We all know limousines as luxurious vehicles but there’s a lot that we don’t know about limos. Here are some exciting facts about limousines.
The term limousine is a toponym. It comes from the French word Limousin, a name of an area in France.
The title of the limo driver, the “chauffeur,” is also derived from French. “Chauffeur” refers to the French word for a stoker. Early automobiles were steam-powered and required the operator, or the “stoker,” to stoke the engine.
There is no such thing as a car brand named limousine. The word limousine refers to vehicles which possess certain characteristics. Generally, a limo is larger than your average car and has a partition between the driver and passenger compartments.
The first limousine came about in 1902. It was built in Arkansas, the southern part of the United States. It had the enclosed compartment so that the guests could have their privacy. However, the driver’s compartment was open. The covered compartment looked like the cloak hood that people who used to live in Limoges, the area in France, wore.
The first stretch limo didn’t come around until 1928. These limousines were really only used to transport big bands from their shows. That’s why limousines are usually referred to as a “big band bus”.
Limousines were the first vehicles to ever have air conditioning way back in 1933.
The longest limousine in the world is called The American Dream built in 1997 by Jay Ohrberg of California. It measures 100 feet or approximately 30 meters. It had 26 wheels on it and was separated into three sections: the front, middle, and back. This limo could actually split in half to change directions. It was nicknamed as the “never-ending” limo. Since it is incredibly long for turning it around two driver’s compartments on both ends of the vehicle were installed. Any turn would be impossible without them. The backseat driver would steer the rear axles. The American Dream limo flaunts a swimming pool with a diving board, a Jacuzzi, satellite dish, king-size bed, sun deck, and even a helipad. It was never legal to drive on the streets and after a while, in the spotlight, the world’s longest limo got abandoned in a New Jersey warehouse. It got back on its “wheels” in 2012 at a salvage auction. The American Dream Limo is now used to help teach students to fix, build, and fabricate cars. The new proud owner of the American Dream is New York’s Autoseum Automotive Teaching Museum.
The Beast is a limousine that was designed just for the president of the United States. They modify the limo for each president, but it always has top-notch safety features. The limousine is virtually indestructible and heavily armored. On top of that, it’s 100% bulletproof.
As you can imagine the president of the USA needs a lot of protection. Thus to ensure that the president survives any type of attack which could cause blood loss, special services have installed a fridge full of the president’s blood type in The Beast Limousine.
The most expensive limousine in the world is “Batmobile”. It was built in 2012 and has a whopping 4.2 million dollar price tag. This limo was inspired by famous Batman movies. It has many of the gadgets the Batmobile in the movies had.
The price of a new limousine starts from around $90,000. It may cost less or more depending on the manufacturer and custom features. Just like other cars, limousines lose their value quickly. In about 4 or 5 years their value will decrease by about half.
One of the world’s most famous limousines is called The Midnight Rider. The 25-ton, 70-foot-long Tractor-Trailer Limousine is a night club on wheels with 460 square feet of room and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s heaviest limo.
Unlike The American Dream, The Midnight Rider is licensed to travel throughout the USA. Naturally, due to its size, it cannot use all roads. The Midnight Rider can only be driven on roads that allow a 48-foot (14.6 m) turning radius. It is big and wide enough to comfortably accommodate 40 people.
If you wish to take your pet along then before you choose a limo company, you want to hire you should completely understand their pet policies. Some companies will not allow animals in their vehicles while others are more than happy to accommodate them.
If you have been wondering are there wheelchair-accessible luxury limousines available the answer is yes. Before you book a limo call the company and make sure that they have one that is adapted for this situation. Most of them have at least one vehicle and it is usually a van. These vehicles have all the special and luxury features that will provide the ultimate experience of riding in a limo.
Since the world is going green and electric cars are becoming present and common things limo industry has also jumped on the wagon. An electric limousine is developed by KAZ, an Italian-Japanese partnership. It is powered by 6 electric engines and has six wheels. The price tag of this engineering marvel is whooping 4 million dollars. The team spent 5 years building it.
People can go a bit overboard when they are organizing their weddings. A limo is something many couples choose as a means of transportation on their wedding day.
But the Sultan of Brunei went a little overboard. He bought a Rolls Royce Silver Spur stretch limousine and had it plated in 24-carat gold. The price tag for this paint job was massive 14 million dollars.
These days, creative types have been making limousines from all types of vehicles. While the SUV limo, the Lincoln Navigator, remains one of the most popular, there are also limos made from a DeLorean, a Volkswagen Beetle, pickup trucks, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and even a Mini Cooper, which as it turns out, isn’t all that mini.