727 limousine interior
Photo Victor Serra, Getty Images
The 727 limo sits on a bus chassis and
is a great example of decadence on
wheels. See more luxury car images.

When thinking about the various trappings of wealth, you probably imagine huge mansions, enormous swimming pools, fancy clothes and, of course, beautiful limousines stocked with expensive alcohol and state-of-the-art electronic gadgets. While limousines were once a luxury enjoyed mainly by the extremely rich, today they're a staple of airport transportation and a favored way to arrive at formals, dances and weddings.

What exactly is a limousine? For many people, the word "limousine" conjures up the image of an incredibly long car with lots of dark-tinted windows. Actually, a limousine can be as simple as a nice Lincoln Town Car. There's no standard limousine make or model -- instead, the word refers to a vehicle that has a larger compartment in the back half of the car than your average automobile. To call a car a limousine, you really just need a nice car that has a lot of leg room in the rear compartment. It also helps if you have a driver, or chauffeur, driving the car for you while you relax in the back.

The word "limousine" comes from a town in France called Limousin. The original limousine wasn't a vehicle at all -- it was a piece of clothing. Shepherds in Limousin created a raincoat with a hood to protect them from the elements. They called this hooded cloak a limousine. Eventually, coach-builders in Paris began to call covered coaches limousines (some speculate the first coach-builder to do so was from Limousin). Wealthy passengers could sit under cover while a driver handled the horses [source: Lancashire Limos].

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As the horseless carriage became popular, the term was applied to automobiles driven by a hired man to transport passengers, who sat comfortably in the back. Limousine services sprang up in places like New York City, where entrepreneurs foresaw a market for visitors who wanted to travel in luxury. As early as the 1920s, businessmen began to create limousine companies, some of which still exist today [source: Limo Broker].

Stretch limo
Photo Leo Cinezi, SXC
Stretch limousines like this one are
popular choices for people going to
formals, dances and weddings.

In this article, we'll look at some of the popular vehicles used as limousines straight off the factory line. We'll also look at how independent companies convert standard vehicles into stretch limousines. We'll sample some of the amenities you can find in most limousines, as well as a few more exotic options. Finally, we'll look at some facts and figures regarding limousines and chauffers.

In the next section, we'll learn about the common vehicles used as limousines.

Attack of the 100-foot-long Limo
Designed and built by owner Jay Ohrberg, the longest stretch limousine so far is 100 feet long. It has 26 wheels to support its massive frame, and the vehicle is hinged in the middle to allow it to make turns. The car requires two drivers -- one sits up front as in any normal car, and the second sits in the back to help maneuver when going in reverse or around tight corners. In the last section of the vehicle, you'll find a hot tub and sun deck. The limo isn't street legal, which means you can't just rent it out and tour the Las Vegas strip. Instead, the car is usually reserved for movie or commercial shoots and the occasional car show [source: Limo Broker].

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