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Toronto — INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing has become the first manufacturer to release an armored sedan based on the 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600. The unique vehicle incorporates a heightened level of ballistic protection achieving a CEN 1063 BR7 rating while being discrete and virtually indiscernible from an unarmored luxury vehicle of the same class—both in visual appearance and performance.
“It shows what happens when the best innovations in security, performance and technology merge to make a top-notch vehicle. Modelled on the Mercedes-Maybach S600, it caters to customers who desire prestigious, high-class vehicles without compromising safety,” said ret. Major-General David Fraser, COO, INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing. “Apart from being the pinnacle of Mercedes-Benz luxury, the car is equipped with a full set of safety features specially designed and built by INKAS here in Canada.”
With this vehicle, INKAS has set out to create a new paradigm for armored engineering excellence. The modern composite materials used throughout the build, as well as it lightweight armoring techniques, affect the vehicle’s performance minimally; most drivers rarely notice any difference. The car maintains speed and maneuverability that ensure safe driving even in extreme situations. To allow for increased safety, it is equipped with run-flat tires and a smoke-screen system facilitating easy escape when necessary. INKAS has taken security one step further by installing fully operable windows all while maintaining the necessary ballistic properties and featuring the most transparent glass available in the market today.
Other features fitted to the INKAS Armored Mercedes-Maybach S600 include an independent air-conditioning system as well as a fire suppression system, which is installed within the entire vehicle and not for the engine compartment only. Add to this the optimized suspension and braking components that maximize performance. Furthermore, upon request, the vehicle may be hand-delivered by an INKAS Ambassador who will offer a complete on-site vehicle walkthrough, security systems training and evasive driving course.
“This is a car meant to perform and we are sure it will command much attention from high-end customers next year,” added Fraser.
Visit inkas.ca for more information.
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VIP Transportation Group owners Barbara and Simon White Birmingham, Ala. — McSweeney Designs, a fully approved MasterUpfitter for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, recently announced the expansion of its preferred dealer network to include Nations Bus Sales. Under the terms of this agreement, Nations Bus Sales will now represent the entire McSweeney Designs line of upscale, Sprinter-based MD Exec Livery and luxury shuttle bus products through its dealership base headquartered in St. Augustine.
“We are excited about this relationship for a number of reasons, not the least of which is Nations Bus’s strong reputation in the industry for cultivating long-term, repeat customer relationships with their clients,” said Vern Kauffman, COO for McSweeney Designs. Kauffman further lauded Nations Bus’s “full commitment to providing world-class sales and service for the product lines they represent,” and has complete confidence in the dealer’s ability to represent McSweeney Designs in marketplace
Exterior shot of MD Exec Livery PDF Portal Door Luxury Shuttle The new partners said that they were elated to immediately see the benefits of their alliance at October’s Chauffeur Driven Show in Miami, Fla. While jointly manning the McSweeney Designs booth on the exhibit floor, the combined efforts of McSweeney Designs and Nations Bus resulted in the sale of two MD Exec Livery 14-passenger portal-door luxury shuttles to Simon and Barbara White, the owners of VIP Transportation Group of Orlando, Fla.
Interior shot of MD Exec Livery PDF Portal Door Luxury Shuttle The Whites commented about their new purchase: “We are extremely proud to have partnered with McSweeney Designs and purchased two of their all-new design 14-passenger Executive Mercedes Sprinters with more units to be added in our fleet for 2016. McSweeney’s design and quality of craftsmanship is an exact fit for what our corporate and affiliate partners are now demanding from us.”
Building upon this positive dealer and end-user momentum, McSweeney reports that Nations Bus Sales will be stocking its product to ensure quick delivery, as well as to leverage the strengths of its in-house design, engineering, and build teams to assist clients in the development of custom-tailored upfit solutions to uniquely suit their own upscale transportation needs.
Send an email to vkauffman@mcsweeneydesigns.com or chip@nationsbus.com for more information.
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George Jacobs, President of Windy City Limousine Dearborn, Mich. — George Jacobs, president of Windy City Limousine in Chicago, went to great extremes to win a Ford Transit wagon auctioned for charity by Ford Motor Company and the National Limousine Association (NLA). He bid against himself to get it.
Even though he had the high bid of $45,000 at the LCT-NLA Show East auction on Nov. 9, Jacobs continued to raise his bid in $500 increments until he thought the price was right. When the gavel came down, he paid $48,000 to the NLA to benefit the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund, the limousine industry’s leading charity and philanthropic arm.
“My goal was to add another Transit to the Windy City Limousine fleet while also supporting the Howard Berkman Memorial Fund. I kept bidding because I didn’t think enough money had yet been raised,” Jacobs explains. “Everything I have in my life I got from the limousine industry, and when you get a chance to donate back to the same industry, you should do it. That’s how I feel.”
Ford donated the 15-passenger high-roof Transit wagon to NLA for the auction as part of the Ford Lincoln Limousine and Livery Vehicles’ annual support promotion for the association. Last year’s promotion raised $39,000 each for NLA and the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund.
The Fund is named after the late Harold Berkman, founder of Los Angeles-based Music Express, a past NLA president, and a founder of the professionally organized limousine industry. To date, the Charity Fund has contributed more than $750,000 to various charities, including When Georgia Smiled, Alliance for Lupus Research, American Cancer Society, City of Hope, CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Philabundance.
“Ford is proud to be a long-time partner with NLA and to work together to support the Harold Berkman Charity Fund,” says Craig Hall, Ford fleet marketing manager, commercial vehicle sales and marketing. “Supporting this charity fund helps organizations doing important work like finding cancer cures and preventing domestic violence.”
Jacobs bought the first Transit limousine built in the United States earlier this year and says he has been planning to add more Transit vans to the Windy City Limousine fleet ever since. Transit, America’s best-selling full-size van, is available in 58 configurations from the Kansas City factory.
Visit limo.org/harold-berkman-memorial-fund or windycitylimos.com for more information.
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