Guest Blog Post: How Limo Operators Can Reduce Distracted Driving

Distracting driving is a serious issue. It is one of the leading causes of car accidents in North America, and has received a lot of mainstream press recently, even within the limousine industry. Remember the unfortunate incident involving the limo fire in California that caused the deaths of five passengers? It has since been reported that the driver of the limo was distracted, and was on his cell phone at the time of the incident. This incident raises some issues about limo companies and their need to pay more attention to distracted driving habits.

Types of distracted driving

While many people associate distracted driving with cell phone use and texting while driving, there are actually many different forms, all of which are dangerous and can inhibit a driver’s ability to keep their eyes and attention on the road at all times. Here are some of the most common types of distracted driving habits:

• Texting
• Using a cell phone
• Eating and drinking
• Grooming
• Adjusting the radio or CD player

Distracted driving is any action that is performed by a driver that causes them to lose focus and take their eyes off the road. This includes all visual, auditory and physical distractions that take your focus off the road when you are behind the wheel.

Limo-specific distracted driving issues

There are also a number of distracted driving practices that are specific to limo drivers and other transportation operators. As a limo driver, it is your job to be professional and act in a manner that ensures your passengers arrive to their destination safely. However, customer service also plays a role, and limo drivers need to find the correct balance between safe driving and great customer service when they are on the job. This can be a tough balancing act, especially when the limo is in motion. It is not uncommon for passengers to ask questions or engage drivers during the trip, but this can also cause drivers to become distracted.

Here are a number of distracted driving issues that are specifically relevant to limo operators:

• Talking to passengers: It’s common for drivers to chat with passengers and engage them in conversation, especially when driving town cars. However, drivers need to make a conscious effort to ensure their focus remains on the road at all times. Rowdy and unruly passengers can also be a major distraction, and this is why it is important that you enforce your limo companies’ rules when it comes to passenger safety.

• Cell phone use while driving: Since drivers spend a lot of hours in the car, it makes sense that they will have their phones in their vehicles. While this is important for business as cell phones are commonly used to talk with the office, other drivers, and to communicate with passengers, drivers need to make sure that they do not use their phones while the limo is in motion. Pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot if you need to make a call, if you do not have Bluetooth or a hands-free device.

• Playing with GPS/maps: Again, using GPS and maps are an ingrained part of being a limo driver. You need to use these tools to select routes and ensure your passengers get to their destinations in a timely manner. But it is important that you do not allow these things to distract your attention away from the road.

So what can limo companies do to reduce distracted driving practices by driver? 

Driver training and education is the first step to ensuring your drivers are not engaging in distracted driving practices. Make distracted driving part of your regular health and safety trainingm and make sure that this topic is addressed when training new drivers. Getting into an accident that is caused by distracted driving opens the door to a whole set of liability and insurance issues, not to mention how it also impacts your reputation within the industry and in the eyes of consumers. Take a proactive approach to distracted driving and road safety by taking the time to train your drivers and educate them about the dangers of distracted driving practices. Drive safe!

Dean Williams is the co-owner of Gem Limousine Service. Gem Limousine has been providing Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Toronto and surrounding areas with the finest available limousine service for over twenty years. Their dedication to customer service excellence has made them the limousine service of choice for many corporate and retail clients in the area. Keeping a diversified fleet, embracing new technologies, and continuous corporate referrals, this has allowed Gem Limousine to grow through the best and worst of economic times.

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LILA Starts Petition to Repeal "Unfair Tax"

The Long Island Limousine Association is seeking support from transportation industry professionals in petitioning the New York State Tax Relief Commission to repeal what they call an "unfair tax on the transportation industry."

First adopted in 2009, the transportation sales tax was at first intended to cover taxis, livery vehicles and black cars, but once enacted excluded taxis, and not long after, livery vehicles as well. Singling out black cars for an additional tax burden is in large part the reason why this law has been called unfair. Putting the black car segment of the ground transportation industry at a competitive disadvantage, and in effect causing significant economic hardship to these small  business operators, does not result in enough revenue for the state to be justified, say petitioners.

The association is asking members and industry professionals for their support. By signing this petition, operators will contribute to the effort to put pressure on the co-chairs of Governor Cuomo's Tax Relief Commission to review the transportation sales tax, in hopes that they will repeal it, and restore competitiveness in the local ground transportation industry.

To learn more about the Long Island Limousine Association, visit www.nslalil.com.

To learn more about the petition discussed above, click here.

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Robert Werth of Diamond Transportation Elected TLPA President

Robert Werth, President of the TLPA

Robert M. Werth, a paratransit leader with more than thirty years of experience in the industry, has taken the reins of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association. Sworn into office on October 30th at the TLPA's 95th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Boston, Werth has proposed a focused agenda of things he hopes to accomplish throughout his term as the association's new president.

Included in that agenda for the next year are Werth's goals of promoting the TLPA's online driver education program, as well as their Transportation on Patrol program. Additionally, Werth has challenged association members to raise $3 million for their charitable giving program called "Community Connections." He will also lead the TLPA in "fight[ing] for the rights of the licensed, regulated TLPA carrier," by advocating for a national criminal background check for drivers, and more generally, by promoting resistance against the tide of rogue transportation apps like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. 

Werth has owned and operated Diamond Transportation since its inception with a single vehicle in 1984. Diamond's fleet has since expanded to over 130 vehicles with nearly 230 employees serving over 300,000 passenger trips annually. Notably, Diamond has one of the largest wheelchair-accessible fleets in the mid-Atlantic region. Werth has also served as president (and currently vice-president) of the Virginia Taxicab Association, and is the current chair of the Private Providers Task Force for the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments. 

For more information about Robert Werth and the TLPA, visit www.tlpa.org.

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Limo Logo Design "No Nos": 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Recently, I did a post on the top 10 logos in the luxury ground transportation industry. With each of the ten finalists, I highlighted what I liked about each logo and why the logo worked. The fact of the matter remains, however, that more times than not logos are more about what they aren't than what they are. Time after time, I come across logos that I have to include in my publication that are flat-out designed wrong.

Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to educate those looking for a new logo or perhaps reevaluating their present logos with a list of eight common mistakes in limo logo design.

8. Vectorize it!
Too often, businesses use "rasterized" images in their logos—a rasterized image is any image that is created with dots, like a photograph. A high-resolution (printable) image is 300 DPI (dots per inch). Think of it as a photograph—obviously, when you scale a photo larger, it loses clarity. The dots, or pixels, are spread out and it can appear to become fuzzy, or pixelated, to the eye. If you are creating a logo, use a program like Illustrator that bases its design on vector graphics. Vector graphics are not composed of pixels but rather are created by mathematical equations—allowing them to be blown up to any size without losing quality or detail.

If you are planning on using your logo in many different marketing collateral, then you need to create a vector version. This way, your logo will easily translate onto a business card, tee shirt, brochure, website and billboard and look exactly the same—essential for brand recognition.

Vector Logo

Rasterized Logo

                       
7. Keep it Simple, Stupid.
Remember that a complicated logo is counter-intuitive. There is a tendency for business owners that when they pay a designer that with every dollar they spend they want more. With logo design, most of the time "less is more." Your logo is the introduction to your company, so you cannot confuse the listener with a complicated message. This is even more important in the limo industry. Limo companies tend to have very long names, for the most part. Don't make your logo even more involved by making the logo an eyeful. Use easy-to-read fonts that, when scaled to any size, are easy to read. Also, eliminate any unnecessary wording in your logo. For example, adding LLC or Inc. to your name.

6. Overdoing Special Effects.
Gradients, beveling, 3-D Effects and styles look great on a concert poster. But on a logo? Not so much. There has always been the temptation to add crazy effects to a logo to make it, as many business owners call it, "more jazzy." However, it doesn't always work. Knowing how to bevel a logo in Photoshop does not translate over to the concept of designing a logo. Drop shadows work when laid over a photograph, but not necessarily in a logo design. If your logo has to be shrunken down in size, it makes for difficult reading.

5. Too Many Fonts.
Fonts are typefaces and are the most important choices you can make when designing a logo. Over time, the font you decide to use says quite a bit about your company. If you exercise the liberty of using too many fonts, your message will get confusing. Serifs and sans serifs are the two types of font styles. Put simply, serifs are fonts with feet and shoulders—Times New Roman, as an example. Sans serifs are fonts without feet and shoulders—Helvetica, for example. Can you combine a Serif and Sans Serif? Sure. But combine too many and it can dilute the logo and the message. Remember, the font should help accentuate the brand... not be the star.

4. Using Clip Art.
Clip art is another logo "no no". Clip art was created for the sole purpose of the creation of a popular theme that can be used multiple times by multiple artists. Don't use clip art as part of your logo. It comes off amateurish and hokey and cannot be original in any capacity. Avoid this shortcut and take the time to be unique.

3. Acronym Heavy.
Sometimes an acronym is unavoidable. Like, for example, ETS International. The company IS CALLED ETS. Acronyms that no one will know are ineffective on a logo. Business names are not normally created with logo designs in mind. Eventually long business names will become shortened as in the case of IBM
and FedEx. However, if a business does not yet have a presence then an acronym that no one knows it is ineffective. For example, don't create an acronym that isn't going to be what your company goes by.

Visual accents are also essential and every designer knows that to accent the wrong word in a name by lining up or emphasizing elements may mean that only unimportant words are memorable.

2. Bad Choice of Colors.
Every color on the color rainbow has a feeling or emotion tied to it innately. Red is powerful, Blue is corporate and Black is sleek. Combine all three and you may have a bit of a mess, unless you are an NHL franchise and you're getting revenue for the purchase of team merchandise. Stick with colors that tie into your brand. In fact, design the first logo drafts with no color at all. If you tie in your logo and associate it with a particular color, you won't get an unbiased opinion. Combining three colors is too many, no matter what colors you choose (unless one of the "colors" is gray or black, or something neutral). Stick with a basic color scheme and try to think a little out of the box when picking a color to brand your company around.

And the number one mistake to avoid, if at all possible, is the biggest blunder I see regularly:

1. Avoid Using a Limousine! Whether it be a clip art image of a limousine or a stylized version of a limousine, just say no! And I say this for a couple of reasons. Most notably, your business is not about the vehicle. I repeat: your business is not about the vehicle. Your business is about the "ride." You are not selling limousines, you are selling the experience of riding in a limousine. Don't make it about the vehicle... especially in a logo of your company. Make your logo mean you. Also, your company (unless it is a one-vehicle fleet) has different types of vehicles—what is it about all of them that make up your logo? Try to consolidate everything about your company in as broad of a stroke as possible. If your company is about customer satisfaction, build your logo around that. If it is about being on time, make it about that. By all means, avoid a vector image of a limousine. A "stylized" abstract allusion of a limousine? Maybe. But make the image yours.

As you can see, designing the proper logo can reap the reward of brand distinction. A unique, well-thought out logo design is the foundation of your business. Make it count!

written by John Crawford, Creative Director of Limo Digest

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Kristina Bouweiri of Reston Limo Wins International Award

On November 10, CEO of Reston Limousine, Kristina Bouweiri, along with 26 women from 12 countries, accepted the 2013 International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge Award at the Seventh Annual IWEC Conference in Lima, Peru. The award honors successful female entrepreneurs throughout the world, and the conference celebrates the contributions of women within a diverse range of businesses. 

Over 300 people attended the conference this year, and the collective turnover of women-led companies that participated exceeds $4 billion dollars and employs 17,300 people. Issues discussed at the conference included topics like challenges of the global economy, women's leadership in growing businesses, mentoring, leadership and management issues. IWEC was formed in 2006 to form a global business network for women business owners with the goal of promoting access to international markets. 

"Representing the United States in showcasing the achievement of entrepreneurial women is a great honor for me," says Bouweiri, "because I am a woman working in a male-dominated industry." She notes the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit in women, and its role in evening the gender gap in business. 

For more information about Reston Limousine visit www.restonlimo.com.

For more information about the IWEC Awards visit www.iwecawards.com.

Congratulations to Kristina Bouweiri and all the women honored at this year's conference!

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Honoring the Late Joey Cirruzzo Sr., an Industry Icon

Joe Cirruzzo Sr. (1938-2013)

News came to us last week from the National Limousine Association, reporting that Joe Cirruzzo Sr. passed away on the morning of Wednesday, November 27. Services were held over the weekend in Staten Island, New York.

Cirruzzo was well known and well liked throughout the industry. The accomplished owner of A Elegant Worldwide Transportation served as an NLA board member from 2002-2005 and again since 2008. He was also recently honored as recipient of the NLA Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, he served as a board member for the TLPA, and participated in many other industry associations.

Limo Digest is most appreciative of the invaluable insight and support Cirruzzo contributed as a member of our editorial advisory board for many years.

In addition to his participation in a countless number of industry organizations, Cirruzzo was also involved in a number of animal welfare organizations, and accordingly, the NLA reported that of "Joey's final wishes to celebrate his life, was to share his compassion for animals. Should you desire, a contribution can be made in his honor at: http://www.animalleague.org or http://www.humanesocietyofpinellas.org."

Our sincerest condolences go out to Joe's loved ones.

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Casey Corporate Transportation Announces New Director of Business Development

Casey Corporate Transportation has recently announced their newest team member, Pamela Railey, who will serve as the company's new Director of Business Development.

Pamela Railey
Director of Business Development
Casey Corporate Transportation

With over 17 years of experience in corporate sales and marketing within the automotive and bus industries, Railey will oversee Casey's sales, marketing and all of the company's affiliate relationships. Valuing her customers and striving to build lasting relationships with them, Railey has developed a motto that corresponds to her professional mission:

“As a sales representative, all you have is your reputation, regardless of the company because your reputation will follow you." 

It is this convergence of values that informed the company's decision to hire Railey; because Casey Corporate Transportation is also committed to valuing customers, and believes in providing the best customer service possible, the company describes Railey as "the perfect fit."

The company believes their newest team member will continue to build long lasting relationships for Casey Corporate Transportation by instilling trust and loyalty with their affiliates.

For more information about Casey Corporate Transportation, or to contact Pamela Railey, visit www.cctatlanta.com.

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8 Mistakes Made in Email Marketing

One engaging image entices the reader to click through... but too many can
overload and overwhelm the reader, and ultimately distort your message.

One of the benefits of having over 19,000 subscribers is that many of our advertisers have the opportunity to promote their companies via our email marketing campaign. When done effectively, an email can reach an audience instantly—reaching people on their smartphones, tablets and computers. More often than not, however, email marketing is a vehicle that many businesses start driving before having bothered to read the owner's manual.

Having designed and distributed hundreds of email advertisements and newsletters, I have become very well-versed on what works in email marketing, and what doesn't. Here are 8 of the most common mistakes made in email marketing.

1. A Spammy, Indirect, or Long Subject Line

Your potential customers receive hundreds of emails a week, so don't assume that just because your recipient gets your email they are necessarily going to read it. The first way to prevent getting your email lost en route to your list is by creating a subject line that is both direct, and junk-folder-proof. As imaginative as we want to be in marketing, creating a catchy headline that may work in an ad may be counter-productive when it comes to email marketing. In other words, make your subject line as simple and direct as possible. Avoid vague subject lines like "Don't Miss This Amazing Opportunity." Also, avoid the temptation of being overzealous in your subject line, such as, "Save! Save! Save!!!" This type of subject line guarantees a one-way ticket to your recipient's junk folder.

Instead, use subject lines that "tease" a specific special offer that is direct and to the point. Without getting into the SPAMmy words, make the subject line connect to the body of the email. A sample of this type of subject line would be "Now Offering Discount Rides to Boston."

Even better: "Your VIP Invite: Nab the Best Rates First." This type of subject line clearly articulates the reason for the email and gives the reader an idea of what they will be reading about in the body, as well as a sense of urgency. Don't be misleading in your subject line, either, giving the recipient a reason to "unsubscribe" to any future emails from your company (we will discuss the ethics of "opting in and out" later in this article). People respond to people they trust—so don't be too "sales-y."

Because many of the end users will be viewing your email on their smartphones, keep your subject line short (roughly 5 words or less, if possible). Make use of the "subheader" in the email preview—the subheader is the text that appears in the email preview when you receive an email. Use wording associated with the subject line that is a direct "call-to-action."

Also, don't assume your audience knows who you are. Remind them what your company does in your subject line by making it direct. A reader always wants to know: "What's in it for me?"

2. Unequal Image to Text Ratio

Images work in email marketing because people like images more than they like reading. However, the most effective email messages utilize the age-old adage that "less is more"—in this case, the less images, the better. Filling up your content with multiple images or one big image is bad for a couple of reasons. Firstly, time is precious, and making the recipient wait for images to "preview" in their email browser is  a recipe for tuning out your potential audience. If it takes too long to see what your email is about, the reader will bounce before it loads completely. Also, many email providers don't load images automatically. Giving the reader another button to click for them to read your email ensures that less people will go that extra step to read your email.

The best email marketing has more than 50% text to image ratio, ensuring that the reader will get to read a preview of your email message before it needs to download the images. Too many times, companies send me a full-page print ad and want it sent out as an email "blast." Huge images not are web friendly. Having the entire email body be one big, sliced up image is a sure-fire way for viewers to hit delete before even attempting to engage in your presentation.


Make sure your email is written so that it clearly articulates the reason for the viewer to investigate the new email in their inbox. Remember, you need to have actual content. Don't fill it up with "salesy" pitches. Have some substance. Less is more as long as it is not less than 50% of your body email.

Opt for text headers over graphic headers—this way, you're sure that the recipient gets the message right out of the gate.

3. No "Call-To-Action"

Sending out an email with no "call-to-action" is another common mistake made in email marketing. A "call-to-action" in marketing terms means that by promoting your business, you are attracting customers that need to take one simple action to visit your site and view your products and services (in this case, one simple click). If your email body is full of multiple links, it can not only confuse the reader but also make your message less trustworthy. A simple "Click here to save on ....." needs to guide the reader to a good landing page that references the email in some way. Sending the reader to your home page does no good, unless you mention the offer in the body of the website on that particular page.

Sending out a print ad doesn't make a great email. Think about a normal print ad—sometimes there is a call-to-action, but often it is just a friendly reminder of your business and what you do. A person will keep a magazine and refer back to it much more often than they will a saved email.

In fact, repeat the same "call-to-action" multiple times throughout the email if you have to. Whatever you do, make the "call-to-action" stand out from the other verbiage. Using "Limited Time Offer" is another way to attract traffic right away. This compels readers to act before it’s too late.

Make sure to make your "call-to-action" buttons larger and easy to find. Since many of the readers will be using their thumbs, make it easy for them to navigate.

4. Make Sure There is a Browser Version

Another mistake businesses make is not "hosting" the email somewhere remotely. When a client sends me an email promotion to send, I make sure to create one myself. Email marketing services usually provide a remote version that the reader can view in their browser. It's important to know that you need to have a browser version when you are sending out an email.

5. Set Up a Professional Email Reply-To Address

I can't count the number of times I have received reply emails that have nothing to do with the company they represent. If you work for XYZ Limousine, for example, and your email address is "limo@yahoo.com," what does that indicate to the recipient? Number one: you are a small company. Number two: you are in the dark ages when it comes to being cutting edge. As low as $10 per year, setting up a professional email address with your web hosting is beneficial in email marketing campaigns. Even if you know nothing about technology, you should know enough to get a professional email address.

6. Learning From Your Analytics

Doing an email marketing campaign and not checking your analytics is the equivalent to mailing out postcards to thousands of addresses in different states and not tracking their success. Analytics, for those of you who don't know the definition, is provided by your email marketing service (such as Constant Contact, MailChimp and Critical Impact) where you can view the data of the recipients and the patterns of behavior of both an individual recipient and the group as a whole that you emailed. By tracking the meaningful patterns of behavior, you can better target who is receiving the email, who is opening the email and how they are interacting with the content you are sending them. For example, if the majority of your recipients are clicking through to the landing page that you have set up but leaving the page without going further, you may want to tweak the landing page. Clearly, you have driven them to the page but you didn't close the deal. Or maybe no one is clicking at all. In that case, you may have to recreate your email blast or reconsider your "call-to-action." Test with different subject lines. Believe it or not, some work much better than others.

7. No Social Media links

So your company has taken the time to set up a Facebook and Twitter account and yet you don't use your email marketing campaign to promote either one? Not a great idea. Use your email marketing campaign as an invitation to get your audience to engage in future social conversations. By providing a way to "share" your special, you are widening your audience if the reader feels others that they are friends with might be interested in seeing.

8. Ethics of Opting In/Opting Out

Remember, it is a privilege that you have an abundance of email addresses to promote your company. You should treat it that way. Don't turn off your audience by sending out too many emails in too short of a time. Also, your subscribers should have had, at one point, "opted in" to your E-newsletter. In layman's terms, that means that the reader has voluntarily given your company their email address because they want to receive future emails from your business. Don't abuse that list. Give that list interesting emails that they will want to receive from you in a timely fashion.


By following the above list, you can maximize your efforts and get a really good return on your investment. Email marketing, when executed properly, is a fantastic tool to use to reach your audience. But it should not be done without some careful thought and preparation. Don't make the common mistakes others do, and you will be one step ahead of your competition!

written by John Crawford, Creative Director of Limo Digest

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The Fleet Vehicle of the Future: the Tesla Model S

If you haven’t heard of Tesla Motors by now, it’s time to get up to speed. The fully electric vehicle revolution is finally here, and for those in the luxury ground transportation business, it means you no longer have to sacrifice luxury in order to go green.

After a decade of catering to a robust niche market of electric vehicle enthusiasts, Tesla has hit the main stage of the automotive industry with the award-winning Model S, an all-electric luxury sedan as acclaimed for its efficiency and safety as it is for its performance and style. Cumulative deliveries in North America reached 13,000 by the summer, and the vehicle surpassed the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf as the continent’s top-selling plug-in electric car in the first quarter of the year.

Aside from its highly-praised performance and remarkable specifications (see our full vehicle review with detailed specs), the Model S reduces the overall environmental impact of your fleet, incurs fewer fuel and maintenance costs, and comes with a tax credit to offset your investment. Additionally, the Model S boasts a five-star safety rating, state-of-the-art interior technology, and a stylish, spacious and comfortable ride that will dazzle your clients. With a laundry list of tangible benefits to be had by implementing the Model S as a livery vehicle, it is no surprise that an increasing number are being purchased by operators across the country.

Angel Worldwide Transportation, serving Northern California and the Bay Area, is a pioneer of Model S
deployment, making news earlier this year as being arguably the first limousine company in the nation to purchase the electric luxury sedan for its fleet.  Since implementing the Model S earlier this year, the company has hailed it as one of the best vehicles for executive transportation, citing its “high-tech, spacious and quiet interior” as creating an “inimitable experience” for passengers. They continue to blog avidly about their initial  experiences working with the Model S, which you can learn more about at www.angellimo.com.

California operators seem to be taking the lead with incorporating the Model S into their fleets. Quicksilver Towncar Service, also based in the Bay Area, and Strack Premier Transportation, based in the Los Angeles area, have also made news this year with their additions of the vehicles. This geographic concentration of early Tesla adopters within the U.S. ground transportation industry likely stems from the region’s leadership in updating infrastructure with charging stations to accommodate electric vehicles, which in turn promotes general public awareness of this new technological trend. By March of this year, the number of public charging points reached more than 16,000 in the U.S., and almost 4,000 of those were located in California, many of which are situated at the major airports.

As other cities are following suit in terms of infrastructure and public education, compounded by Tesla’s versatile charging technology that allows operators to affordably charge vehicles at their headquarters, the Model S trend is definitely gaining momentum nationwide. In July, New York City’s Farrell Limousine announced their status as the first east coast service to add the Model S, and back in January, New
Orleans’ Limousine Livery announced their plans to implement the vehicle this fall. Most recently, Music Express Worldwide Limousine, a company with 40 years in business and corporate locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York, has announced their purchase of six
Model S sedans—the largest fleet implementation of the vehicle to date.

CEO and President Cheryl Berkman of Music Express is very excited about the delivery of the new electric additions to her company’s fleet, and affirms the Model S as an innovative newcomer to the executive sedan market that can fill the big shoes of the discontinued Lincoln Town Car. “A vehicle that is both luxury and green is hard to come by,” she says, but the Model S is “green as green can be,” while appealing to the high-end taste of corporate clients at the same time. On that note, it seems Tesla’s timing could not have been better, because while luxury and eco-friendliness may have been mutually exclusive vehicle aspects in the past, the latter, according to Berkman, has become a growing demand among corporate clientele when selecting an executive sedan. The best-of-both-worlds Model S is able to fill that new market demand beautifully.

At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with the best safety rating of any car ever tested as a selling point. Tesla’s Model S was awarded five stars in every single category across the board by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the NHTSA caps published ratings at five, the combined rating exceeded five stars and set a new NHTSA vehicle safety score record. The recent news of the Model S collision that resulted in a fire should not cast doubt on this impeccable safety rating.

In a press release announcing the record-breaking safety score in August, it was reported that “the Model S lithium-ion battery did not catch fire at any time before, during or after the NHTSA testing,” and at that point in time, “no production Tesla lithium-ion battery [had] ever caught fire in the Model S… despite several high speed impacts.” Furthermore, a more recent release addressing the accident specifically reported that, according to the road crew on the scene, a large, curved metal object that fell off a semi trailer and impaled the vehicle from underneath appears to have been the culprit. In other words, it was basically a freak accident in which the owner was “able to exit the highway as instructed by the onboard alert system, bring the car to a stop and depart the vehicle without injury,” as the fire never entered the passenger compartment thanks to internal firewalls built into the battery pack structure. “For consumers concerned about fire risk,” said Elon Musk, chairman, product architect and CEO of Tesla Motors, “there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery than a large tank of highly flammable liquid.” The fact remains that the likelihood of a fire is five times higher in a conventional gasoline car than in an electric one.

If you, like arguably all livery operators, are looking for a solution to replace the Lincoln Town Car, the Model S is a clear contender for filling the void left by the retired industry workhorse. If not for the impeccable roster of features discussed above, which is sure to exceed the needs of both you and your clients, then for the insightful reason Motor Trend named the Model S its 2013 Car of the Year: “The mere fact the Tesla Model S exists at all is a testament to innovation and entrepreneurship, the very qualities that once made the American automobile industry the largest, richest, and most powerful in the world.” //LD

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Tesla Motors’ goal is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable transport with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Mercedes. Tesla has delivered over 15,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries. Learn more at www.teslamotors.com.


Written by Adam Leitenberger
Associate Editor & Digital Media Manager
adam@limodigest.com

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