Have you ever tried to fit a car in your garage only to realise that its longer than the garage space itself? It may not be a common issue but sometimes cars can be exceptionally long; in fact, sometimes, it's blatantly obvious that they'd never fit in a garage (unless you have a mansion, that is).
The length of a car is determined by the brand, model, configuration, and the number of additional features. While some of us like compact cars, others prefer spacious vehicles. Also, older cars lack most of the features that make our new cars safer and more attractive. New perks like GPS screens, airbags, anti-lock breaks, bigger dashboards, and various sensors that are firmly fitted into modern cars can make them inches longer and wider.
With that said, some cars are long for the sake of extravagance and luxury. Under this category lies the limousine. Everything about the limousine from price to weight to length to the materials used represent an aura of extravagance.
From the Midnight Rider, which is a big luxurious limo that even features a set of stairs, to the American Dream, which is the longest limo, if you're looking for luxury and a bit more class than the norm, these vehicles are the way to go.
Let's now take a closer look at the American Dream limo and what makes it special.
The Longest Limo In The World
Over the years, we have seen many long cars that measure more than 40 feet in length, but the one that stands out in particular is the American Dream; an ultra-stretched ride that is based on the Cadillac Eldorado. In 1986, a popular car customizer, Jay Ohrberg, responsible for building the Batmobile and a few other collectibles, came up with a car design never seen before.
The 100-feet vehicle is monstrous by all estimations. To put it in perspective, most cars are in the range of 12-16 feet. In fact, you could park six Toyota Corolla 2020 models in front of each other, six Mercedes-Benz ES 350 in another single file, and six 2020 units of the Lexus RX 350 in a third line, and the American Dream would still be longer than all of them.
In reality, the American Dream limo looked more like a yacht with many wheels. It had a Jacuzzi, king-sized waterbed, lounge, swimming pool, and at the tail, it featured a helipad. One question probably on your mind right now is: "How does a 100-feet car with twenty-four wheels navigate sharp bends and turns?".
You may suspect that it was designed solely for straight and wide roads but the vehicle actually has two parts joined together by a hinge. This hinge must be used by a special operator and can be tightened to make the limousine a single rigid entity or set at angles to navigate bends successfully.
Perhaps, this would have been the right car for your next family reunion if you wanted something 5-star in nature that can host a fairly large number of people, except that there are currently a few challenges holding the American Dream limo back.
Where Is The American Dream Limo Now?
We mentioned some of the challenges that the American Dream limo has faced. But, there's further issues also worth considering.
Luxury cars like the American Dream are meant to be hired, mostly for movie productions, and maintained till another hire comes along. It seems this luxury limousine hasn't been very well maintained over the years, however. Perhaps the upkeep was simply too expensive.
The last receipts showed it was hired by an American company to be used as a promotional vehicle and later left pretty much to rot in a warehouse in New Jersey. Rot sounds like a harsh word for a car this luxurious and with a Guinness World record under its belts, but that's exactly what happened.
Nature and scavengers took over from here, and when it was finally recovered in 2012, it was discovered that tires had been stolen or worn out, its windows were broken, its roof was torn, the helipad looked more like hell-a-pad, and we were left with a Jacuzzi undeserving of such a title.
What Next For The World's Longest Limo?
This might sound like the narrative of some of the movies you're familiar with where a good story turns sour, and the main character tries to make a dramatic comeback. Thankfully, the American Dream limo certainly has the American trait of resilience.
New York’s Automotive Teaching Museum acquired the American Dream limo in 2014 and used it to teach engineering students how to fix, design, and fabricate cars.
The last we heard of the Americans Dream was in 2020. It was said that the Covid pandemic would delay renovation of its interior while its body has been restored. Perhaps, the American Dream will be back, but for now, we'll just have to wait and see. And if it does return, there's no doubt that we'll see it.