Q&Auto: Do the D in a Maserati limo

Posted by hpayne on April 27, 2014

Sam Zahr shows off Luxury Limousines’ 28-foot long Maserati Quatrroporte. Zahr runs Metro Detroit’s most exclusive limousine service featuring a fleet of unique luxury machines. These aren’t your average stretch Lincoln Town Cars. From sports cars to buses to SUVs, Zahr’s got it. (Henry Payne / The Detroit News)

What’s the hardest part about building a Maserati Quattroporte limousine?

“The transmission,” says Sam Zahr, owner of Luxury Limousine of Southfield and its one-of-a-kind stretch Maserati. “It’s in the trunk with the clutch. That’s a big modification to extend the driveshaft all the way from the engine up front.”

Zahr runs Metro Detroit’s most exclusive limousine service featuring a fleet of unique luxury machines. These aren’t your average stretch Lincoln Town Cars. From sports cars to buses to SUVs, Zahr’s got it. A Hummer? Yup. A party bus with a dance floor? Sure. A pink Escalade? No problem. Walking Zahr’s lot is like visiting luxury row at the Detroit Auto Show — except everything is 30 feet long.

The interiors of these land yachts are appropriately lush. The converted, 2006 model year, 400 horsepower, 28-foot long Quattroporte sports leather seats, wood trim, flat-screen DVD players, and an elegant, cabin-length wet bar (unstocked, by law, limos are BYOB). Like luxury markets everywhere, the limo business is volatile and Zahr has been riding the rollercoaster since he founded Luxury Limousine in 2005. He soared with the 2006 Detroit Super Bowl XL, then blew a tire in the Great Recession. Wedding parties are his staple (Six hours in the Maserati will set you back $650-$850) but Lux Limo is also on celebrities’ speed dial when they come to town. Zahr has seen ‘em all — Miley Cyrus, Eminem, Kid Rock, Justin Bieber.

Does the Bieb prefer the Maserati or Merc? Neither, says Zahr. With his big entourage, the teen idol likes the party bus.

I sat down with the 39-year old Lebanese immigrant to talk limos, cleaning bills, and the American Dream.

HP: Tell me about your fleet.

Zahr: We specialize in luxury. Each car is unique and one of a kind. We have the Maserati limousine, probably the only one in the world. We have a Mercedes S600 limo, Range Rover limo, BMW 740Li, and Lincoln and Dodge Charger that other limousine companies operate. But they have luxury touches that make us stand out from other services.

HP: What’s the most popular?

Zahr: The Mercedes, though the Maserati and BMW are also very popular.

HP: How do you make a Maserati limo?

Zahr: I design my own limos. A night out in a limo is great — but weddings are the bread and butter for this business. I design these limos with the brides in mind — from the seats to the wet bar to making room for them when they come in (to the cabin) with a big wedding dress. We buy the car, then we cut the car, then we build what kind of leather and lighting and sound system we want inside.

HP: Who builds them?

Zahr: American Eagle limousine in Virginia. I’ve had over 10 years’ experience working with them.

HP: What’s your next creation?

Zahr: I’m in the process of making my first in-house limo. We moved (from Dearborn to Southfield) into this bigger building recently and we want to start building our own. I have something crazy coming. We are working on a double-decker bus with up to 60 people upstairs and downstairs. You can have a bachelorette party and bachelor party in the same bus.

HP: Tell me a wild limo story.

Zahr: Oh, man, I have so many stories. Just a couple weeks ago, after the limo driver had dropped everybody off, he came back to clean the limo and someone was laying inside and right next to him was a gun. My driver thought he was dead, but the guy gets up and starts peeing in the limo. My driver called 911 and the police arrested the guy. So I charge the party $500 to clean the limo and then four days later the guy comes in and wants to argue with me!

HP: Tell me about yourself. How did you get here?

Zahr: I was born in Lebanon. I moved here for the American Dream. I moved here when I was 19 and attended Oakland Community College for an associates degree, then transferred to Eastern Michigan and graduated with a Business Information Systems degree. I started this company after I called a local limo company for a Pistons game. The driver was very late; the limo was not nice; the driver was not well dressed. I felt I was misled and I got in an argument with (the owner), and I said because of this experience I’m going to start a limousine business. I found my first two limos in Boston. The first was a BMW X5.

 

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