g-Think | Issue 12 | The End of the Line for the Stretched-Limo?

“It’s a small fleet but a giant step” is how Y. Fray describes her growing Eco-limo business in Los Angeles where she has driven stars like Leonardo De Caprio in one of her alternative fuels vehicles.

Drawing upon her 22 years experience in the chauffer business, Fray felt the time was ripe for alternative fuel vehicles. She had a passion to clean up the limousine industry and her dream has come true with her company, Eco-Limo. Eco-Limo currently has five alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids and several running on bio fuels – diesel made from agricultural products.

Eco-Limo has not escaped attention in celebrity-mad L.A. last year Fray transported Leo De Caprio (himself a hybrid owner) to the Global Green Party at the Oscars. She now has clients including doctors, lawyers and several high profile L.A. business people. While Fray believes the car culture of L.A. is unlikly to change, she feels an increasing range of alternative vehicles available will provide a real alternative to gas-guzzling stretched limousines. Central to her philosophy is the need to talk about “alternative” fuels, not just hybrids, which are just one element of this mix. “You have to make progressive strides” says Fray, who takes a pragmatic approach. And “it’s not all about the money; it’s about making a difference.” The next step for Fray is to offer licensing for those interested in spreading Eco-Limo’s success around the country.

Fray has experienced first hand the reaction from business people when they get into one of her alternative fuels vehicles and head off to the airport – “when a client gets into a Prius, they’re often amazed ‘wow this is a real nice car and it’s roomy back here!’ “They feel part of the solution” says Fray.

While more and more Hollywood stars are buying alternative fuels vehicles, the major studios themselves often have sizeable, long-term contracts with traditional limousine companies. Fray thinks this is a hard market to break into. But, she has a vision of the future: “we need to look at what Rudolf Diesel invented over a hundred years ago…he wanted his organic fuel engine to be used by farmers. His “Diesel” engine was showcased at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair. Diesel quickly became a celebrity. “A hundred years later we’re taking notice of his engine!” says Fray.

Visit www.eco-limo.com