THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020396
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
Gov. George F. Allen always did like a nice truck more than a limousine, but he kept the four-door stretch number that came with the job to use in emergencies.
In Allen's first two years in office, the 1990 Lincoln purchased by former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was used just once, to ferry former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
But if she returns to Richmond, the governor will have to rent some wheels for her.
Allen, a Republican, announced this week he has sold the limo to a Virginia Beach businessman.
``He has a four-wheel drive and prefers to use that over a stodgy long black limousine,'' Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe said. ``It's just not the governor. There's something impersonal and cold about it, sort of like a long coffin.''
The sale was good for state coffers. Although the car has a book value of $8,000, it sold for $28,000. Buyer Ray Gallop, a tour operator, hasn't decided what he'll do with the limo. by CNB