There are some car that were designed to be primarily used for limousine purposes rather than a private car, for example the Soviet GAZ Chiakas and the ZILs were never available for sale for anyone with the money, the same way a Rolls Royce is, they were exclusively for senior government officials, even if a Soviet civilian had the money, he couldn't have one. A Daimler DS420 is different to a Bentley Arnage, although that is a very expensive car it could still be used everyday and for leisure, the Daimler on the other hand is not exactly a car you'd drive yourself. I wonder if the new Rolls Royce Phantom and the Maybach are limousines or just sedans? The Maybach 62 has to be limousine, if you wanted a sporty saloon/sedan, you buy an S-Class instead.

i voted for adding a stretched category....assuming it's for cars that have been cut in 1/2 and added onto to make longer...and that way we just name them Lincoln Town Car Limo and Cadillac DeVille Limo.

Cadillac officially made some Limousine, so the stretched ones cannot share the same name I think.

OK, "antp", I promise I won't ever complain again when you allow these stretched Cadillac limousines to be identified as "DeVille" or "Fleetwood" models. I'll just snicker to myself in the knowledge that all of you are mistaken! The last of the 7-8 seater "75" sedans and limousines were built at the Cadillac factory 20 years ago, 1n 1987. A few "stretched" limiousines were built after that, with Cadillac approval, by Hess & Eisenhardt (e.g. the "Presidential" parade cars). All the rest are custom jobs by independent coach builders like Armbruster, Gaines, Moloney, O'Gara, etc. These do NOT qualify as "DeVille" or "Fleetwood" models.

What I'd like to know, as far as custom limosines go, is both how they're registered with various licensing agencies (what car are they legally recognized as), and how much of them is production model - do most limos roll of the factory line as a certain car, and have the extra bits spliced in the middle, or is there not a single chassis bit shared with the models it resembles?

That is a good question and I don't know the answer.

Stretched limos generally are production cars that have a section added in the middle. The suspension is strengthed to hold the extra load but I think the engine and body parts of both ends are original. I would bet that they are titled according to the original car. I built a hot rod as a youth - custom frame and suspension, buick engine and model A ford from the firewall back. It was titled as a model A ford.

For non-stretched limo (older cars) I think some were made at the factory but most were probably bodied somewere else. In the 1920's and 1930's it was common for big fancy cars that the car maker sold a rolling chassis and some other coachbuilder made the body. For example, I don't think the Duesenburg factory made anything but a chassis + engine - I don't think they made bodies at all. But all of them are known as duesenbergs.