Be it a corporate meeting, business travel, wedding reception, or leisure travel, more and more people are showing a penchant for hiring a dependable luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA. After all, when it’s a special event or a special occasion, you would want to arrive in style feeling completely refreshed and ready to dive into the activities. Even when you need a quick airport pick-up or drop-off, airport limo service, San Francisco, CA is what you would perhaps look for if you want to blend luxury with safety and on-time arrival. With a limo service offering you a personalized ride with a professional chauffeur, you won’t need to worry about getting competent ground transportation that helps you reach your destination on time and with utmost comfort. When you sit on the plush seat of a limo, stretch your legs (thanks to the ample space made available inside), or even kick back your seat for a little siesta during the ride, you hardly ever wonder if it was always this comfortable a ride. For those who want to know about the evolution of limousines, an interesting story awaits. Let’s take a quick look at the journey and how things changed from the first time the limos made their appearance.
1- Origin of the limo
It was in 1902 when the first engine-powered limousine was developed in the French province of Limoges. “Limousine” owes its origin to the word “Limousin” that refers to a specific style of hooded cloak that the French shepherds of the region wore. Since the original design of the vehicle resembled the hood of the Limousin cloak with the passengers sitting inside the enclosed area of the vehicle (and thus, being fully protected from the weather) while the driver sat outside, it was called a limousine. These early limos were quite small in size and often had room for just three to five passengers. These vehicles were manufactured in two styles – either with one front-facing seat or with rear-facing seat and a front-facing seat to help the passengers interact with each during their journey.
Though limousines today are synonymous with luxury, they had no luxury associations when they came into existence at first. Someone using an airport limo service, San Francisco, CA today could hardly believe it. Yet, that’s the truth. Early limos in Paris were used as delivery vehicles as the covered area of the vehicle kept the goods dry.
2- Limousines in the USA
Though earlier US presidents did travel in cars, Woodrow Wilson was perhaps the first US president who used a limo as a mode of transport. By that time, the design of the limo had changed a bit as the driver’s seat was brought inside the car though there was a partition between the passengers and the driver. This separation between passengers and a hired driver gave the limousine its essence and was perhaps the reason why the vehicle came to be associated with privacy, service, and status, all of which stands true to date.
As the limos became more widely available, the sense of status associated with the vehicles increased as more and more people preferred to enjoy their ride in the back seats while someone else was at the wheels to fulfill the driver’s duties. To match the changing perception of limos as a luxury vehicle, the phrase “luxurious limousines” found its way in a romance novel in 1922.
3- The first stretch limo
The image of a stretch limo is the first visual that crops up in the mind of most people when they think about hiring luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA. However, not many know that it was way back in 1928 when the first stretch limousine was created by Armbruster (which is now the Armbruster Stageway Company) in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
When Benny Goodman –a popular American bandleader, arrived in a stretch limo for one of his gigs, the vehicle came into the limelight and thus began its long association with the celebrities. Soon, stretch limos started being used to transport big band musicians as well as their instruments and orchestras. No wonder why these limos were originally known as the “big band buses.”
Soon after in the 1930s and onward, the idea of being driven caught the fancy of many. This helped shuttling services emerge as a prominent option for airport transportation as well as sightseeing tours. Eventually, limos started being used to transport movie actors and actresses to their sets along with their film crew and all the necessary equipment. Thus, what was started by big band musicians was taken a notch further by movie stars, which helped to strengthen the connection of limousines further with the most elite, rich and famous and making it emerge as a status symbol.
4- Evolution of limos
Despite the Great Depression and the Second World War adversely affecting the limo’s prospects, the post-war boom gave a major boost to the industry. No wonder that both the industry and the cars got bigger. From the invention of the Cadillac stretch limo and Chrysler 300, which were a sight to behold, to the arrival of SUV limos, luxury and style was the key. The SUV limo took the whole concept of a luxurious ride a bit further as it blended comfort and luxury perfectly with added features such as space for more passengers, entertainment options like sound system, TV, etc.
Though New York’s first limo service was opened in 1921 by James P. Carey, the modern limousine industry can be called a product of the 1980s, when the expanding financial industry and rapid economic growth encouraged people to ride in luxury and style.
5- American presidential limousines
If hiring a luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA makes you feel like royalty, you aren’t alone. Limousines have a presidential connection as well. Most Americans, when asked to think of US presidential limousines, are likely to conjure images of John F. Kennedy traveling in his stretched 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible in Dallas (Texas) and waving to the crowd before his assassination.
It’s interesting to note that JFK’s limousine wasn’t retired immediately by the US government following his assassination. Owing to the steep cost associated with replacing the limousine with a newer model, the vehicle was re-armored, re-powered, updated, and fitted with a bulletproof glass top which is non-removable. The limo was in service for another 13 years and was used for four more presidents. For Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, additional modifications were carried out. However, the last convertible that an American President used was JFK’s 1961 Lincoln Continental. All the presidential limousines brought in service afterward were closed vehicles heavily modified for security.
6- Modern luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA
From the original vehicles that were merely used for ground transportation, limos today have evolved into flying cars that are soaked in luxury and style. From airport pick-up and drop-off to attending parties, weddings, business events, award ceremonies, high school proms, bachelor/bachelorette parties, etc. or taking wine tours, a leading luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA such as Pacific Town Car (PTC) can help you do all that and even more.
Though in-car facilities vary from model to model, you can expect some standard ones when you step inside an airport limo service, San Francisco, CA. From plush leather seating, extended head and leg rests, and ample leg space to stretch your legs and relax to surround-sound audio, satellite radio, flat-screen television sets, and wireless charging devices, booking a luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA would mean traveling in style like royalty.
Depending on your choice of limousine service, you may even get heated or cooled rear seating, variable interior lighting schemes or ambient lighting, CD and/or DVD player compatible with the flat-screen television sets, on-board bars, etc. Just imagine getting into a rolling nightclub that comes equipped with a bar, entertainment option, and ambient lighting to set the mood, or stepping inside a luxurious cocoon that lets you rest, get entertained, or just doze off when your destination is far off and you want to arrive feeling refreshed. Unlike your basic and simple formal transport car that makes your ride a boring one and at times, even uncomfortable and unsafe, a competent luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA like Pacific Town Car (PTC) promises to help you travel safely and comfortably with unmatched doses of luxury. Forget feeling unsafe or worrying about missing your flight or an important business meet as on-time service is an integral part of key providers offering luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA.
If you have never booked an airport limo service, San Francisco, CA or haven’t yet taken a ride in a luxury limo, you shouldn’t wait any longer. After all, the divine experience of riding this revolutionary vehicle can’t be described truly in words. You have to experience it yourself to feel the magic of how luxury and comfort blend seamlessly in limo traveling.
If you have never experienced a limo ride, strike it off your to-do list today by riding with an extremely competent provider of luxury limo service in San Francisco, CA such as Pacific Town Car (PTC).