Van Contains Tools For On-The-Road Productivity

<I>Chicago</I> - There's a whole new mode of transportation hitting the market this spring that promises to keep corporate travelers productive not only on the road, but on the highway as well.

The new LandJet is a GMC Savana van that contains a complete working office on wheels. It features a handcrafted desk and four revolving leather seats; four phones, each with speakers; a fax/copier/printer/modem; a dry sink, refrigerator and microwave; overhead bins offering 20 cubic feet of storage space; a television/VCR; and a 31-gallon gas tank that gives the car a range of 400 to 500 miles between fill-ups.

"What the LandJet offers is a whole different image than a shiny stretch limo, which many executives consider inappropriate," said president Michael Toll. "This has that upscale cachet, but it's a working vehicle."

Toll sees three target markets for LandJets: "CEOs who need a couple more hours in the day, team travelers and people who do a lot of regional travel, and the livery/rental car market," which might be interested in renting LandJets to corporate customers on a short-term basis.

The brainchild of a California businessman who kept getting stuck on the 405 in California, the LandJet was born when "he put together a team and said, 'make me something that will keep me productive on the road,' " Toll said.

The LandJet retails for $75,000 and is available on a three-year lease for $1,500 a month with no down payment.

Already, the travel department at Martin Engineering is interested in learning more about the LandJet, according to travel manager Leslea Carroll. "We are located almost three hours from O'Hare, and we spend an awful lot of time on the road," she said. "Our president had been looking into buying a van and converting it himself so that our people could make more productive use of their time, until he heard about the LandJet.