As usual nowadays, a Rockfile File episode piqued my curosity, when that rocking mid-70s PI got into a traditional stretch limo as we know it (a luxury car (Mercedes Benz), with an extra section welded into the middle (unsure if there was a bar inside, though)). So, it seems that stretch limos were not unheard of by the mid-70s.
I also remember seeing pictures of mid-60s Lincolns chopped and stretched, but am not sure if they were common at the time or just reserved for heads of states.
So, anyone have any idea how stretch limos evolved, when they became common (and how common they were), types of cars used before the 80s (when I think the number really exploded), etc.
BTW, googling on early stretch limos brought up lots of info on touring cars, but these seemed to be used more like buses/jitneys than in hauling the rich (and wannabees) around in style.
Limousines are nothing new, they’ve been around almost as long as the standard passenger car. A 1919 Pierce Arrow limo can be seen at http://my.net-link.net/~dcline/limocls2.htm. I believe many of the early limos were straight off the factory line but the stock market crash in '29 temporarily put an end to this practice. This left coachbuilders like Armbruster & Company (now Armbruster/Stageway, Inc.) to take up the slack. The airport limo may have originated with Armbruster’s contract with Jordan Bus Lines to produce small buses. Some factory limo production resumed around 1941 and continued until the mid-60s, except when all production was halted due to WWII. It wasn’t until 1963 when a coachbuilder dared to depart from the traditional limo style. Newly-formed Lehmann-Peterson, Inc. cut a '63 Lincoln in half and inserted a 34-inch stretch, and the modern style stretch limo was born.
On at least one occasion, a four door Stingray was produced by a similar process.
Saw a picture of it in an old Car & Driver. Looked kind of cool, at that.
Armbruster/Stageway not only built airport taxis, they also extended pickups.
Hey, Bosada, how about a stretched Trans-Am (or a Corvair, Cobra, old & new Beetle, Dodge Omni, etc.)?
I forgot that I was going to link to a book that should be of interest to the OP.
Living here in Nevada, years ago I saw a TV segment (60 Minutes or Dateline?) that said (almost) every stretch limo is built at the State Prison down the road in Jean, NV and only by “lifers” with no hope of parole.
Supposedly, it is a “status” job at the prison, pays a bit more than most jobs, and because you can cut any car in half and make it a stretch, each car becomes a work of art that the prisoners take some pride in creating.
No link, sorry, but I note that stretch SUVs are now pretty commonplace.
Yes, the stretch Lincoln Navigator is alive and well and picking up prom-goers, but only those who live in cul de sacs.