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Classic Limousine*(E)
18315 Mt. Baldy Circle
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Online: www.classiclimo.com
Many limousine builders were car guys; many operators started by renting a
limousine that was chanced upon. Uniquely, Fountain Valley, California,
coachbuilder Nick Giacobone was both. While at his custom body shop,
Giacobone landed a 22- foot Lincoln stretch and began to rent it out. In
demonstration of that something that separates the minor and major leagues,
he turned the company into a 35-car fleet in slightly more than one year.
Noting the need for trained chauffeurs, Giacobone next launched a school
with the aim to produce "perfect chauffeurs."
Then, in 1984, Giacobone exercised every operator's
dream: to build the perfect limousine. Applying the hard-earned lessons of
the operator, Giacobone formed Classic Limousine with his friend, Ted
Carlson, another car guy, Classic has since developed a reputation for
innovative styling. Kevin Donovan of A-1 Limousine says of Giacobone, "hands
down, his designs are beyond anyone else... every year, every show, his car
will be the one everyone talks about." Carlson maintains an engineer's
perspective, while Giacobone lets his imagination go free. "I want a
T-square, and he's all curves,.. we argue like cats and dogs," Carlson says.
"Nick is extremely creative, All the cars he has created have been hands-on
in the shop."
Classic is one of the few American builders who have been successful at
marketing their hearses to the Japanese market. In southern California,
they're better known for unusual conversions, such as their super-stretch
Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Mercedes limousines.
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