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London Limousine Hire

By Devinder Patel

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Published: 03May2008
Word count: 594
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Have you ever thought to yourself that the word Limousine is an unusual word and wondered as to it's origin ?

Well, wonder no more, the word "Limousine" is quite old and originates from the 18th Century and is derived from a region in France called Limousin.

The shepherds in the Limousin French locality having to work in dire weather conditions, survived whatever Mother Nature had to throw at them (driven snow and rain)by creating a coat to insulate themselves on the hillsides.

The coat was so effective that it's use caught on with other people in the area and then further away throughout France.

Having it's origins in Limousin, everyone referred to the coat by the region it was created in "Limousin" and other workers who were at the mercy of the wind and cold began to wear the coats ' in particular the drivers of the finest horse-drawn carriages.

Clearly these poor chaps too were exposed to all weather conditions as they were obliged to sit on top of the carriages in the open air. The transport they were driving attracted much attention as it carried the high classes on their journeys and were ornately decorated.

The shepherd's favoured type of big coat, the "Limousin" was made of sheep's and goat's wool and very effective in it's purpose.

After a brief period the Limousin-clad chauffeurs were so closely identified with the coat they wore and subsequently the carriage that they sat on, that the carriage began to be linked to the drivers (and coats) in peoples' minds and the transport soon began to be called the "Limousine" by the public after a period of time.

The horse-drawn carriages were an extremely posh way of travelling and I am sure you can now guess where this is going.

After many decades the first motorised car, another form of extremely posh transportation for the upper classes, was invented and the word Limousine became quickly linked by natural progression (or chance) to the longer, more elegant styles of motorcar.

Records show that in 1902, the first Limousine, also had a hood over the driver's compartment that resembled the original hood of the Limousin coat, and this is the reason the term "Limousine" is now forever bound to luxury long vehicles.

Basically a compartmentalized car that separates the driver from the upper class (or paying) passengers with a privacy division.

During the last 100 years is the time that Limousines have had huge changes to their look, amenities, length and insides. A Limousine now refers to all cars that have been stretched for style or luxury purposes, in particular in the USA, where virtually anything on four wheels has been extended into a Stretch, Superstretch or Superlongbody Limousine.

Over the decades this includes such marques as Audi, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, Holden, Hummer, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen etc..

Notwithstanding the plentiful choice of stretched cars, the one that has now become almost synonymous with the word "Limo" is the Stretch Lincoln Towncar Limousine. The word Limo is now widely accepted as the slang term for all Limos.

The Limousine world has moved on to the mighty Hummer Limo, which can seat up to 16 passengers (or more) in spectacular style.

The Hummer Limousine is by far the largest and most sought after Limo from the hiring public than any other marque, due it's ample interior and incredible length.

Well there you have it - What's in a name ?

Devinder Patel offers more information for London Limousines Hire and Limo London Tours at http://www.stretchlimos.co.uk

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