The 180 inch H2 is currently being built in the USA and it has been said that VOSA is fully behind the project to make sure the limousine arrives in the country and it’s able to confirm to full COIF and PSV standards.

It is due to arrive in September when it will have to complete three weeks of gruelling testing at Millbrook before it can get the approvals required to obtain the certificates. Our sources have said the H2 will have completely modified brakes, rear doors, seating, higher roof and a heavily re-engineered front end.

The Chauffeur magazine has been exclusively invited to inspect the vehicle at the coachbuilders on the east coast before it is completed and bought into Europe. It is thought the Hummer will have a slightly higher price tag, but the vehicle would legally be able to seat sixteen passengers.

Up to the time King George VI died, the Royal Fleet consisted of Daimlers. Meeting Princess Elizabeth on her arrival back in the UK following her father’s death was a suite of limousines which clearly came from an earlier age. It wasn’t long before the new monarch ushered in a new era in Royal Limousines.

In 1948 Rolls-Royce had built an experimental car based on a Bentley design, called the ‘Scalded Cat’. One of the people they leant this prototype to was Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He was greatly taken with the car and subsequently Rolls-Royce put into production a very special limousine. A car designed purely for Royalty and Heads of State with an impressive 130mph top speed. The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, as it came to be designated, was such an exclusive vehicle that only 18 were ever made, and remarkably 14 still survive to this day, several of which are in the ownership of descendants of the original owners.

The Phantom IV was fitted with a Straight Eight engine of 5,675 cc and had a wheel base of 12’ 1”. Indeed it is rumoured that the standard distance between UK parking meters was set at 19’ to accommodate the size of the vehicle!

The Duke of Edinburgh ordered a Phantom IV and when delivered was bodied as a formal limousine by H J Mulliner and was painted a dark shade of green. The interior had green leather seats to the front, Liebman Grey cloth to the rear with walnut veneer throughout and a nautical compass provided.

The rear carpet was a mohair rug with a green carpet in the front. The windows were electrically driven, along with the division and rear window blind. The division cabinet contained a clock, ashtray, lockable magazine rack and in the centre armrest was a radio, mirror, notepaper and writing implements. A small blue police light was fixed onto the roof along with fittings to accommodate the Royal couple’s heraldic shield and standard. The vehicle was christened ‘The Maharajah of Nabwa’.

Following Princess Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, the vehicle was sent to Hooper & Co who was commanded to prepare the Phantom IV as a State car. It was decided that the Royal Fleet needed a uniform identity and thus the Royal colour scheme of Royal Claret over Black with a vermillion coachline was established.

The Queen’s car was re-painted in this new livery. The Royal Coat of Arms was painted by hand on each of the rear doors and boot lid. The front compartment was re-trimmed in dark blue cloth. The Queen also decided that she wanted a personal mascot, as is the Royal tradition, and so a new mascot was designed by the artist Edward Seago.

This design was of Saint George mounted on a horse above a slain Dragon and was designed to be de-mountable and transferable to other vehicles.

It is still used today on any vehicle the Queen is transported in throughout the world, with the exception of Scotland where she uses the mascot of her mother, the Late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, a Lion. It was rumoured that the Phantom IV was the favoured limousine of Prince Charles and when in his service carried the mascot of Britannia atop the Globe which was originally made for King George V’s Royal Daimlers.

If used by the Duke of Edinburgh it carries his mascot of a heraldic lion wearing a crown. It is a testament to the exceptional qualities of the vehicle that the original limousine is still actively engaged as number five in the State fleet.

The Queen was so impressed with her new limousine that she decided to order another in 1958.The vehicle in question was actually built by Rolls-Royce in 1953 and had been kept in London for the sole use of the Royal Mews as occasions required.

This time the body style was a Landaulette, where the roof over the rear seats folded down when required, particularly useful in warmer climates. The coachbuilder this time was Hooper & Co, who ironically by this time were owned by Daimler, Rolls-Royce’s closest competitor, and slowly being phased out of the Royal Mews. The vehicle was christened ‘Jubilee’.

Indeed the Landaulette is still maintained in pristine condition in the Royal Mews at Sandringham House and is occasionally brought back into use for ceremonial occasions, despite having travelled over 100,000 miles on State occasions.

The longer model was complimented by two other Bespoke Phantoms with a range of new features. Rolls-Royce announced the extended wheelbase model at the Geneva motor show earlier this year.

An additional 250mm increases the already generous rear space and gives customers the chance to increase the level of Bespoke equipment. The first cars will be built for the Middle East market in early autumn. Deliveries to the Asia Pacific region will begin at the end of the year. The extended wheelbase Phantom can be ordered with such options as rear seat DVD player, individual six-inch screens positioned in the rear of the front seats, drinks cooler and a humidor.

Alongside the extended wheelbase model will be a Bespoke, contemporary specification Phantom. The solid black exterior provides the perfect backdrop for the Jasmine-coloured coach-lines.

Inside is a Black Tulip wood veneer with Mother of Pearl detail inlay, matching black carpets and Jasmine leather seats. In the rear, a Bespoke cool box sits below the lounge seat. Blue chrome fittings complete the look. The second Bespoke Phantom has been designed to appeal to the business user. This car includes items such as a rear telephone and laptop power points. The rear compartment also features a theatre package — two individual, fully adjustable seats, separated by a centre console, which houses a cool box and a crystal glass set.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chairman and CEO, Ian Robertson, said, “Rolls-Royce has always been an innovator, pushing the boundaries of automotive art. The Phantoms on display at Frankfurt reflect the new, younger owners of Rolls-Royce cars. We are continuing to take significant steps forward in automotive thinking, not with the aid of superfluous gadgets, but through the original use of materials, technology and design.”

When you first buy a limousine and start-up in the industry, you probably thought that the car would be working seven days a week, stuffed full of famous celebrities and it will soon have you on the way to your first fortune. However, within a very short time you realise that you may have got it wrong!

Limousines rarely work full-time due to the fact that your real customers generally go out at the weekends, apart from the proms and race events, but those bump up the business only for a month or so.

This is when your air bags burst, the air conditioning clamps out, the sound system gives up and you get intimate with your pitmans track rod ends and ball joints. You also find out the wonderful diversity of the American stretching market… hands up those who have got a wiring diagram?

How many times have you watched a man with a meter scratching his head and mumbling profanities about American cars? And just when you think you’ve got it sussed you meet your local licensing officer who informs you that they will not licence white cars, American cars or left hand drives despite the fact that the next licensing authority along will licence them…sound familiar?

This actually is not just a problem for stretch limousines, but also for the airport transfer people and any operator who business is not entirely local. Despite all the above, when the SUV’s started coming over to the UK, the “must have one of those” thoughts started nagging at me. Initially the finance was a problem but we overcame that, but it was during that period the overall problem became clear, we were now heading for show down with VOSA.

Now VOSA is bit like the tax man, they may not move too quickly but they will get you in the end and they are getting quicker. Once you get up into the realms of over eight passengers as we all know you enter a whole new ball game. It was now that the idea of using a legal vehicle that was made to carry 16 passengers and had a CIOF (certificate of initial fitness) was too great.

So, with this in mind we first looked at mini buses, we initially didn’t like them as they look a bit too much like converted vans (not surprising as that is what they are). The choice soon narrowed all the way to the Caetano Optimo which can be re-seated to 16 from 21 giving your customers lots of room. Whilst they are built small they are a properly built coach so wiring and converting is comparatively easy and you can get a work shop manual!

It has now started, in what has become an ongoing process to get the thing as noisy and silly as possible. We started with a 500 point fibre optic ceiling with a six colour wheel and twinkler. Then we added five seats of light activated stage lights, four lasers, two strobes, the two tone blues and the ultra violets and to complete all this, the smoke and the bubbles.

You may think we would stop there, but there’s always more in the pipeline as they say. With the sound we put widescreens front and back, a six stack DVD the obligatory CD and subwoofer and 10 sets of speakers the thing fairly bugles as it goes down the road. The bars are made out of live edge Perspex, there are two of them with 16 flutes, 16 tumblers, 2 buckets and no decanters (limousiners will know what I mean.)

Now comes the really cleaver bit — during the day you can turn it all off and you end up with a spacious mini coach in which you can take out to the bowling club, golf societies, theatre groups who really don’t want to go out in a limousine.

If this wasn’t all good news, it gets even better, it’s all totally legal! You get an operating licence you get properly and competitively insured and no one can stop you and thrown out your passengers and impound your vehicle! It doesn’t get better than that!

Editor of The Chauffeur Magazine, Paul Gibson, presented the awards to a crowd of 300 at Sandown Park. Categories such as Limousine of the Year, website of the Year and Chauffeur of the Year were all presented with the help of popular comedian Simon Evans.

Eddy Ellis and Neil Percival collected the award for Website of the Year a1stretch.com. Judges looked for design, content, navigation and good links.

Dave McPhail from Moonlight Industries gets awarded for Limousine of the Year for its Joker H2 creation.

Royale Limousines were awarded Coachbuilder of the Year. President Cabot Smith collects the award for the quality limousines his company produces.

The Audi A8 Long-wheel base was given Chauffeur Car of the Year award. Nathan Dennis from Audi UK received the award from Jon West of category sponsors Broadway Wholesale Tyres Ltd.

Operator of the Year was awarded to Singletons Limousine based in South Wales. The company was nominated for its amazing growth, excellent fleet of vehicles and professionalism. The award was presented by Peter Wright from Star Limos parts and accessories, sponsors of the category.

Chauffeur of the Year was given to Robert Mortimer who was voted for his professionalism, smartness and attitudes towards the industry. Robert was awarded 12 months free insurance by Direct Chauffeur Line Insurance Consultants.

Finalist: Website of the Year, Limos4sale.co.uk. Paul Miles

Finalist,: Website of the Year, Limoshop.co.uk

Finalist: Coachbuilder of the Year, Pinnacle Limousines.

Finalist: Coachbuilder of the Year, Executive Coachbuilders, collected by David Bakares and Tom Fielding

Finalist: Website of the Year, Chauffeursnetwork.com. Malcolm Canavan.

Finalist: Chauffeur of the Year Kevin Towler.

Bosses from ECB, the second biggest coachbuilder in the world arrived in the country last month to witness for themselves the growing limousine industry. The company also revealed that it has acquired Oxford based Limo Depot as its sole representative in the U.K.

Vice President of ECB, Tom Fielding commented: “We are very excited about coming to the UK to support an industry which is growing rapidly every single year. ECB is the only coachbuilder who will have a factory direct showroom which will offer fantastic vehicles and services direct from the supplier.”

The plans for the showroom have not yet been finalised, but it has been said that there will be a minimum of six limousines on display ranging from the Excursion Diplomat to the stunning ICON 120 Towncar.

ECB UK is part of the massive expansion plans for Executive Coach Builders which already supplies limousines to China, Dubai and Canada. It currently produces around twenty units for the UK industry every year, and the opening of the factory direct showroom is expected to increase that figure to more than a hundred.

Managing Director of ECB UK, David Towells said: “It’s great news that an excellent coachbuilder such as ECB are giving this industry in this country this kind of support. Instead of being just a distributor, we will be offering a unique service with no middle men, which is a first for any US coachbuilder.”

Tom also added: “We were amazed by the excellent show which was put on last month at Sandown Park, it really proved how popular our vehicles are becoming. The turnout was excellent and the response to our products was amazing.”

Expected to be open in the early part of next year, there are also plans to develop a dedicated service centre giving ECB customers an after sales service within the same premises which are yet to be announced.

Making its European debut at the Limousine and Chauffeur Show was the impressive six wheeled, Hummer H6 (pictured below), worth over £73,000. The H6 is expected to take the UK’s limousine market by storm. Limo World UK, the sole European dealer and distributor of the H6, has already seen units sold in Japan, USA and Dubai.

Nick Clarke, Managing Director of Limo World UK comments: “Europe’s first limousine show has been a fantastic opportunity for us to debut the new Hummer H6. We also sold 20 Hummer H3 Limousines, some of which are going t o European buyers, from Paris, Switzerland and Belgium as well as the UK. We are already looking forwards to being part of the 2006 Limousine and Chauffeur Show.”

Giving the six wheeled Hummer H6 a run for its money was the ‘Joker’ Hummer H2, which headlined the UK event. The Joker H2 created by Moonlight Industries (picture on front cover) won ‘Limousine of the Year’, at the UK’s first Industry Awards. Built exclusively for UK company, Hirelimos, the Joker is equipped with casino interior and a mind blowing sound system.

Paul Miles, Managing Director of Hirelimo’s and Xotic Limo’s comments; “The UK show was a huge success and we sold three Porsche Cayenne Limousine’s and made our first Blue Crush sale on the first day after only 30 minutes of the doors opening! We sold one Porsche to Belgium and one to Germany — a truly European show. This Limo show was as good as any that I’ve attended in the USA and the show is well and truly on the limousine map and already looking forwards to being part of next years show!”

Barry Schiller from Tiffany Coachworks Europe said, “We were very proud to have been there to witness the birth of a new show in the Limousine Industry calendar and have no doubt that it will become the event that no serious player in our industry will dare to miss in 2006.”

He added, “It made a refreshing change to be able to play host to our American colleagues on our home turf after all the hospitality that we have received over the years and at a show that, despite being the first, could hold its head up high and shine.”

The Ford Excursion Diplomat, with an interior comparable to that of a private jet, also made an appearance at the UK’s debut show. Full of the ‘bling’ factor, Limo Depot UK ECB’s un-stretched Excursion has already attracted attention from a range of world famous music stars.

Also at the show, ECB President David Bakares comments; “We are very pleased with the show. We have sold a number of cars of which 25% are European sales. We believe the UK show to be on a par with Las Vegas!”

Audi UK launched its new Prestige Chauffeur Program — a new initiative designed to bring all the exclusivity of the Vorsprung Durch Technik brand to both the consumer and the client. Audi also exhibited the new A8 3.0TDI Quattro long wheelbase, which won ‘Chauffeur Car of the Year’ at the industry awards.

Liz McConnell, Specialist Sales Manager for Audi Business Sales, was delighted with Audi’s representation at the inaugural show and even more so by the A8’s award. Liz comments: “The level of interest in Audi we registered throughout the show made it an extremely worthwhile venture for us, especially as we also beat some pretty exalted luxury cars to an award judged not only by respected authorities in the chauffeuring industry, but also by professional drivers across the country who spend most of their working lives in luxury saloons.”

Perhaps having a Maybach on the Binz stand was always going to overshadow the company’s sleek Mercedes-Benz E-Class based 6 door limousines. Yet Peter and Roberta Smith of family-owned Binz UK were not unhappy with the interest shown by operators in their fully-type approved and 5-star NCAP crash-test certified vehicles.

Peter comments; “The people we spoke to seemed to recognise that these are factors that are fast becoming important if you want to deal with the corporate and high net-worth individual markets”. Total costs of ownership also came in for scrutiny, especially fuel economy, ease of accident repair and the full support of the Mercedes-
Benz dealership network.

Volkswagen UK presented the Phaeton, Volkswagen’s luxury saloon and BMW GB revealed for the first time, to a UK audience, the new BMW 7-Series, Long-wheelbase 3.0 diesel version both of which were nominated for ‘Chauffeur Car of the Year’ — See page 26.

Attending the two day UK event was US celebrity entrepreneur, US Limo Icon and World Record holder Limo Bob. Currently holding the Guinness World Record for the longest Limousine which measures a staggering 100ft, Limo Bob was on hand to provide his Limousine expertise for all budding Limo owners.

The show also launched the brand new and exclusive 2006 Limousine Calendar, featuring some of the world’s most beautiful women with the world’s most exotic cars.

Alongside the many vehicle displays, there were a massive array of trade exhibitors offering various services to the industry such as uniforms, franchises, products and financial services. Many exhibitors reported record sales during the weekend.

Peter Wright from Star Limos parts and accessories said, “The show was a great opportunity to meet our customers who have been buying from us over the past few years.”

The 2005 Limousine and Chauffeur Show set a president amongst the European motoring industry. Exhibitors who were involved in the UK’s first show of its kind are already looking forward to taking part next year.
The Limousine and Chauffeur Show proved exactly how the U.S Coachbuilders are developing their interiors to produce the most stunning cars to date.

As Londoners remain extra vigilant in the wake of the July terrorist bomb blasts, one coach operator has entered talks with some of the City’s largest companies to formulate emergency contingency plans to get workers out of the Capital in the event of another major incident.

The Kings Ferry, based in Kent and responsible for carrying thousands of commuters in and out of London daily, has been set the task of providing companies with a dedicated fleet of coaches capable of moving staff from Central London to emergency centres, mainline stations or spine routes in the Home Counties at short notice.

Under the proposals, The Kings Ferry would have a guaranteed number of vehicles and drivers on stand-by at its Gillingham headquarters from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, which could be despatched to any Central London location within 15 minutes of the request being made.

The initiative was sparked after bosses at one of the City of London’s leading financial services companies approached The Kings Ferry to develop an emergency response plan, which would enable them to move their staff ‘safely and quickly’ should another attack, security alert or rail strike cripple the City’s public transport system.

The Kings Ferry’s managing director, Steve O’Neill, said: ‘Transportation is a key consideration in any contingency plan, whether it’s moving staff to alternative offices, getting them out of a critical, unsafe area, or even just getting them to work and back in the event of a rail strike.

‘The July 7 attacks paralysed the Underground system, resulting in many people being unable to get in and out of the City. The Kings Ferry was inundated with calls that day from firms trying to hire large numbers of coaches to get thousands of their people home. We did all we could to help but we simply didn’t have enough spare capacity to meet this sudden high demand — and we’re one of the UK’s largest coach operators, which just proves how important it is for companies to have a contingency plan.

‘The Kings Ferry is offering City of London firms a solution that will guarantee adequate transport resources in the future, thus minimising any disruption and safeguarding the welfare of their staff. What’s more, we can tailor the solution to suit each company’s needs and budget,’ added Steve O’Neill.

The claim was brought after the company refused to remove text from their website following a claim by Cars for Stars that it was both the author and owner of all literary works contained on the Cars for Stars website and the use of any the material without prior authorisation was an infringement of their copyright.

District Judge Naylor of the Southampton County Court found in favour of Cars for Stars Limited and awarded over £2000 in damages. The case serves as a reminder that the content on a website is protected as a literary work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the courts will rule in favour of companies found to have had their copyright infringed.

Company director Stephen Hughes commented, “Court action must always a last resort and we made repeated attempts to settle the matter over a period of 10 weeks, when this failed we were left with little alternative other than to issue proceedings. Our view was to ignore such a blatant infringement of our copyright would send completely the wrong message.”

Cars for Stars appointed Lawdit Solicitors Limited a firm specialising in the field of trademarks, designs, patents and copyright law.

Hughes added, “Copyright infringement can be a complex area and we decided to use a firm of solicitors that specialised in this area to argue our case. We are delighted with the outcome, but disappointed that it was necessary to take matter before the courts. Nonetheless, it should provide some comfort to limousine and chauffeur companies that their own published work is protected under existing legislation and there is a remedy for infringements.”

The fees will rise on 30 September 2005. The increase in fees, averaging 13%, is the third increase in VOSA’s three year programme of such increases.

The increased fees are needed to ensure that costs of testing and licensing are covered, especially for large, multi-axle vehicles that take longer to test and retest. Extra income generated will also be used to invest in facilities and improvements in services.

A number of test stations have been refurbished in the past two years, with work recently completed at Northampton, Aberdeen and Gillingham (Kent). The Leeds site is currently being re-built and work will shortly begin at Leighton Buzzard. Operators and presenters are also benefiting from VOSA’s Operator Self Service facility for licensing, and will be able to book tests and pay for them online by the end of the year.

Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of VOSA, said, “The fee strategy we have put in place is enabling us to improve the quality of service we provide. Operators around the country can already see the benefits of the modernisation programme at local test stations while many more are accessing our online services.

“The progress made with the Service Level Agreement we have with the three main trade associations, demonstrates our commitment to improve services and communication. In particular, the Account Manager trial has shown how new ways of working with operators can bring about cost effective improvements in business practice for operators which don’t compromise road safety standards.”