Sean C. Morgan
Dave Herring loves cars.
He still has his first one, a 1969 GTO.
“We’ve always been into cars,” said his wife, Lisa Herring. “We’ve been together almost 30 years. It’s one of our hobbies. We’ve always bought cars, restored them and sold them.”
That interest drove them to open Herring Auto about three years ago and to begin a limousine service around May OF LAST YEAR.
“I started with older limos, but if it takes off, I’ll buy more cars,” said Dave Herring as he opened up the back of a 30-foot 2005 Lincoln. “It was actually used by ZZ Top the first few months of its life. It’s like driving a lowered motor home.”
Flames on the seats underscore its life in rock ‘n’ roll, and lighting in the roof simulates a starry sky.
Herring has a second, shorter Lincoln with less history, but both have his own personal touch.
“Everything’s red, white and blue because I’m a veteran,” he said. He cannot offer alcoholic beverages, but he does keep the vehicles stocked with water and sparkling cider.
Herring, 59, served in the U.S. Navy. When he left the service, he got into electronics and then ran hydro dams for 20 years, including the Falls Creek Dam east of Sweet Home. Later, he got into wind power and other non-utility fields.
“We had a pilot car service for awhile,” Herring said. “I wanted to see the country.”
Within about three months, Herring said, he had a staff of 28 people. He came home after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. After she passed away, Bob Walker’s lot was for rent.
He asked his wife, he said.
“She said if we’re going to do it, we’ll jump in with both feet.”
His father ran a car lot, Herring Chevrolet, in Hood River in the 1960s, Herring said. He’s always been a “true car guy,” and it was a natural fit to start up his own lot.
As a car enthusiast, a limo service wasn’t far away either.
“I always wanted a limo,” Herring said, so he indulged and bought a $600 white limo that he parked on his car lot.
“A lot of thanks to Michael at The Point,” Herring said. “He’s the one that gave me the motivation.
He said Hall saw Herring’s limo and suggested it as a business idea if Herring had higher quality limos.
“The Sweet Home area doesn’t have anything. A guy in Albany owns a limo. So I went down and bought the blue one. I think there’s a need for it here in Sweet Home. People with money are moving here.”
Today, he chauffeurs people to The Point Restaurant, to dinner in Portland, to weddings or to the airports in Portland and Eugene.
“We have weddings booked up all over the place,” Herring said, and they’re booked into the spring already.
For the Sweet Home High School Winter Formal dance in January, he joined The Point in offering a special opportunity for some high school students who might not otherwise be able to attend event.
The Point donated dinner and Aloha Limos donated rides to the restaurant and around the lake to about eight or nine students.
“It’s amazing,” said Sean McNellis, a special education assistant at Sweet Home High School. “It’s an opportunity that is not afforded to everybody.”
These donations give them a chance to feel like a “superstar,” he said.
“Not many kids get to ride in a limo,” Herring said.
The business gets calls regularly now from the Eugene and Albany areas, Lisa Herring said. “Our rates seem to be low enough we’re getting a lot of interest.”
Everyone has fun in a limo, Dave Herring said. “This gets more looks than my hot rods do. People just stop and stare.”
The smaller limo runs $65 per hour for up to six passengers. The longer limo, for up to eight passengers, is $75; and a 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster Sedan, for up to two passengers, is $85.
For more information, call Herring Auto at (541) 401-9730.