BY SUSAN ROSE
Thirty-five years after he purchased his first limousine and launched his still-thriving operation, Classique Worldwide Transportation President Kevin Illingworth continues to ponder the big questions. The Southern California operator is keenly aware of how luxury transportation is changing, and while he may not know what vehicles and technology will look like in his future, he is certain of one thing: customer service is still the differentiator that satisfies his clients.
Cover Art: Classique President & Founder Kevin Illingworth (center) with wife Cindy, Operations Manager Glenn Gonzales (left) and Business Development Manager Devan Illingworth in Corona Del Mar, California. Photography by Chris Weiss. “In my book, customer service hasn’t changed. From day one, it’s been important to me, and it’s what I stress to my employees. Client demands are different but not in terms of delivering on customer service. The memorable moment is always making the experience right, and if you can create that for the customer, I think you have them for a lifetime,” says Illingworth.
Customer service—or the lack of it—was what inspired Illingworth to launch Classique in the first place. Already a successful owner of a booming commercial window tinting and stereo installation business in his mid-20s, the Air Force vet discovered firsthand how unreliable a service can be when he was stood up by the limo company he booked for an end-of-the-year celebration. Barely two months later, in 1990, he purchased a tuxedo limousine that he parked at his office located next to a car wash. Thanks in part to Illingworth’s business savvy, as well as a great office location, inquires and bookings for the black-and-white stretch were constant. Over the years, even as his retail service slowly morphed into working with affiliates, corporate executives, groups, celebrities, and studios, “customer first” remained his mantra.
Dispatch Manager Chris Usher at the Classique headquarters In an age when technology is introducing as many new challenges as it is production-enhancing measures, Illingworth is curious about how the industry will pivot to balance efficiency without sacrificing the human element. As one of the industry’s OG operators, he’s been at the forefront of some of the biggest legislative battles, and he’s helped to shape chauffeured transportation not only in California but nationally. He’s among the longest serving board members of the National Limousine Association (NLA) as well as the past president and current board member of the Greater California Livery Association (GCLA). In the 2010s, he bore witness to the disruption that Uber presented, taking the fight to both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. Collectively, they scored legislative wins along the way, and the disruption knocked the industry down at times but not out (taxis, on the other hand, fared less well). However, it also ushered in an age where GPS and real-time vehicle tracking became the norm, boosting customer service in chauffeured transportation.
Now, vehicles are in the spotlight: sedans and SUVs have mostly replaced limousines, and Sprinters and buses have become mainstays. But Illingworth is ambivalent about electric vehicles (EVs) dominating fleets. Currently, his sole EV is a Rivian.
Classique President Kevin Illingworth, sporting his company’s signature green, with wife Cindy in Corona Del Mar Autonomous vehicles are adding a new wrinkle to the transportation space. Google’s Waymo has been shuttling passengers in driverless cars in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. A few months ago, he had the opportunity to try one out for himself.
“I told myself that I wouldn’t get in an AI car, but when we were in Arizona, my wife and I rode in a Waymo from the restaurant to the hotel. I’ll tell you, it was quite an experience. I mean, the car drove better without the driver,” he says.
Driverless cars would certainly help alleviate some of the major pain points that operators are facing, such as a lack of chauffeurs.
“As a company, I would like to look more into who owns those cars, who charges those cars, and who’s responsible for controlling those cars, because one of our biggest problems still is hiring drivers, especially CDL drivers,” Illingworth says. “I know an operator who actually sends his kids to school in a Waymo. When I asked him about it, he told me that things he’s always worried about when someone drives for his kids are the car and the driver—but with Waymo he doesn’t have to worry about the driver.”
But could it work for an industry like chauffeured transportation, which was built on customer service?
General Manager Carolyn Kent is one of Classique’s longest employees For the better part of four decades, Illingworth has focused on setting Classique apart with their commitment to thorough chauffeur training. Each chauffeur partakes in an extensive program covering defensive driving, ADA compliance, and advanced customer service techniques, which ensures they can anticipate and meet the unique needs of every client, from seamless route navigation to personalized service. Illingworth says that he holds his team to those high standards, so what happens when customer service is no longer centered on the driver?
“It’s a great question, right? How do you differentiate your business from the next if there’s no driver? Does the passenger want to load their own luggage or have someone do it for them? I guess that’s really going to be one of those things where you have to get it exactly right,” he says. “I’m excited to see how that goes, but I’m always going to want to have a driver in my car driving me. Again, customer service is what it’s all about to me. When I used to drive, I enjoyed the service part of it: seeing them off, picking them up, knowing if they want conversation or no conversation. That’s what I love about the business.”
The Illingworth family (L to R): Cameron, Kevin, Cindy, and Devan at Rogue Aviation in Long Beach The question might be one that is resolved with Illingworth’s son, Devan, who is the newest addition to the Classique executive team. Devan was put through the usual paces in his younger years—washing cars and other character-building tasks—but now he’s shaping his own resume and book of clients for Classique as business development manager.
“There was a time where I didn’t want my kids to join the business, but Devan really impressed me,” he says. “He’s been coming to all the shows and doing all the things that I choose not to anymore. I’ve seen his growth dealing with the everyday problems. I have so much on my plate, but he’ll pick things up and run with it. He doesn’t take it to heart when I get frustrated with something. He doesn’t give up.”
Illingworth also sees his son’s potential to connect with new customers in fresh ways.
The executive team (L to R): Carolyn Kent, Operations Manager Glenn Gonzales, Devan Illingworth, Cindy Illingworth, and Kevin Illingworth “We are always looking for growth. The clients that I developed as a young man are now aging out; they’re not in the corporate systems anymore. Devan’s looking for new business—the younger corporate travelers—and understanding what they want. The business has changed so much since I started in 1990. I used to go there and talk to people but now it’s all through text or online dispatching. It’s all AI chat bot. He’s connecting with the people of his generation,” Illingworth says.
Also helping to get Devan up to speed are Operations Manager Glenn Gonzales and General Manager Carolyn Kent, who has been with the company for decades. (Illingworth’s wife, Cindy, also oversees the HR department.)
“Carolyn has been with me over 30 years. She works four days a week now, but she’s still out there fighting the fight with us. I have a ton of respect for her,” says Illingworth. “Glenn was one of our drivers. He came into the office five or six years ago, and he’s been building the company and working with Devan to help him mature into his role. They kind of lean on each other, going back and forth and creating new accounts,” he says.
Chauffeurs Carlos Alvarez (left) and Jack Williams at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, home of MLB’s Los Angeles Angels The beginning of the year was a turbulent start for Classique—and many other Southern California operators—as wildfires ravaged swaths of the Greater Los Angeles area, displacing many of his clients who are still in flux months later, but business picked up again in recent months. In fact, there are a few bright spots on the horizon. In 2026, the City of Angels will be among the largest host cities of the FIFA World Cup, while the Summer Olympics will arrive in 2028. Illingworth says Classique is in the works to be a part of them.
With all the talk about the newest and the latest, one throwback vehicle is surprisingly in demand at Classique: the stretch limousine. Illingworth has found that some of his traveling passengers in the 21st century still get the same feeling that many of us had seeing a stretch pull up for our prom or wedding in the 1980s or 1990s.
“Believe it or not, there are many young people who want a limo for formals or proms because they haven’t seen one. It’s getting harder to replace them because there aren’t many companies that are building them,” he observes.
Illingworth also uses limousines regularly for his charity work.
“When we do the back-end interview with Make-A-Wish, sometimes the wish granters will call us and say, ‘Kevin, we just sent this kid to Hawaii, we just gave him a shopping spree, we just spent all this money, and all he kept talking about was how great the limo was!’ It’s happened numerous times and I just get a kick out of it. They’re really battling their own battle, but they’re also so appreciative. Hearing that is one of those things that keep me going because those kids are just amazing,” he says.
Classique Worldwide Transportation President Kevin Illingworth (left) with Business Development Manager (and son) Devan Illingworth at FBO Signature Aviation in Long Beach, California. Illingworth has also been seeing an uptick in the use of the larger vehicles like minibuses and motorcoaches.
“We were looking at buying a coach right before COVID, and luckily for us, we didn’t,” he says, nodding to the slowdown that followed. “Glenn and Devan have been working on getting more coach business.”
While the industry was idle, Illingworth was busy ramping up a bona fide side gig in the cannabis industry, which includes a 6,000-plant farm and two dispensaries in Oklahoma. Not a bad move considering the sector is expected to generate $47.5 billion in sales by 2030 by some estimates. Plus, the start-up costs and regulations were a fraction of what they would have been in the Golden State.
“Our cars in California were parked for almost 14 months, but the bills were obviously still coming,” he says. “My brother was in Oklahoma because his son was at OSU, and we got into the farming business. I’ve been going back and forth since.”
With Classique hitting a 35-year milestone this past February, we asked Illingworth what he was most proud of over his career.
“It’s not an easy business, but everything we own, everything we’ve done has been because of Classique. This business put two kids through college. I know people who have ‘escaped’ but they usually come back. It’s like a bug,” he jokes. “You know, I consider the people that I’ve met this industry—customers and partners—to be just as important to me as my own family. What I’ve learned is to surround myself and work with only the best operators in the world. No matter where I go, I know that there’s an affiliate there.” [CD0525]