Business Opportunities | Cars for Stars News

Emirates open “limo lounge” where passengers wait for their chauffeur car at Heathrow

Emirates airline have opened a brand new “limo lounge” facility at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 where business class and first class incoming passengers travelling with the airline can make a pit stop before being collected in their chauffeur driven limo.

The new mini arrivals lounge is situated just 15 metres from the area where the Emirates chauffeured cars are parked which means passengers only need walk a very short distance to be whisked away by their personal chauffeur.

Emirates say the new lounge at Terminal 3 is not an arrivals lounge, but more a rest area where passengers can stop for a break between leaving the plane and being collected in their car. The mini lounge is still kitted out with comfortable seating for up to 30 people, plus there are tea and coffee and refreshment facilities, and also a business area with free Wi-Fi and also PCs. An on-call porter service is also supplied to assist with luggage.

The airline anticipates that 200 passengers flying business class or first class with Emirates will make use of the new facility daily. Emirates say they anticipate the new rest area will ensure passengers enjoy a “seamless journey” with a designated lounge a few steps from the plane where passengers can wait in comfort for their limo to chauffeur them to their final destination.

22-year-old pays extra £45k to skip the waiting list for the new Lamborghini Aventador

A wealthy Saudi Arabian man has forked out an extra £45,000 just to avoid an 18 month wait to take delivery of the very latest Lamborghini Aventador. The 22-year-old contacted a businessman over 4,000 miles away in Weston-super-Mare in the UK who specialises in sourcing the very latest models of supercars for wealthy clients who was able to track down the new Lambo for the impatient buyer.

Although the 22-year-old graduate had to pay an extra £45,000 on top of the actual price of the Lamborghini, bringing his final bill for the sports car to £290,000, Dhiaa al-Essa’s grandfather is estimated to be worth £1.5 billion and so the added cost to get the Aventador before anyone else wouldn’t have broken the bank.

Shaun Williams who runs, BestPriceCarBuyers.com, was the man responsible for tracking down the Lamborghini for 22-year-old Dhiaa. With over 20 years worth of experience in the car sales business, Mr Williams has a wealth of contacts in the luxury car sales industry and is able to track down the very latest models across a range of brands which is why his clients contact him ahead of their local dealerships to avoid any lengthy waiting lists.

Why the youngster was in such a hurry to get his hands on the new Lamborghini we’re not sure as his personal range of vehicles is estimated to be worth $12 million and includes some of the most prestigious cars in the world including the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Rolls Royce Coupe and the Rolls Royce Phantom, the three other Lamborghini models, and six Ferraris, five Porsche sports cars and a Maybach, Audi R8, Lexus and numerous BMWs; we don’t know when he must get the time to drive them all?!

JLS show off their luxury cars at Radio 1 recording

They are fast becoming the biggest boy band in the UK and to prove their pop star credentials, the lads from JLS have some head turning cars worthy of their celebrity status.

All four of the boy band members drove themselves to the BBC Maida Vale Studios, each arriving behind the wheel of an impressive luxury car. Three out of the four boys which make up the group which found fame on the X Factor drove their beloved sports cars to the recording session, with Oritise Williams being the only one from JLS to drive a state of the art Mercedes Benz jeep.

The lads were photographed arriving at the studios to record a Live Lounge session for Radio 1 with an army of mostly female fans waiting to welcome them. When it comes to their cars, Jonathan Benjamin (JB) Gill and Marvin Humes share a similar taste with both of the boys arriving behind the wheel of a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG supercar which has a starting price of £157,000. The much sought after sports car features dramatic gull wing doors which open vertically with JB opting for a red version while Marvin arrived in a sleek black Merc.

Lead singer Aston Merrygold was the only one out of the JLS boys to not drive a Mercedes, instead the 23-year-old drove his white Audi R8 with personalised registration plate to the West London studios, however the singer was left red faced after eagle eyed photographers spotted that the tax disc on the £87,000 sports car had expired at the end of last month.

George Harrison’s Aston Martin sports car to go under the hammer in London

A 1960’s classic Aston Martin DB5 sports car originally owned by Beetle’s legend George Harrison will be sold at auction in London this week and is expected to fetch in the region of £225,000- £260,000 when it goes under the hammer.

The extra special vintage sports car is being sold along with 60 other lots at the True Greats London auction due to take place this week in the capital. The 1964 Aston Martin was delivered to George Harrison on January 1^st 1965 and was custom made to order especially for the music star.

As well as boasting a top speed of 148mph and 0-60mph of just 7.1 seconds, the Beetle also requested a number of special features on his new DB5 including chrome wire wheels, 3 ear hub caps, FIAM horns, and a detachable passenger headrest to name just a handful of the extra features included on the classic car. The Aston Martin has been maintained in pristine condition having spent much of its life on show at a Tokyo museum and currently has just over 22,000 miles on the clock.

As well as the classic Aston Martin DB5 with its famous previous owner, other vehicles of note that are due to go under the hammer at the True Greats auction include a 1937 Mercedes Benz Cabriolet A which is estimated to fetch between £500,000 – £600,000 and a Cord 810 Phaeton which once belonged to Led Zepplin’s Jimmy Page.

The Cars for Stars finalists for the Transport Broker Awards 2011/12 are announced

The waiting is over and the Cars for Stars finalists for this year’s annual Transport Broker Awards ceremony due to take place on January 7^th 2012 at the Celtic Manor Resort and Spa, South Wales, have been named.

As with every year, the awards are split into regional and national categories, with the finalists for Agent of the Year in each region for companies working under the Cars for Stars banner revealed as the following –

Agent of the Year – Scotland

Pink Limo Co and LA Limos

Agent of the Year – North East

Elite Limos and Millennium

Agent of the Year – North West

Star Limos, Melrose, Lady Jayne

Agent of the Year – Midlands

Manns Limos, SV Limos, Midlands

Agent of the Year – South West and London

Limo World, Finishing Touch Cars, City Chauffeur Services

Agent of the Year – South East and London

Wild Stretch, Essex Limos, Absolute Style

Agent of the Year – Wales and West Country

Swansea Limos, All Stretched Out, Just Exclusive

There are seven national awards in total which will see Limo Broker agents and Cars for Stars agents and Coach Broker agents battle it out head to head for these coveted trophies. The finalists for the national awards for Best Fleet, Best Customer Services, Best Wedding Car Company, Best Limousine, Best Wedding Car, Best Coach and Agent of the Year will all be revealed on the night along with the winners.

For a full rundown of all of the transport providers nominated across all three companies which make up the Transport Broker Group, namely Limo Broker, Cars for Stars and Coach Broker, please see the main Transport Broker Awards website.

100 year old state limousine expected to fetch £100k at auction

A classic Lanchester limousine dating back almost 100 years is expected to fetch a massive £100,000 when it goes under the hammer on today. The 38 horsepower car was especially made for an Indian Maharaja in 1912 and later returned to the UK in the 1960’s where it was restored to full working order.

The vintage state limo is one of only three 38 horsepower known Lanchester models and the earliest version of all three too making it especially rare. Despite being one of the earliest models, the Lanchester was believed to have boasted a top speed of 60mph.

The Maharaja was so fond of the car that he later ordered a 40 horsepower version to succeed his first Lanchester. Although he employed a chauffeur, the Maharaja would choose to drive the car himself and even had a special area in the passenger foot well for his chauffeur to sit on the floor while he drove the car.

The engine for the car is situated between the driver and the passenger and the vehicle even features a steering wheel known as a “fat man’s steering wheel” as it collapses to make it easier for larger drivers to get in. The Lanchester has a fan in the roof run off the battery, although the roof also comes off so it can be driven as a convertible tourer model.

The Lanchester was custom made for Maharaja Rewa who would have paid £1,200 for the vehicle which would have been the equivalent value to a whole row of houses at the time; now, almost 100 years on, the collector’s item is estimated to sell for 100 times that amount.

Chauffeur driven Mercedes vans the transportation of choice for New York’s super rich

A new trend is emerging amongst the super wealthy in New York for chauffeur driven customised Mercedes Sprinter Vans. From the outside, the sleek long base vans look unassuming enough, but take a look inside and you’ll find a spacious interior decked out with wall-to-wall state of the art luxury features.

It seems the humble chauffeur driven limousine may have a serious competitor in the new customised Mercedes vans being offered for sale to transport busy executives. These luxury vans are proving popular among business types in the Big Apple, with many kitting their new Mercedes Sprinters out as mobile offices, while others see them more as a party bus, or somewhere to go and get some peace and quiet.

As all of the Mercedes Vans can be customised to suit the requirements of the specific client, there’s no end to the amazing onboard features some of these wealthy owners bestow on their new toys. Many have been decked out with leather sofas and Persian rugs, while others have reclining massage chairs and couches that turn into beds, while most have onboard bars and several plasma screens, Wi-Fi, gold plated buttons and even children’s entertainment areas.

Mercedes decided to start offering customised vans after they noted an increase in the number of clients employing designers to kit out their van interiors. Now by offering the service in-house, Mercedes are attracting a number of new customers with 8,000 of their $41,315 vans being sold in the first year or being offered, and 13,000 so far this year.

McLaren’s new sports car manufacturing plant opened by PM

The new McLaren manufacturing plant in Surrey was opened this week by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, signalling good news for the manufacturing industry in the UK with the creation of 700 jobs which is likely to rise to 1,000 in the coming years.

The £50 million state of the art factory based on the outskirts of Woking, Surrey, will provide the platform for the Formula One car makers to start creating road cars on a large scale, putting them in direct competition with the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari.

McLaren have already produced 100 of their MP4-12C sports car models which have a minimum starting price of £168,000 a piece. The initial run of 100 of the luxury MP4 sports cars have already been shipped to customers across the world, including Japan, America and Germany, although the plant has plans to produce 4,000 of these vehicle by 2015.

As well as setting themselves a high target of 4,000 MP4-12C sports cars to be produced in the next four years, McLaren also revealed that they hope to create a new model every year from the new Woking factory.

McLaren’s Chairman, Ron Dennis, revealed that Formula One will continue to play an important role in the existence of McLaren, although it will represent a smaller percentage of their overall business in years to come as the luxury car makers plans to concentrate its efforts in manufacturing road cars as well as racing vehicles.

Virgin Australia revamps chauffeur driven limo service for business passengers

Virgin Australia are offering a revamped and improved chauffeur driven limo hire service to transport those flying business class with the airline carrier, providing these passengers with a cost effective and hassle free transfer to the airport.

The availability of the private hire service is being extended through to December 25^th, offering Virgin business class passengers travelling on any of the coast to coast flights between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth a complimentary chauffeured airport transfer. The service is free of charge as long as the passenger’s pick up or drop off point is within 60km of the airport they’re flying from, anything over the 60km will be charged extra.

Virgin Australia stipulates that all business class passengers will be transported in a “luxury sedan” driven by a professional chauffeur and that the service is available on both outbound and inbound journeys.

The air carrier recommends that passengers wishing to make use of the complimentary chauffeur service book their car as soon as they book their flight to ensure they reserve a time which suits their needs, however the chauffeur service can be booked up to 24 hours prior to the flight.

Virgin Australia have been capitalising on the recent airline strikes being experienced by rival airline, Qantas, with Virgin reporting a boom in business as Qantas passengers turn to them for the flights during the strike periods. Virgin are hoping to tempt Qantas passengers into staying with them for the future through their improved complimentary chauffeur service for airport transfers in Australia.

Mercedes Benz chauffeur programme celebrates upgrade with London event

Luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes Benz, will officially introduce its upgraded chauffeur programme over two events in London this week. The original chauffeur scheme has been improved with added features designed specially with the London chauffeur industry in mind, according to a report from online magazine, The Chauffeur.

The new and improved programme for private hire chauffeurs will include a number of extra benefits from professional drivers, all of which will be revealed at the two London events which take place at Mercedes Benz Brentford and Colindale on November 2^nd and November 3^rd.

The Mercedes Benz chauffeur programme offers members access to enhanced roadside assistance, also tailored finance programmes and a vehicle tracking service.

Following the introduction of the new and improved programme, chauffeurs will be able to benefit from the additional features which will include the use of cold weather tyres, which could prove especially important for professional drivers at this time of year in the event that we experience the same difficult driving conditions as last winter. The use of the cold weather tyres could mean the difference between getting out on the road to fulfil a booking, and not, should we experience severe snowfall like last year.

Another key new feature due to be offered by the luxury car maker is the use of a library of high quality and high resolution images which chauffeurs will have access to in order to help with the marketing of their chauffeur services.

A full introduction to the enhanced Mercedes Benz chauffeur programme will be unveiled during the 2 day event in London this week.