A big wheel in the limo business.

• Position: David Quinn - People

A big wheel in the limo business

David Quinn hopes his new business, Executive Excursions, takes off: He's got a lot riding on it.

Take Oprah Winfrey. When the talk-show host came to Winston-Salem in June, she hired Quinn, 38, and his father, Bob, 60, to chauffeur her and her entourage for three days. At $90 to $115 an hour, Executive Excursions isn't just any old limo service. "We are quite literally a show stopper," Quinn says.

His customers tool around in a 36-foot land yacht, nibbling petit fours and sipping drinks from stemware. Classical music wafts in the background, and cellular phone and fax stand at the ready. Ladies disembark with hands full of flowers and gentlemen with complimentary golf-club bookends.

Quinn got the idea working for Piedmont Aviation in Winston-Salem. During his 17 years there, Quinn, an Atlanta native, was part of the creative team that upgraded the in-flight fare from coffee and orange juice to full meals and developed the service when Piedmont established a first-class section.

When USAir announced it was buying Piedmont, Quinn wasn't willing to relocate, and he started looking to bail out. He found the way when he helped arrange a bus trip to the Charlotte Motor Speedway last year for Piedmont executives. "I...