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Fed Agency Makes It Easier to File Complaints About Motor Coach Safety
After a recent series of high-profile motor coach accidents, mostly involving unlicensed operators in the New York area, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has revamped its system for reporting safety complaints. The FMCSA has redesigned their National Consumer Complaint Database to make it easier for people to file safety complaints about motor coach companies and drivers. The database now features a more user-friendly interface that allows concerned citizens to provide more detailed complaints about unsafe drivers and operators. Part of the revamped site is a new smartphone application called SaferBus, which provides fast and easy access for anyone with a web-enabled phone.
Mercedes and AMG Plan Gold-Wrapped Limousines for Cannes Film Festival
Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes performance specialist AMG are planning a very special surprise for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The movie stars and other VIPs attending this year’s films will be treated to limousines with custom golden paint jobs in tribute to the Palme d’Or, or Golden Palm, the award given each year to the director of the festival’s best film. The festival, one of the highlights of the year for film lovers and film industry glitterati, will be held from May 15 through 26 at this beautiful location on the French Riviera.
Eisenhower Presidential Limousine on the Auction Block
A vintage 1955 Cadillac Series 75 limousine once used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower is slated to be auctioned off in Arizona in January. On Jan. 18, the presidential limo will be on display at the Arizona Biltmore, where it will be auctioned by RM Auctions. While most presidential limos are manufactured to transport the President and other heads of state, this limo was crafted specifically for the First Lady.
Man Steals and Crashes Limousine With Passengers Inside
Some limousine guests in upstate New York received a more thrilling limousine experience than expected when their limo was stolen and driven by a car thief while they were still inside. Police in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., say that 22-year-old Tyler S. Bellick faces a variety of charges in connection with the incident, including felony counts of grand larceny, driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
New California Party Bus Law Goes Into Effect in 2013
We have written about California’s new party bus law in previous posts, but since we are nearing the end of 2012 and the law goes into effect on Jan. 1, now seems like a good time to remind readers about it. The new law, formally known as Assembly Bill 45, closes a loophole in an existing law regarding underage drinking on party buses. Laws prohibiting underage consumption of alcohol in limousines have been on the books for many years. However, because party buses are a newer type of luxury transportation, there were no laws expressly prohibiting minors from drinking alcohol on these luxury vehicles.
Paul McCartney’s Vintage Car Sells for More Than $551,000
A vintage Aston Martin that once belonged to Sir Paul McCartney recently sold for an astonishing £344,400, or around $551,000. The 1964 roadster was sold at an auction conducted by RM Auction London and was expected to fetch at least $450,000. Sir Paul bought the Aston Martin DB5 in the summer of 1964 after completing filming for A Hard Day’s Night and before beginning the Beatles’ 1964 World Tour that heralded the British Invasion in pop music. McCartney owned it until 1970, when he sold it after having put around 40,000 miles on the odometer.
This vintage Aston still has its original Sierra blue paint job and features many luxury options including chrome wire wheels, an equally vintage Phillips Auto-Morgan record player, black leather seating and interior and many other creature comforts. McCartney originally ordered a custom leather interior patterned with musical notes. Sadly, one of the owners replaced that interior with plain black leather.
Peter Wallman, who was one of the auctioneers monitoring the bidding on the Aston for RM Auctions, thought that Beatlemania might drive buyers to extraordinary lengths to own this beautiful car.
“I’m not going to predict that happening here but if somebody collects Beatles memorabilia and just really wanted to have Paul McCartney’s Aston Martin then it could go crazy.”
There is no doubt that $551,000 is a crazy price, even for a bona fide piece of automotive and musical history. If you love the look and feel of vintage automobiles but don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to indulge that craving, you’re in luck! We offer several different San Francisco vintage car rentals that you can rent for a few hours, a day or even a weekend cruise down the Beautiful California coast. Each antique car in our collection is immaculately clean, lovingly restored and in top running condition to give our guests a chance to experience automotive history without having to pay historically high rates.
Our Bay Area antique car rentals are popular for weddings, wine tours, film shoots, anniversaries, birthdays and many other special occasions, like getting out of the city for an afternoon. If renting a San Francisco vintage car sounds like your idea of a great time or a great gift idea, just give us a call at NLS Limo at 800-339-8936 to make your reservation today! Baby, you can drive my car…
Porsche Announces Smaller Version of Limousine
Legendary sports car manufacturer Porsche recently announced that it will be producing and marketing a smaller version of its Panamera limousine in the very near future. Porsche has been slow to release specifics about the smaller, more nimble version of the Panamera, but early reports suggest that it will be a five-door fastback design like the larger model and is poised to compete with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series luxury sedans. Porsche says that the new Panamera limo is going to be a big part of the automaker’s plans to improve market share and sell 200,000 vehicles a year by 2018.
Porsche president Matthias Mueller told reporters that the new Panamera limo has been in development for several years and that prices will begin around $80,000. Mueller described this price point as “the magic limit,” meaning the lower limit that Porsche would consider selling one of its models so as not to undermine its reputation as a luxury automaker. Mueller also leaked news about another new model, a sleek roadster code-named the Porsche 960, which will be positioned to erode Ferrari’s share of the performance market.
In other news, Mueller also hinted at the resurrection of a classic Porsche, the Targa Drophead, a semi-convertible coupe with a removable roof section for open air on the open road.
"We could see ourselves reviving the Targa 964 just like we did 20 years ago," Mueller said.
If things proceed as planned, these new models, in addition to yet another new model, the compact Macan SUV, would add to Porsche’s current lineup of the classic 911, the Cayenne crossover SUV, the full-size Panamera and the Boxster/Cayman. Porsche is owned by Volkswagen and set a new sales record in November, with 128,978 units sold, a marked improvement of 8.5 percent over 2011’s sales.
We look forward to seeing the new Panamera limo, but we wonder if or how it will fit into its proposed niche of smaller performance limousines or if it will create an entirely new niche. Either way, color us intrigued, as any new limousine model from an automaker like Porsche is a reason for celebration! Speaking of celebrations, if you’re looking for a San Francisco limousine rental to help you celebrate an important event in your life, call us at NLS Limo today at 800-339-8936. No other Bay Area limousine service offers a better selection of limos and other luxury vehicles at affordable rates. Add in our legendary customer service, and you and your friends are guaranteed to have a wonderful time! Please browse the pages of our site to view your limo rental options and if you have any questions, we would love to hear from you!
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!
Call 1-800-339-8936 for your free quote
Great customer service, great prices, and always a lot of fun.
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.