles are available at very affordable rates and can be stocked with your choice of beer and other refreshing beverages. If you’re thinking about making your own getaway with a group of friends or perhaps an intimate group of two, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936.
Ford Plans Fiery Makeover of Lincoln Brand
Sales of Ford Motor Company’s luxury Lincoln brand have declined 63 percent since sales peaked in 1990. The Lincoln Town Car, the brand’s flagship sedan and a staple of airport and business transportation for many years, has been crowded out by competition from Lexus, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other luxury automakers. Tired of losing sales and market share, Lincoln’s brand managers are about to unveil a new marketing campaign that involves a most unusual angle – setting a Lincoln Town Car on fire. The new campaign is slated to begin in late December with a television commercial that opens with a Town Car being engulfed in flames and the new MKZ sedan emerging from the flames.
You don’t have to be a film director to see the symbolism at work here. Lincoln’s marketing department is looking to distance the sleek new MKZ and MKX models from the past, and they are doing so in unmistakable fashion. An earlier version of the ad involving a voiceover by Leonardo DiCaprio with him at the wheel of a MKZ was greeted enthusiastically by Ford staffers but flatly rejected by Lincoln chief Jim Farley.
“It’s not going to break through,” Farley said. “Find me something that’s going to break through. The tricky part is getting noticed. You don’t have much time because you haven’t earned the right to be in people’s minds.”
Sales demographics indicated that over one in three Lincoln owners is 65 years of age or older. Farley and his staff are clearly going after younger buyers in the highly desirable 40- to 60-year-old age group. Lincoln also plans to air their first Super Bowl ad next year, as well as other ads including an actor posing as Abraham Lincoln, footage of Dean Martin and Clark Gable leaning against the fenders of an MKZ and other commercials to increase brand awareness and attract new buyers.
From our perspective, this is great news. While we love the Lincoln Town Cars in our fleet of luxury vehicles, particularly for our San Francisco airport transportation and business clients, we are excited to see what Lincoln’s designers and brand managers have up their sleeves for the new models. Like all of our other luxury vehicles, our Lincolns are immaculately clean, roomy, comfortable and very affordable. So, the next time you need clean, comfortable San Francisco airport transportation, business transportation or any of our Bay Area limousine rentals, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936.
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I've used Nationwide 3 or 4 times now and have not once been disappointed. Great customer service, great prices, and always a lot of fun. Staff always helps me pick the best option for my group and our budget.