Taxi Driver Online

im not sending anyone anywhere

(just for the record)


our lot in life is to advise, cajole, help, nurture and point children in the right direction.

if, after all our efforts, they choose a different path, we have to realise they will always make thier own mistakes, just like I did, just like you did...

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Seems that some on here are a little short of tech info, so I'll try and help out.

For those not conversant with Limousine manufacture there are currently two systems in force, one is QVM ( ford/Lincoln ) which stands for Quality Vehilce Manufacture, and CMC ( Cadillac Master coachbuilder )

For a Limousine Coachbuilder to conform to the Manufacturers specifications to obtain QVM or CMC they have to build the vehicle to a set standard, the manufacturers actually go to the Coachbuilders factory and oversee the initial setup, they can then also spot check at any time.
Any attempt to bypass by building poor quality cars means they lose their status and supply of vehicles from the manufacturer.

The manufacturers will then supply specialy constructed vehicles to the coachbuilder ONLY, these are NOT standard cars and are built to last many years of heavy duty, items such as strengthened body, uprated brakes/suspension/electrics/etc,etc, the list is a very long one.

The coachbuilers have to conform to specific parts in the construction and keep to weight limits set by the manufacturers ( currently this means a max stretch of 120 inches for a Lincoln and 130 inches for a Cadillac )

There are ( of course ) some rogue builders who will convert ordinary cars that are substandard, these however will fail their initial SVA test when they enter the country and wont be registered, however after saying that there are some builders that exceed the manufacturer standards ( although only a few ) and their cars will pass the SVA. ( using FMVSS registered compliance certs )

I have operated Limousines for over 20 years and never had a structure failure, regular maintenence and routine service parts have been the only costs, my vehicle passes 1st time every time on my Council tests, how many can say the same ?

The main problem we have is that currently, in a lot of areas, nobody knows if such limousines are properly licensed as in most cases they are not compelled to display a licence plate on the outside.

I did in fact see one from out of town the other day displaying a licence plate, however, it was a really old limo and I wondered if the licensing authority knew what they had actually licensed.

You are absolutely correct in your posting about authorised builders:

See here for QVM: https://www.fleet.ford.com/downloads/qv ... ualReq.pdf

and

http://www.royalelimo.com/company/qvm-cmc.aspx

However, the UK is riddled with a huge amount of US dodgy imports when there was no control, and with dodgy one-man-band, cash in hand operators. It is going to take several years for the Limousine trade to become fully respected.

I still see quite a few dodgy limo's operating in town and one wonders how the authorities can control this other than weekend swoops with the police.

However, a very easy route would be for the DVLA to supply ownership details of all such vehicles and a notification sent informing the registered owner of the new laws in place.

Shame the police can't use the Thomson local and go round and inspect the cars in the day, rather than ruining someone whose paid a shed load of money to hire its night out, must be very hard to find a concealed limo in the daylight these days, maybe even a job for armed response, Brain Dead Britain.

I'm grateful for that info.

Remind me, to the nearest 100 if necessary, how many Limos that seat more than 8 people i.e. hummers not buses/coaches are COIF'ed.

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IDFIMH

1st reply to Jeckle, on the subject of checking Limo's, yes it would be easy for both Vosa and the Police to check vehicles by simply using Yellow Pages, Thompson local, and a Web search and my personal opinion about checking for legal operators is "Bring it on" I don't mind being checked out anytime as I've always run a legal business.

2nd reply to Sussex, Not many, and I would not operate one at all for 2 reasons,
1st the 4x4 type stretches were first seen around 1995 and I could have purchased one then but being the sensible person I am I went to the Vehicle Inspectorate ( now Vosa ) and asked about their legal usage their reply was that they considered them illegal under C&U as they did not conform to our PSV regs, so I did'nt and never will, buy one.
2nd reason, it has been plain to see that the 4x4 vehicles have become mainly party use vehicles for what I consider to be the lower end of the market ( I do not work on Stag/Hen hires, Pub/Club crawls etc,tc ) where unfortunately the majority of clients for this type of trade are usually a little worse off under the influence of drink, another factor ( because I have been in the business a long time ) is that the perception of the Limousine trade has been changed by the high visibility of the larger vehicles where operators allow passengers to hang out of the windows with little control over their attitude to the walking public, as a result we now get comments such as "They are Tart carts" "Booze trucks" etc. All the operators that have run their businesses to a higher standard have unfortunately been tarred with the same brush, we carry out our work in a less noticeable manner and provide a high class service to be proud of.
Please remember that there are good and bad in every trade and most of us would like to see the perception of our trade get better, quality operators certainly don't like the opinions currently aired.

I'll go with that, some use a 20 yr old Cadillac that was finished the day it left New York, and other's use brand new Hummer's etc, how the Caddies are ever allowed on is beyond me, if my unstretched saloon is deemed done after 6 years what must a flexymobile of 20 yrs of age be like.

Mmmm, rather strange reply, would you care to elaborate on your point to make it clear to all on here ?

Since there has been no reply to my request for more information from the post by Mr Doom I'll try to quantify some of his post.

"some use a 20 year old Cadillac that was finnished the day it left New York "
My question here is, who operates a 20 year old Cadillac ? I havent a clue who does and its certainly not me.

"and others use brand new Hummers etc"

Would that be the Hummers manufactured by AM General ?
If so, I refer to an article in the Detroit Press where AM General confirmed that the Hummers are not recommended for stretching, their spokesman at the company's headquarters in South Bend, Ind, a Mr Craig Macnab said "we don't like it ( stretching Hummers ) we don't encourage it, it voids all warranties ".

And while I'm on, here's what Mr Mike Perugi ( brand manager for the Chrysler 300 ) had to say "we don't have anything to do with that ( stretching their cars into Limo's) the company can't stop Limousine-makers from converting cars and selling them. It does void the Chrysler warranty"

Back to Dooms post : "How the caddies are ever allowed on is beyond me"

My view is, how the vehicles manufactured by AM General and Chrysler are ever allowed on.............................................. is beyond me !

I now refer to the Detroit Press article again : Quote

Only Cadillac and Lincoln build factory models designed for Limousine conversion by speciality manufacturers. Converting other vehicles into Limo's generally voids warranties and sometimes comes with stern warnings from manufacturers.

To close, I own and operate a manufacturer certified vehicle, built by a certified manufacturer.

Hope that the above is a clear enough dissemination of Mr Dooms post.

Im no engineer but i know crude when i see it...

are they using old pallet racking?

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

To be fair Wannabeahack, the photograph is of a builder that is not certified by either QVM or CMC and as I stated in an earlier post, there are good and bad in every line of work you care to mention.

I have actually been round some of the builders facilities in the States where some use specially made jigs to fit the whole vehicle on (off the floor suspended and held in rigid frames at either end that are connected with a frame moveable track) complete with laser alignment so the manufactured parts are located to within a thousandth of an inch.

The vehicle in the picture is a 4x4 type and is not a specially produced vehicle made by the manufacturer to be stretched.

I remember reading an article on stretched limousines, that were being exported from the States a couple of years ago, it stated that they were uninsurable after they were six years old, so they become useless over there.... unfit for purpose!!

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

You are refering to a specific market in used Limo's that run 24 hours a day with multiple drivers, I too have seen these cars, some a little over two years old have covered around 250,000 miles, I have also seen cars 15 years old that look as if they have just come out of a showroom that have very little mileages, its a bit like here in that you can buy a reps car a couple of years old with balistic miles on the clock yet buy the same model thats much older that is in mint condition.

Quality and condition dictate the usable life of any car thats why we see 1930's Rolls Royces still on the road, if any car is serviced regularly and driven carefully it will last far longer than one that has not been looked after.
I buy new Limo's and look after them.

You're quite correct that there is two types of vehicle, and we seem to have both.

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

to me, a "limo" means a handbuilt roller by mulliner park ward

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most