Section 5 of 5
The Body Style
Where the limousine body came from — the coachbuilders, the Cadillac Series 75, and why the stretch is disappearing.
3 pieces
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Fleetwood, Brewster, Judkins: What the Coachbuilders Left Behind
Traces the American coachbuilding trade from its early-twentieth-century peak through the consolidation and closure of Fleetwood, Brewster, and Judkins — the firms that defined the formal limousine body — and explains why the custom coachbuilder gave way to the conversion shop. Draws on automotive history records and the industry press.
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The Series 75 and the Long-Wheelbase Standard
Profiles the Cadillac Series 75 as the chassis that defined the American formal limousine from the 1930s through the 1980s — its wheelbase, coachbuilder relationships, and the moment when the aftermarket stretch began to displace it as the prestige vehicle of choice.
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Eighteen Built: The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV
Examines the Rolls-Royce Phantom IV — eighteen examples produced between 1950 and 1956, supplied only to heads of state and royalty — as the apex of the formal coachbuilt limousine and the point against which every subsequent stretch-market vehicle is implicitly measured.
