Here’s a proud chauffeur with his new steed. I’m suddenly remembering an article I read in the early ’70s at the library in PM or such, about a ’57 Cadillac 75 limo that had racked up over 500,000 miles; or was it 300,000? I can’t remember exactly, probably the latter, but in either case, it was quite unusual at the time. The owner-operator of the car service maintained it meticulously (obviously). Nowadays, that’s hardly eye-opening, especially for a commercial vehicle.
Here’s a ’67 with an also-proud chauffeur. The postcard was issued by Westchester Cadillac Limousine Service, who offered “Chauffeured Air Conditioned Cadillacs” “for that special occasion”.
In Madison, Wisconsin in the 1970s there was a car service guy who drove a black late ‘50s Cadillac that had (it was said) hundreds of thousands of miles on it. It was in great shape, too, which was amazing considering how heavily the roads were salted in the endless winters we had.
Yes, that was Bob Bender of Madison. He drove his 1956 Cadillac for over a million miles – from what I recall he often battled with city regulators about whether his vehicle (which he nicknamed Nellie) was a taxi or a limousine.
I don’t recall the details, but he operated Nellie from about 1960 well into the ’70s, and I believe that he changed the car’s oil every week.
Yes, that’s them. I was pretty sure it was Wisconsin, but I was off on the model year.
Me and my Fleetwood. I did enjoy playing chauffeur.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22974775@N05/3270485888/in/album-72157604230416030/
My late brother, a very successful business man, bought a 68 Series 75 full limo, thinking he could do paperwork between business locations. He found he did not accomplish much work and (small town) folks thought he was putting on airs. While he had it, many rides in it were so memorable! Beautiful and luxurious beyond description. 🏆. Have had several great Cadillacs and TOWN CARS and loved them, but for me the ultimate is a vintage factory limo. Have ridden in late 90s Lincoln stretch, but proportions looked off. NOW SO CALLED limos built on truck or SUV platforms are just plain UGLY 🤮. Thanks for sharing this great post! Recall a poster of a vintage ROLLS-ROYCE reading DRIVING DOWN LIFE’S HIGHWAY, always try to SHOW a little CLASS! 😉
When my grandmother died in 1982 her funeral was handled by a very small funeral home, whose owner had been a friend of the family for decades. They did maybe one funeral a week and its hearse was a 1960 Cadillac. No radio or A/C. I rode up front with the driver/owner, who said it was meticulously maintained, never gave him a problem, so he saw no need to replace it. Who knows how much longer it served. The only other car in the funeral home’s fleet was a 1969 Cadillac limousine, also trouble free.
Our wedding car in Summer of 1971 was an immaculate 1964 Series 75 division-window limo in black, of course, with gray wool broadcloth rear seats, last of the truly great 75s. So we got off to a good start in style, and are still married 52 years later. Our honeymoon car was our 4 yr old Volvo 122s, but wish we could have taken that magnificent Cad instead!
That second picture looks like the driver was in need of using a bathroom. haha.
That 58` is the limo Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) was forced into when he was abducted at the Plaza Hotel in that great Hitchcock film ‘North by Northwest’.
I still enjoy the burial scene from “The Godfather” with all of those beautiful Limos lined up at the graveside service. The flower cars were the first I had ever seen.
Nice work if you can get it cruising about in a Cadillac with someone else paying the gas bill, my BIL’s father was a government chauffer no caddies though mostly LTDs he was the prime ministers driver for many years.
Since this is about postcards from limo services, here’s my limo service’s postcard. I operated Fantasy Limousine in the Baltimore/Washington area until the collapse of the limousine rental industry in the early 1990s. I was lucky because I owned all the cars and didn’t have huge vehicle mortgages like other limo services did.
The car in the upper left is my 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, The black over silver limo was a 1961 Vanden Plas Princess, and had been the British Embassy’s car until it was replaced in 1976 with a new Daimler 420G limo, armored. The black over gold limo I still have, it was the private limo for the Royal Family in the US, both the Princess limousines were Left Hand Drive.
The chauffeur shown in the lower left photo is yours truly, 40 years ago.
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