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Epic Limo President Brian Sheely
Valparaiso, Ind. — Epic Limo has announced an expansion of their service area following the purchase of Ann Marie Limousines. This marks the company’s third acquisition in just over two years. Currently, Epic offers service in LaPorte, St. Joseph, Lake, and Porter Counties as well as the rest of the state.
Ann Marie Limousine was a subsidiary of Battisti Customs, a top manufacturer of custom vehicles. Epic’s strong relationship with Battisti’s owners led to an agreement to purchase the company. Epic moved Ann Marie’s operations to the South Bend Airport to better service its clients in St. Joseph County.
The move to South Bend Airport was no accident. In addition to strategic acquisitions, Epic Limo leverages its ties to the aviation industry to continue to grow. President Brian Sheely has years of experience in private aircraft charter and has brought those skills to bear in the limousine operation. Epic looks for opportunities to base locations at airports to better serve clients with convenience and speed.
Epic’s expansion began in 2015 when Sheely looked for opportunities for growth in the form of strategic acquisitions. That year, Epic Limo bought Cedar Mill Limo in St. John, Ind. The two companies already had a great working relationship, so purchasing Cedar Mill’s fleet and integrating its employees into the Epic team was a natural fit.
Then in June 2016, Epic acquired Southlake Limousine of Highland, Ind., Southlake had a large fleet and was one of the longest-running ground transportation companies in the state. Adding Southlake’s location to Epic’s footprint put the company within 28 miles of Chicago City Center and greatly expanded its ability to serve the Chicagoland and Northern Indiana areas.
Grateful for its growth and reach, Epic Limo is committed to giving back to the community and has shared its success by generously supporting various local charity organizations. Epic gives to a wide range of charitable efforts, such as Make a Wish, Housing Opportunities, Opportunity Enterprises, Reins of Life, The Caring Place, Honor Flight Network, and local VFW posts.
“It is our goal to provide our customers with top-notch service, in comfort and safety, whether we are taking them to the airport, on a corporate outing, or on a wine tour. We believe we provide the best luxury service in our markets,” says President Brian Sheely.
Visit epiclimoinc.com for more information.
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Detroit — The 2018 Lincoln Continental was a contender on a short list of vehicles competing for the top spot of Car of the Year via magazine Motor Trend. The prestigious award has been around since the publication’s founding in the late 1940s, and was won by the Lincoln Town Car in 1990. The last award for the Ford Motor Company was in 2010 with the Ford Fusion.
The Continental was up against such contenders as the Audi A5, BMW 5 Series, Tesla Model 3, and Volvo V90. Although the Continental did not end up as one of the seven finalists, Motor Trend gave props to the vehicle’s executive seating package in the back seat—a highlight for the most important vehicle component in our industry.
Coverage of the awards continues through the end of this month when all winners will be named. All coverage can be viewed here: motortrend.com/auto-shows/motor-trend-awards.
For more information on the Continental, visit lincoln.com.
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Some of the attendees present for the November 21 CLA meeting. Denver — In what Colorado Limousine Association (CLA) Secretary Jason Ramsey of Prestige Worldwide Transportation describes as a “standing-room only” meeting, more than 30 people turned out for the association’s November 21 member meeting for an evening that included guest speakers, statewide information, and association-specific topics.
Those in attendance heard detailed presentations from Amy Ford of the Colorado Department of Transportation, Jeremy Lee of Wells Fargo Finance, and George Kovach of Mutual Bank of Omaha. Lee also explained how his company helps finance “sedans and motorcoaches and everything in between,” according to Ramsey, while Kovach discussed traditional SVA lending for growing companies. Ford, meanwhile, provided an update on the reconstruction of interstate I-70 at the I-25 interchange.
“She said that we’re basically not going to be losing any lanes but we will see a shift in traffic patterns—so that was good news,” Ramsey said. He added that the “hot topic” of the meeting was the future of transportation technology, such as computer-driven pods. “They’ve had companies reach out to them to say that the technology is there, but they just don’t have the space to implement it at this point in time.”
While it’s mostly quiet on the Denver International Airport front, Ramsey emphasized that the CLA wants to remind everyone currently using switchable transponders that they need to get them reactivated at the airport by the December 15 cutoff date.
The association’s executive board is anticipating a message from state legislators this Wednesday, November 22, with a list detailing 2018 PUC proposals, which will be discussed during a special executive board meeting the following morning. While Ramsey said that the board is obviously withholding any opinions and actions until its members see what the new year has in store for transportation operators, one potential item is already of considerable concern to the CLA.
“We’ve been hearing that they want to take away bench seating in Sprinter and Transit vans,” Ramsey said. “90 percent of executive vans being operated here have bench seating, so the language that defines luxury limousines could change. It’s one of those things that don’t make much sense to anybody: It would put a lot of people at a very, very significant disadvantage. So we have our eye on that possibility.”
Toward the end of the evening, members discussed how a PUC sampling of 200 Uber drivers in the past 18 months yielded the discovery that more than a quarter—57 drivers—“should have not been allowed on the platform under state law.”
“Among the findings of the investigation were 12 drivers with felony convictions; 17 drivers with major moving vehicle violations; three drivers with interlock driver’s licenses, which are required after recent drunk driving convictions; and 63 drivers with driver’s license issues,” a press release from the association states.
Ramsey added that the CLA has asked the PUC to perform a complete audit of all TNC companies’ platforms, while noting that the PUC’s $8.9M fine would be reduced by nearly half if Uber pays it within 10 days.
“That’s a drop in the bucket,” he said. “For such a small sampling over a year and a half, we think the PUC needs to examine TNCs more closely when a random sample has so many risks to public safety. it doesn’t bode well, especially when we have limousine companies that go through a fingerprint process TNCs aren’t subject to.”
The next CLA event will be its annual holiday party on December 5, where Ramsey said guests will have a chance to win more than $500 worth of prizes.
CLA will kick off 2018 with a January 16 membership meeting at a new location—Ecotech Institute in Aurora—and with elections for the new year’s board.
Visit cololimo.org for more information.
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