Chrysler 300 Blends Size, Power, Refinement

The Chrysler 300 has evolved from a hulking mass of metal that provided visual distinction but lacked refinement into an exceptional sedan that melds powerful rear-wheel-drive performance with fine interior accouterments.

Chicago Sun Times article here

Keywords

Chrysler   Chrysler 300   new sedans   Vehicle Reviews   

 

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2017 GMC Yukon’s Prowess Rests On Price, Power

As the middle child of the popular General Motors family that includes the Cadillac Escalade and the Chevrolet Tahoe, the GMC Yukon offers all the size and capability of its siblings while attempting to strike a balance between the Chevrolet’s value and the Cadillac’s luxury.

Car And Driver article here

Keywords

GMC   GMC Yukon   new vehicles   SUV   Vehicle Reviews   

 

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Maybach Test Drive Sparks True Luxe In Backseats

The rear cabin is the one we’d surgically remove, place in our living rooms, and enjoy its dual 12.3-inch high definition screens capable of accessing the net, its drink holders which either keep your beverage heated or cooled, its LED accents reminding us of Christmas, and the chairs’ ability to ease back and coax a nap. 

Forbes Magazine article here

Keywords

Maybach   Mercedes-Benz   Mercedes-Benz S-Class   new vehicles   premium luxury sedans   Vehicle Reviews   

 

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Springfield Sprinter Is Operators’ Happily Ever After

CHALMETTE, La. — If weddings are your bread and butter, it’s important to keep up with what couples are looking for in transportation for their big day. Van limos provide plenty of room for tall grooms and brides with long, flowing gowns.

This used 2016 Springfield Coach Group built Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is the vehicle to invest in if you want to be the operation every newlywed uses. Being sold on limoforsale.com for $75,995 at 17,831miles, you’ll get plenty of use out of it while turning a pretty profit.

SELLER INFO, SPECS & PHOTOS HERE

A power divider will enable the driver to get the peace and quiet they need to focus while the passengers get as loud as they want. A wet bar, fiber optic lighting, premium sound, wrap around seating, window shades, and TV/DVD will set the mood for up to 14 people.

According to the seller, this unit is well maintained and ready for immediate delivery. With low miles and like-new interior, it’ll save money compared to buying a new vehicle with no miles.

It’s mechanical, exterior, and interior condition ratings are all a 10, and the seller is available to answer any questions via call, email, or text message.

Keywords

Limoforsale.com   Mercedes-Benz   online vehicle sales   Springfield   Sprinter   used vehicles   vehicle sales   weddings   

 

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Bitimec Wash Machines Save Time And Your Budget

GREENWICH, Conn. — Handwashing vehicles is probably not the most exciting part of anyone’s day. Not only is it boring, it takes a lot of manpower. Your time is better spent doing other activities that will keep your business moving and making money.

Bruno Albanesi, president of Bitimec International, says the wash machines his company creates are the solution to increasing productivity and getting your vehicles ready to impress clients faster than ever before.

Inventing To Help Others

The founders of Bitimec were inventors and pioneers of new products, and this trend continues with their new battery powered machines. Their latest, the 626EZ-110 in., is powered by four 6-volt, 260 amp/hour deep cycle batteries and their most popular product among operators.

Bitmec recently presented a new version that can wash anything from high-roof vans to sedans at the NADA100 (National Automobile Distributors Association Trade Show) in New Orleans. “High roof Sprinters can’t go through a car wash, but our machines can wash about 30 buses on a single full charge,” Albanesi says. “Battery technology is changing, so we are moving with the times.”

Fast Facts

Location: Greenwich, Conn.

Service: Van/bus/truck/train washing equipment

Founded: 1988 (in Florence, Italy)

Founder: Bruno Tiesi

Employees: 50

Website: www.wash-bots.com

Contact: (203) 637-1900

Flyte Tyme Worldwide, Windy City Limousine, AJL International in Texas, JET Limo in Arizona, Bauers IT, MCI, and ABC Companies are among the vendor’s many customers, a few of which have purchased multiple machines. “Operators are posting photos of theirs on social media even when they are still in the crate,” Albanesi says. “We have quite a few repeat customers.”

Saving Time And The Environment

Originally, the Sprinter and Transit size washing systems, which are about nine feet tall, would be wasting four feet of water and soap if one used it to wash a sedan or SUV.

“What we’ve done is put intermittent valves on the spray tubes so the operator can shut the top nozzles off,” Albanesi says. The company also keeps up with the latest in technology, and will be using new generation lithium ion batteries in models starting in 2018.

Bitimec wash machines also save your employees from getting bored. Those who wash vehicles by hand soon get tired of it — there’s nothing worse than having to wash a big bus, especially when it’s very hot or cold outside. Unless you have a nice breeze blowing the right way so you don’t get wet, it’s a difficult job.

“We don’t necessarily make it more fun, but we do make it a lot easier so people stay on your detail team longer,” Albanesi says. “For the cost of one good employee, we provide the elbow grease of at least four or five. A 45-foot coach would take eight minutes for our machines to wash; if you had to do it by hand, it’d take at least an hour.”

Born In Italy

The Bitimec brand was born when Italian railways put up money for a conceptual project, Albanesi says. They sent out a challenge to various equipment design firms, and said they would give $15,000 to whomever could design the best mobile train wash system. The now-president of Bitimec won the bid and worked with two mechanical and two electrical engineers, who are now the five partners of Bitimec Italy.

The company concentrated on growing exports, since Italy doesn’t have gold, wood, iron, or any other natural resources to export. “One of the country’s main income streams is through manufacturing. Back then, we weren’t in the international market and now we are in 30 countries.” 

Keywords

industry vendors   vehicle maintenance   

 

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9 Top Useful Ideas That Last Well Beyond The LCT Show

LAS VEGAS — I always return from International LCT Shows with more than my head can handle, but in a good way. The back-to-back experiences produce enough insights and ideas to last well beyond the next Show.

I gravitate toward those takeaway points I find go against the grains of appearances and fads in the business world, or even bold predictions. I listen in between the lines for good advice that pushes back against the peer pressure of what everyone else is doing or thinks you should do. Below is my equivalent of a Show tote bag full of standout worthies. I can’t say for sure why certain info bits appeal to me, but then that’s why it’s called a grab bag:

Easy Going: Easing the chauffeured booking experience in every way was a strong theme at the State of the Industry presentation. While apps and technology make this possible, the concepts of easy and simple need an urgent revival in our age of complexity and distraction. Businesses can lead the way in what I call a de-cluttering movement. After simplifying the booking process, promote the inside of your luxury vehicles as simplicity safe zones, rolling cocoons from all outside hassles.

Profit Leads: Sedans and SUVs can be good vehicles for accessing C-suite clients amenable to using more profitable van, bus, and motorcoach services for their companies, according to a session called, “Are You Really Making Money?” Buses and vans are widening opportunities for operators, as the record number displayed on the show floor proved. Overall, they also bring in more revenue per mile, passenger, and hour.

One-Stop-Shop Pricing: Don’t negotiate away your pricing, said session leaders Shane Stickel and Dan Goff. Use the simplicity of all-in, upfront pricing. Segment your customers based on zip codes, or even sub-zip codes in dense urban areas, to see who’s using your service the most. Profile them to set rates and aim advertising accordingly. This is a time and mileage business. How are you billing?

Slow Down: Marketing your service often doesn’t pay off until one year later, Stickel said. Give it some time. In my view, this insight provides some realism in a social media world of instant results and an obsession with real time measuring on the Internet. The digital marketing world, for all of its advantages, robs us of the gifts of time and patience.

Mobile Alone: Market and promote to mobile devices. (I can’t say exactly who said this, but I heard it). We hear often how consumers and chauffeured clients are online all the time via smartphones and tablets. Our attention spans are splintered in a multi-media world. Contrary to this assessment, mobile devices can actually work against distraction. Look around; when someone is deeply engaged with a mobile device, that user focuses attention on it and shuts out other distractions. That’s because we naturally engage with items and devices very personal to us, and smartphones are like an adopted organ. A marketing message is more likely to get through in mobile-alone mode than in an environment where someone has a desktop, tablet, smartphone, a TV, and printed materials all within reach.

Care Chain: When employees feel you care, they’ll do anything for you, says MGM executive Mary Ann Sena-Edelen. Compensation and wages are not what mostly motivate workers. The only way your staff will deliver excellent service is if the owners and managers set the examples. While it’s best to hire people based on attitude, you also need to take care of your employees so they will take equal or better care of your customers.

Good Deals: During a meeting of the Greater California Livery Association, guest speakers Charles and Spencer Tenney, the father-son owners of The Tenney Group, offered some guidelines for any negotiation, not just those for buying and selling transportation companies: Be humble and kind. Show sympathy while negotiating, even if the other party doesn’t appear as educated or accurate, especially on price. If you show respect for the other party, you increase the chances of getting something done. Leave the door open; you don’t know how circumstances will change. Don’t alienate. Engage.

Care Guide: At the same meeting, GCLA President David Kinney reminded the audience of why this industry exists and its strongest selling point: “Everything we do reflects who we are. We do a better job than TNCs with duty of care. Our duty of care is our advantage. You have a big responsibility to take care of customers.”

Keep Driving: For all the hype and hoopla of driverless cars, author and keynote speaker Steven Hill cut to the nub of the human vs. machine issue. Who programs the algorithm to break the law out of necessity? What algorithm will decide whether a car should strike a 95-year-old woman or a three-year-old girl to avoid an accident? I’ve heard more rational predictions lately that driverless cars are a long way off, and maybe only applicable on long-distance, direct routes. No machine will ever supersede the human soul and its infinite, mysterious capacity for creativity, calculation, and moral judgments.

Keywords

business opportunities   finance   ILCT 2017   LCT editor   Martin Romjue   new ideas   profits   

 

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