Talk:Limousine

Exotic Limousines

The VW Bug pics: http://www.theclassicbeetle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/vw-beetle-limo.jpg Teh one in Sacramento CA (US) is black, but as I recall they were structuarall identical. (Might even be the same one repainted.) 71.34.68.150 (talk) 04:14, 18 July 2009 (UTC)A REDDSON.

two modern meanings

There are two and a half generally distinct meanings as to how limosine is used in modern America: (1) a large, luxury car, leased/owned privately for the use of an individual or family, being driven by a hired chauffeur/driver rather than by the owner and (2) a possibly large, possibly luxurious car hired together with a driver on an hourly or daily livery basis (and a half) special models of cars manufactured for the above reasons with features like tons of legroom in the back. A starving student could own a old used model "limosine" and drive it himself and still call it a limosine. I'm guessing the distinctions are not in the article because the livery business would like all of their cars to be thought of as luxurious, but many of them are heavily used and ratty. While Rolls Royce or Bentley make limosines that private people might buy, the livery industry is more apt to deploy a fleet of Lincoln Towncars or various stretches 74.68.152.245 (talk) 02:51, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Derivation of word Limousine

The word limousine is derived from the name of the French region Limousin, where the inhabitants wore a hood perceived to be similar to the profile of the car.

To be honest I have no idea what a hood "similar to the profile of the car" would look like. I have been unable to find any drawings or pictures. Maybe someone could add an illustration - Ma.rkus.nl 23:55, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

I smell BS... I am adding a citation flag. -Rolypolyman 00:38, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Citation added and line rewritten to reflect what the cited reference states. Respectfully, SamBlob 20:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

On the other hand, the Oxford English Dictionary has no such etymology. It just says, "A (luxury) motor car with a compartment for the passengers and a separate compartment for the driver. Also attrib. Orig. the driver's seat was outside though covered with a roof. Since the 1930s the word has been more usual in North America than in the U.K.; recently it has been used, esp. in the U.S., for vehicles conveying passengers to and from large airports." WilliamDenton 19:04, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

What edition of the OED are you using? Does it give any etymology at all? Respectfully, SamBlob 20:36, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

It was the online version, and the entry didn't include any etymology (which surprised me a bit). I quoted the whole entry. -- WilliamDenton 04:57, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

The online OED has etymology as a separate button, which defaults to not checked. The etymology refers you back to "Limousin": "of or pertaining to this region, its inhabitants, or their dialect." So I guess they are saying, it originally meant "a Limousin car; one of the style to be found in or around Limoges." --Orange Mike | Talk 17:04, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

(Deleted text restored - Sincerely, SamBlob (talk) 20:22, 21 November 2009 (UTC))

not a limousine hood but an answer to the problem

Little Red Riding Hood when caught in heavy rain pulls her hood forward to give shelter to her face. The outline of the hood is rounded following the shape of her head. A wagoner (coachman, professional driver, chauffeur) wears a limousine hood. When pulled forward to give shelter a limousine hood is propped up to give square corners and his vision though restricted is not as restricted as that of poor Little Red Riding Hood. See above: The word limousine is derived from the name of the French region Limousin, where the inhabitants wore a hood perceived to be similar to the profile of the car. Sincerely, Eddaido (talk) 09:42, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Limousin Article

Hi, here's an article which explains the limousine history. This should help you with your inquiry.
Here is some more details of limo hire history.

Limousine link

Hi,

Can we add a link to our website about limousines? We are a group of people who have an independent website that might be of interest to the readers of the Wikipedia limousine article.

Our website, Limo Head, is about helping people view different types of limousines, find a reputable limousine company and make sure they don't get cheated.

Thank you.

(Much later) We just noticed the comment about why there is not an external link section in the limousine article. That sounds fair enough, so we will not add our link.

On word origin: My understanding is that as fine coaches in France were made with Limousin oak the use to describe luxury vehicles derives from this source. BTW - You provide a great service to researchers (things stay current and are reviewed by a wide range of people) and the plain curious, hat's off!

I would like to suggest a similar link to website LimoXonline.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by Omarabs (talk • contribs) 23:48, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Stretch Terminology / 3rd Parties

Should this article contain explanations on how "stretch" is measured and various common lengths by country? Also, perhaps terms like "5th door" could be included to explain to those unfamiliar with the terms.

There are several times when the article metions that 3rd parties will modify many vehicles into stretches. I know my company buys limos modified by Krystal Enterprises, one of the most used companies in the US. Maybe that company could be mentioned as an example.

Geekrecon (talk) 15:48, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

"Historical" section

Tillman has introduced a subsection under "Limousine Types" called "Historical", consisting of the sentence: "Early motor limousines had an open driver's compartment for the chauffeur, and a closed cabin for the passengers" and a thumbnail of a photograph of an early automobile with the caption "1908 Studebaker Brothers Limousine".

Seeing no citation stated for this very general statement that I had never seen stated anywhere else, I deleted the subsection.

Tillman reverted this deletion, claiming that the citation for the section is in the description of the photograph.

I went to the image page and followed the link therein: http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/USHS_Shipler&CISOPTR=1314&CISOBOX=1&REC=6 It features the photograph and a description from an archive of historic photographs. The automobile is described by the archivist as a limousine.

While the photograph may (or may not) show a good example of an early limousine, using the photograph as verification of the statement "Early motor limousines had an open driver's compartment for the chauffeur, and a closed cabin for the passengers" is as untenable a generalization as using a photograph of a 1970s coupé with a landau bar as verification of the statement "Coupés built in the 1970s had landau bars".

Giving the photograph the benefit of the doubt, I moved it to the gallery with the caption: "1908 Studebaker Brothers limousine. This limousine had an open driver's compartment for the chauffeur and a closed cabin for the passengers." I then deleted the rest of the subsection, stating in the edit summary: "A photograph of a single vehicle with a caption written by an unknown person does not say anything definitive about an entire type of vehicle."

Tillman reverted this, stating in his edit summary: "rv arbitraty (sic) dl". I assume this to be shorthand for "revert arbitrary deletion".

Since my very specific summary has been ruled as "arbitrary" by Tillman, I have stated my case for deleting the section here. Respectfully, SamBlob (talk) 11:50, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation. Sorry, I missed your first move of the photo to the gallery -- I thought you had just deleted it. Why don't you think the oldest limo in the article merits main-article placement?

SFAIK, this Studebaker is a fair rep of early limos, as I stated in the deleted History section. The archive this one came from has at least one more "open driver, closed passenger" model of similar age, and I've seen a number of others over the years. But I don't have a specific ref on hand. Will look as time permits. Cheers, Pete Tillman (talk) 14:41, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

You are most welcome. I moved the photo to the gallery because it would no longer illustrate the deleted "historical" section. There are other pictures in the gallery that should probably be used as illustrations in the main text as well. I think the gallery was created to reduce the interference with the text that the layout of the thumbnails had been causing. The previous oldest limo in the article (the Wilton) had been used to illustrate the separation between the driver and the passengers.

My major objection to the text of that section was the mention of an "open driver's compartment for the chauffeur", as I had generally believed that limousines were closed cars by definition, as opposed to landaulets with folding tops over the rear seats, or broughams with open driver's seats and enclosed passenger compartments. However, on reading the dictionary definition again, I realize it defines a limousine as "an automobile having a permanently enclosed compartment for three to five persons, the roof of which projects forward over the driver's seat in front." It does not mention the driver being enclosed, just that he was covered by a roof. Further proof that chauffeurs of limousines were not necessarily enclosed, as I had thought they were, comes from the same dictionary's definition of a brougham as "a limousine having an open driver's compartment." (emphasis mine) This leads me now to wonder what those cars were that had no roof over the chauffeur, as I had thought they were broughams... Investigation here at Wikipedia leads me to believe that the term would be "town car" in English-speaking countries and "sedanca de Ville" in continental Europe.

It would be good if we could find some documentation stating the extent to which early limousines had open sides. Failing that, all we have is original research, which is not allowed in Wikipedia articles. Respectfully, SamBlob (talk) 01:25, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, the documentation is above, from the OED: "...Orig. the driver's seat was outside though covered with a roof..." -- quoted by WilliamDenton 19:04, 28 August 2007

I'll restore the history section & flesh it out a bit when time permits. Pete Tillman (talk) 17:45, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Bravo! The history section has been well written and is the only section in the article (at present) that is adequately cited. Thank you! Respectfully, SamBlob (talk) 18:38, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome, & thanx for the compliment. Cheers, Pete Tillman (talk) 19:30, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Style?

I've deleted the following paragraph from the article (copy-paste as it was):

Style

Limousines have alot of style. They have very high technology inside of them. The most popular limousines now days are lincoln, chrysler, and cadillac.

Firstly, such "information" has no place in the article. Secondly, it was badly written, wasn't it?

And Its probably not true about the popularity of mentioned brands. If I had to guess I reckon Mercedes Benz Limos are more popular world wind the Chryslers and probably the other two. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.31.177.192 (talk) 00:32, 15 December 2008 (UTC)