Travelling parties can be fun, but let’s face it, the stretch limo offers an entirely different ambience to that of a ToyotaToyota  Mini-bus and sometimes you want to keep the troops together.

APLUS Limousines in San Diego offers this stretch limo Hummer for between US$150 and $280 a day depending on the day and what’s on in town that day and whether you’re rich and/or famous and … you know the score.

The vehicle is 31 feet long and seats 18 people - ideal for large travelling parties that don’t wish to feel like they’re in a school bus, or famous people with large entourages.

It has 4 televisions, a DVD player, a 1400 watt Kenwood sound system, lr  show, changing color neon lights, and glass-topped, pull out trays all-round.
The vehicle began life as a H2 Hummer and is equipped with the same engine as a stock H2 Hummer. We’d guess it gets somewhere between three miles per gallon and three gallons per mile.The runner-up in our ongoing, mine’s-bigger-than-yours competition can be found here

Asset Management ** A truck equipment lease provides the use of equipment for specific periods of time at fixed payments. Depending on how the truck lease is structured, the lessor assumes and manages the risk of equipment ownership. At the end of the truck lease, the lessor is responsible for the disposition of the asset.

Balance Sheet Management ** Because an operating truck lease is not considered a long-term debt or liability, it does not appear as debt on your financial statements, thus making you more attractive to traditional lenders.

Current Technology ** If the nature of your industry demands that you have the latest truck technology a short-term operating truck lease can help you get the needed equipment and keep your cash out-lay to a minimum. Your risk of getting stuck with obsolete equipment is lower because you can upgrade or add equipment to meet your ever-changing needs.

Customized Payment Solutions ** A variety of truck leasing products are available, allowing you to tailor a program to fit your month-to-month or year-to-year cash flow needs. Some lessors offer stepped- payment programs, with the payments being smaller at the beginning of the lease to allow the lessee’s cashflow to build. The payments then ramp up latter in the payment schedule when the new truck(s) have increased the business revenue. Other lessors offer seasonal deferred payment programs for businesses that experience cashflow challenges during the year. Always ask for these options. Independent lessors want your business. If it makes sense financially, they will often accommodate your needs.

Flexible End Of Term Options ** There are several options for disposing of equipment after the lease term ends including returning the equipment, renewing the lease or purchasing the equipment.

Flexibility ** As your business grows and your needs change, you can add or upgrade at any point during the lease term through add-on or master leases. Lessors want you as a long term customer and are often creative in how they structure a truck lease for you. Captive or in-house truck leasing programs may not be as flexible. So, you can often find more flexible truck leasing arrangements with Independent Truck Leasing Companies.

Immediate Write-Off ** Truck Lease payments can be treated as expenses (depending on how the lease is structured) on a company’s balance sheet, therefore, truck equipment does not have to be depreciated over five to seven years. (Consult with your tax professional prior to making major asset acquisition decisions)

Improved Cash Forecasting ** By leasing need truck equipment you know the amount and number of lease payments over the life of the leasing period, so you can accurately forecast cash requirements for your equipment.

Respect Space

Successful driving is mostly a matter of negotiating the space around your vehicle and others on the road. Be aware that semis and other large trucks need more space than other vehicles. Most importantly, respect the space in front of a large truck. Large trucks need more distance for braking than other vehicles, as much as half again the distance. At 55 mph, a car on a dry road with good brakes can stop in about 200 feet, while a large truck requires about 300 feet. That means that if you have to slam on your brakes to stop, and you are less than 100 feet in front of a large truck, that truck may hit you. On wet days, a large truck may require as much as half a mile to come to a full stop at highway speeds, as much as 1000 feet more than a car.

Do not forget that large trucks also require a significant amount of space when turning. Give them a wide berth if you are turning at the same time, and, most importantly, anticipate and respect the need for a wide right turn.

Be Observant

You can do a lot to avoid a deadly crash with an 18-wheeler if you simply pay attention to traffic. If you can anticipate traffic hazards before coming to them, you can greatly reduce the chances that you will be involved in an accident. If you have to brake suddenly, the semi truck behind you might also have to brake suddenly, but if you can anticipate possible hazards, you can deal with them more gradually, allowing you and the semi truck behind you to adjust to the conditions.

Be observant of semi trucks and anticipate their movements, because they may not be able to respond to you. This applies not only on the highway, but on city streets as well. Be aware of the entire length of the truck. Ideally, the truck should have lights and reflectors along its entire length, but in many cases, they become dirt obscured or damaged, making them hard to see at night. Hitting the side of a truck trailer can lead to one of the most deadly forms of truck accidents, the underride, in which the chassis of your car passes under the chassis of the truck, causing the entire force of the impact to be borne by the car’s windshield and upper pillars, which are unprepared to handle such force.

Be Visible

18-wheelers and other large trucks have significant blind spots. If they cannot see you, they are more likely to hit you. Always make sure that you are in a place where you are highly visible to the truck driver. Do not linger in blind spots behind or to the side of large trucks. In addition, be sure to use your lights whenever the conditions are other than full bright daylight, including fog, rain, snow, and twilight.

Yield

Many accidents can be attributed to overly aggressive driving. In many cases, you can avoid an accident by simply making space for a merging vehicle and not trying to pass too closely to other vehicles. Courtesy will go a long way toward making the road safer for everyone.

The Hinge of Fate

However, sometimes no matter what you do, you are involved in a crash with a heavy truck. This can be a true accident in rare cases, but more often it is the result of someone else not doing his or her part to keep the road safe. Many times, this person is related to the trucking company, whether it is the driver who should have been paying more attention, the maintenance crew that should have maintained the truck’s brakes, or the loader that should have been more careful securing the cargo.

A vehicle ’s suspension is the system of front and rear springs that suspend a car ’s weight. The suspension springs utilized in today ’s vehicles are created in a multitude of shapes, types, sizes, capacities, and rates. The types of suspension offered are: leaf springs, air springs, coil springs, and torsion bars. There are always four sets for every vehicle, and they can be paired off in many different combinations and attached at several different mounting points.

The suspension system in a vehicle includes: shocks or struts, and sway bars. Historically, the car ’s weight was set on the rear axle, and steering was much simpler; having a turning tiller that pivoted the entire front of the car. When the engine block was finally installed in the front of the car, a more complex steering system was developed. Today ’s vehicle has made great strides toward being more than just a foot propelled box. There have been significant innovations in steering and suspension, increased durability and quality of parts, and advancements in tire design and composition that have made significant improvements in the way a vehicle drives and how safe the driver is.

A vehicle ’s suspension system is comprised of 2 fundamental functions: keeping the vehicle ’s tires firmly planted on the road, and to offer a comfortable, bump-free ride for everyone inside. There is nothing worse than riding along a pothole filled road and feeling all the little holes, crevices, dips, and bumps. A majority of a vehicle ’s suspension system ’s work is done by the springs. Under normal road conditions, the springs would support the body of the vehicle, balancing it by compressing and rebounding with every little bump, jiggle, and dip in the road. Unfortunately, a suspension system alone cannot insure the driver has a smooth ride. Enter the shock absorbers. Shock absorbers do exactly what they sound like they do: they absorb the shock of the rebounding before it reaches the occupants of the vehicle. Purchasing Ford shock absorbers is something your bones will thank you for.

The Ford Motor Company has top billing as one of the foremost auto manufacturers in the world. This didn’t come easy. It has taken model after model of technological genius to be dubbed with such an accolade. Throughout its years in the business, Ford has continued to be one of the most successful vehicle manufacturers in the industry. What places Ford ahead of its competition? It has consistently been, one of the leading model makers globally. Ford car parts are the best selling aftermarket vehicle parts on the market. There are millions of Ford auto parts sold every year to millions of Ford vehicle owners around the globe. If you’re a Ford car owner, you can easily find the exact part you need in any number of auto parts stores. However, if you’re looking for high-quality Ford vehicle parts, such as: air conditioner condensers, fenders, gas tanks, fog lamps, radiators, and others, you should try buying your parts from a trustworthy source. Purchasing your Ford parts from just any store is like taking your sick child to just any doctor. It shouldn’t be done!

There are a lot of reputable automotive parts suppliers on the internet and all you have to do is surf the web to find them. Their aim is to broaden available service and options by featuring high-quality car parts on their websites. They offer millions of top-notch vehicle replacement parts that have been manufactured by the best manufacturers in the business. Visit their sites to find a gigantic variety of Ford parts and Ford accessories: corner lights, headlamps, mirrors, tires, wheels, window regulators, and much more. Ford owners can now purchase automotive parts quickly, easily, and reliably.

Ford first began its manufacturing of trucks in 1908. Things have changed considerably since that first truck rolled off the assembly line. Commercial vehicles were eventually produced for the Ford truck line in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the United States, although this manufacturing maneuver did not last long. The European venture lasted longer than others although it too is now non-existent. In 1986 the European Ford venture, called the Ford of Britain, was sold to the Iveco group and new models from this company are manufactured under the Transcontinental and Cargo logos.

The United States version of the Ford heavy truck division was sold to Freightliner, which is now part of the Daimler truck line. Since 1997 the brand has been known under the Sterling logo. Although Ford continues today to manufacture medium class trucks with the ever popular F-650 and F-750 names, they have also recently added the new LCF series to the line-up which is somewhat similar to the Ford Cargo trucks of yesteryear.

You can find many trucks, from light to heavy duty haulers, virtually anywhere that you look. One of the best places to begin your search is on the internet. There are a wide variety of places where you can find information about specific truck models, such as a manufacturer’s website or a site that offers listings of used and new trucks for sale. Knowing where to begin your search is half the battle.

Once you have located a site that offers new and used trucks for sale, you simply need to keep in mind what budget you have for purchasing your truck and any other specifics that you have in mind, such as brand or luxury level. There are many semi trucks today that offer comfort capabilities that are very similar to what you experience at home. From extra large sleeping areas to room for a refrigerator, microwave, television and even a computer, you can put virtually anything in your truck and haul it with you on the road. Once you have determined how much you can afford to pay and any luxuries that you want, you will be ready to really start searching for your perfect truck

From the very beginning, a person’s status related greatly as to whether or not he owned an automobile. A man with a Model T Ford was a very important man, indeed. Today, too, a person is judged by what type of car he has, or if he even has one. Before checking out a man or a woman as a possibility for a date, you may just check out his or her “wheels.”Even when automobiles were very first hitting the roads, they changed the ways in which we date and mate. The social impact of the car extends to what people did and do on dates. For one thing, the backseat of a car offers so many more possibilities than a doorstep or front porch. Who knows how many babies have been conceived in the backseats of cars over the years?

Of course, let us back up a bit here. Before a couple on a date hits the backseat of a car, they have been affected by cars in other ways. The other activities that a couple does on a date are different, as well. They have more possibilities. They can easily go meet friends across town at a diner. They may even eat their dinner food inside the car at a drive-inn. And after they eat at a drive-inn, where might they go, but a drive-inn movie theater, of course!

Besides drive-inn diners, the automobile brought about drive-up windows at fast food restaurants. Along with the car – which brought us speed on the road and convenience for being where we want to be when we want to be there – we got a need for fast food, as well. The automobile did not simply fasten our paces on the road, the automobile quickened our pace in life. Now we must do so many things in a day, and do them quickly. And because of these new hurried lives that we lead, we need fast food, as well.

The social impact of the car extends to how our cities are built, as well. People can now live further away from cities. They can commute to work. In fact, long commutes have just become a part of daily life. Huge strip malls have been built and gigantic super stores – people can now drive to these and shop at them with ease, and then they can load up all of their purchases into the backs of their cars with ease.Neighborhoods are being built without sidewalks because people no longer walk anywhere… they drive. People are less likely to be out walking in their neighborhoods and stop to talk to other out walking. Neighbors are becoming more like strangers.

The social impact of the car is so extensive that it is almost impossible to untangle from our daily lives. In fact, the social impact of the car extends to how we even view life. The onset of automobiles gave people a new freedom that they had never experienced before. With automobiles, people could view life as an “open road.” People could travel more easily to the store or even across country. They no longer had to plan their travels around the train schedule or other schedules.

Nothing is or was as freeing as simply being out on the open road. The social impact of the car is so much more than any of this. There is hardly any aspect of your American life that has not been affected by the automobile. The social impact of the car is much more expansive than any other modern-day invention… even more so than that of the computer.

Since very few used car and truck dealers will have used rollback trucks in their inventory, the internet has become a viable channel to locate the best deals and selections. Buying a vehicle from an online listing is not that much different than the conventional buying methods. The amount of vehicles available may be astounding to a first time internet shopper, but that simply opens the door to more bargains.

The first priority should be finding a truck within a reasonable distance from you. Naturally, not many buyers will be willing to drive cross country to look at a vehicle. Once one or more vehicles that fit your needs are located, begin the process of contacting the seller to get as much information on each vehicle as possible.

Many times a potential buyer can begin eliminating vehicles from consideration by simply asking the seller questions about the vehicle. Maybe the truck doesn’t have a particular option that the buyer needs. Or the buyer may have doubts as to whether the vehicle is in reasonably good condition.

The point is to not be afraid to ask questions. A reputable seller will be glad to answer questions from all potential buyers. Be leery of a seller who seems reluctant to answer your questions, or tries to shift the subject to something else. An honest seller will usually call attention to any known defects, and make sure buyers are aware there may be a problem with the vehicle.

The most trusted and respected sites have many ways to protect buyers. Never try to bypass the safeguards that these sites put in place to protect the buyer. Safe and secured transactions are the main priority for all parties involved.

Buying a used rollback truck online is a safe and viable method of getting the best selection and best price. But as in any buying decision, shop around for the best deals before buying any used rollback truck

Ford also announced that sedan and hatchback versions of the next-generation European Ford Focus will be produced in North America beginning in late 2010.

“As gasoline prices average more than $4 a gallon and consumers worry about the weak U.S. economy, we see June industry-wide auto sales slowing further and demand for large trucks and SUVs at one of the lowest levels in decades,” said Alan Mulally, president and CEO. “Ford has taken decisive action to respond to this accelerating shift in customer demand away from large trucks and SUVs to smaller cars and crossovers, and we will continue to act swiftly moving forward.”

Including medium and heavy vehicles, Ford now expects U.S. industry volume to be between 14.7 and 15.2 million units, compared with the previous assumption of 15 to 15.4 million units. Accordingly, Ford now plans to produce 475,000 vehicles in the third quarter, a reduction of 50,000 units from previously-announced plans and a decline of 25 per cent when compared with the 2007 third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Ford plans to produce 550,000 to 590,000 units, a reduction of 40,000 units from previously-announced plans, and a decline of 8 to 14 per cent compared with the 2007 fourth quarter.

Ford will also delay the introduction of the new 2009 F-150 pickup truck by approximately two months, due to the industry-wide slowdown in the segment and the need to sell down dealer inventory of the current model. The new truck will go on sale in late fall.

To cut back its production, Ford will now begin 2009 F-150 production in August at Kansas City Assembly Plant and in September at Dearborn Truck, and will eliminate one shift at each plant; Michigan Truck Plant will be idled for nine consecutive weeks beginning the week of June 23; and the line speed will be reduced at Kentucky Truck Plant and Chicago Assembly. Production of large pickups will wind down at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico by the end of 2008; the plant will be retooled for production of the new Fiesta small car for North America, beginning in early 2010.

Ford will also add a third shift for production of the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and Ford Flex at its plant in Oakville, Ontario. Other upgraded plants include a third shift at Kansas City, which produces the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner; and a new third shift at Wayne Assembly to produce the Ford Focus.

“We view the move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles as permanent, and we are responding to customer demand,” Mulally said. “In the near term, we are adjusting production to the actual demand, increasing small cars and crossovers, and reducing large trucks and SUVs. For the long term, we are moving fast to introduce more small cars, crossovers and fuel-efficient powertrains, including more hybrids, and we will adjust our manufacturing facilities to match our updated product line-up.”

Jeff Wright, president of the United Auto Workers Local 249, told The Kansas City Star for a story in Thursday’s editions that Ford plans to switch a second shift now making F-150 pickups and retrain those workers for a new shift building Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs later this summer.

Wright said the company told the union of its plans during a meeting last week in Detroit.

Ford wouldn’t confirm the plan.

“We’re still finalizing our plans and continue to work on all the details,” said spokeswoman Angie Kozleski. “Once that’s done, we’ll communicate what we plan to do with our employees first.”

The advance of $4-a-gallon gasoline has reduced sales for pickups and big SUVs, forcing automakers to cut production of those vehicles in favor of smaller SUVs and cars.

The Ford F-series has been Ford’s biggest seller for more than 30 years, but sales fell 30 percent last month, outsold by four passenger cars.

Wright said the second shift would stop making F-150s on July 17. Ford already had planned to cease production on the line the following week because of poor sales.

Following a traditional two-week summer break that begins July 28, the third SUV shift would probably begin the week of Aug. 11, Wright said.

“It may take a while before that shift really gets going,” he said. “We’ll have a lot of training to do.”

The factory in the Kansas City suburb of Claycomo employs about 4,100 hourly employees. Against the backdrop of a sluggish auto industry, sales of the Escape, the Mariner and the Mazda Tribute, a small SUV also made at Claycomo, have been relatively strong. The three combined have sold more than 99,000 units through May, or 7 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

Dealers, as of June 1, had a 50-day supply of Escapes, below the 60-day supply typically preferred. By contrast, they had a 142-day supply of F-series trucks.

Wright said he was disappointed in the shutdown of the F-150 shift, but he said the company has to change with the market. He also noted that when Claycomo last eliminated a truck shift in 1980, it was brought back a few years later.

“I don’t see gas prices coming down anytime soon, and as long as people aren’t buying trucks, we’re faced with this situation,” he said, adding that he was glad the move wouldn’t require layoffs.

Ford’s F-150 plant in Dearborn, Mich., is also cutting back one shift, Wright said.