general questions

I am currently working with a transportation Co. dealing with ship crew members that come in and out of the Port of Houston. We are considering starting a Towne car/sedan driver service for exceutive airport runs and the like to supplyment our current buisness.

My first question reguards car choice. Towne cars seem to be the recomendation at this site but I was wondering what the life expectancy might be as we will be buying used. In addition we are located in the Houston Metro area and was wondering what color choice would be best. Black is the standard, I know, but was concerned about heat (summer) and appearance durabillity. This vehicle will be pulling double duty both for the Executive runs and for ship crew transport in and out of chemical plants as needed. Would a light color be more forgiveing? What about a light interior? Does anyone have expericence running Expeditions or Navagators?

Secondly Does anyone know who to contact or what types of govermental regulations/licencing we need to be aware of. We will not be chargeing a person rate but rather will direct billing Corparations. We have contacted several organizations reguarding our current buisness but I am not quite sure if we have been given completly accurate info.

You have raised a whole slew of questions, perhaps I can help on a couple. For car choice a Lincoln Town car is a good choice. Life expectancy is really a difficult question because it depends on so many factors, so let me say I think you will find in Houston that you can only have a vehicle for a max of two years old in this type of work. You may like to look into that to start because your amortization figures will depend on this as a base line figure. Color for your climate should be white because it gets so hot, alternatively have a vehicle with dual A/C.Do not under any circumstances have a light interior, you will spend a whole lot of time keeping it clean because it will show every mark.As far as Expeditions or Navigators go, I have a 2000 Custom built Expedition, and its a great tool, bit busy on gas with the 5.8 litre engine though so watch that aspect. I personally would think you will have a job with a Navigator, far more pricy overall. As far as contacting for regulations etc try City Hall first.
Good luck
Dick Hall

Dick