The History of the Limousine: From Shepherds to the Rich and Famous

Discover how limousines evolved from shepherds' coats to luxury transport for business meetings, social gatherings and more.

The History of the Limousine: From Shepherds to the Rich and Famous

The limousine is a luxurious mode of transport that has been around for centuries. It originated in 1902, less than two decades after the invention of the first practical car. The shepherds who are at the base of raising this main species of cattle wore long coats associated with the prestigious means of transport that is now called limousine. Vehicles converted into innovative elastic limousines include the East German Trabant, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat Panda and the Citroën 2CV.

The varied interiors allow you to rent a limousine for business meetings, social gatherings, weddings, trips to clubs or other forms of luxury entertainment. Some people choose to rent a limousine to go to school, to sporting and social events and to summer camps. In Great Britain, the city limousine was a version of the city limousine car in which the driver's compartment was outside and had no weather protection. The last production limousine, from Cadillac, with folding seats facing forward, was in 1987 (with its Fleetwood Series 75 model), the last Packard in 1954 and the last Lincoln in 1939, although Lincoln has offered limousines through its dealers as special-order vehicles on occasion.

Since the social status of the owners of these cars was very high, they considered it desirable for the limousine driver to have a special qualification, which gave rise to the driver as a specialized profession. In the United States, the limousine subcategories in 1916 were the Berliner, defined as a limousine with the driver's seat fully closed, and the Brougham, defined as a limousine without a roof above the driver's seat. Nowadays, many industries that provide transportation services use limousines to provide exquisite service to their loyal customers and attract others. Around 1928, a coach company called Armbruster created an elastic limousine in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The exterior of the limousines accentuate the look and the length can accommodate a good number of guests. Today, limousines are still used to transport the rich and famous, but they are also designed to transport much larger numbers of people. Therefore, the limousine has a history even before cars were invented and the first stretched limousine for cars dates back almost 100 years.

Jim Harris
Jim Harris

Passionate web evangelist. Total bacon evangelist. General bacon lover. Amateur web aficionado. Subtly charming travel practitioner.

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