Old limos all had a 'boomerang' on the back and this is what it was actually for

Old limos always had that odd boomerang perched on the trunk – impossible to miss, even harder to explain.

For anyone who grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, it became part of the limo silhouette.

Long body, tinted glass, chrome wheels, and that curved fin leaning back over the deck lid.

And the real reason it existed wasn’t aero, wasn’t styling flair – it was something far more delightfully retro.

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The real reason old limos had that boomerang on the trunk

The first stretched limo dates all the way back to 1928, when Arkansas-based Armbruster realized musicians needed bigger, more comfortable transport. 

By the time limos surged in the ’80s, they’d become rolling lounges.

And one of the biggest flexes inside was a television.

But if you had a TV, you needed a way to pull a signal.

That mysterious boomerang wasn’t a spoiler at all – it was the car’s VHF/UHF antenna.

The shape wasn’t random, either. 

Bending the arms into a sweeping curve gave the car a cleaner look while still catching the broadcast waves your boss or VIP wanted to watch in the back. 

It turned into a status marker: if your limo wore a boomerang, it probably had a TV inside, and that meant money.

But times changed. 

TVs stopped relying on analog signals, and limos stopped needing trunk hardware to keep passengers entertained. 

So modern stretched builds don’t wear boomerangs anymore for one simple reason – the screens moved on, and the antennas did too.

Limos have changed, but the nostalgia hasn’t

Armbruster-Stageway – the same company that built the world’s first stretched limo back in the ’20s – is still in the game today. 

Its modern Cadillac XT6 builds stretch 80 inches, pack six doors, and ride tall with an executive roofline. 

But what they are missing is a trunk-mounted boomerang.

And it fits a broader shift. 

Limos aren’t the everyday status symbols they were in the ’80s and ’90s.

Now, they mostly roll out for proms, red carpets, or the president’s armored convoy.

But for anyone who remembers seeing them glide through traffic, that curved antenna became shorthand for money.

The kind of detail you clock instantly even if you never stepped inside.

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